Smart Meters are ‘Free’ … How to get one?

SEVEN million homes now have smart meters, so that means many of us are still waiting for ours – there are about 20m households without one.

The Government set a 2020 deadline to install all meters for free – but in recent news, energy companies now say they have increased energy bills to cover installation costs.

Almost all of well-known domestic electricity and gas firms have been reported to have put up their bills. claiming issues with the cost of ‘free’ smart meters . One of the firms, ScottishPower, estimated bills are increasing 12%.

It seems a fairly simple task: ‘install a smart meter’. In fact, energy companies explain it is a major infrastructure project.

One of our Aura Heating staff found it was the energy companies at fault. He asked for his smart meter but was told he couldn’t have one because there was not enough space in his meter box (Lowri Beck). He’s still waiting for the energy supplier (Utility Warehouse) to sort out the problem.

In the media, one domestic utility firm (anonymous quote) said higher smart meter costs were caused by customers being apathetic and failing to be in during the day. Strange to blame the customer when when many people are out at work in the day and arranging convenient times for meter installers to turn up can be a real problem.

One of our Aura Heating staff found it was the energy companies at fault. He was invited to have a smart meter installed but was told he couldn’t have one because there was not enough space in his meter box (Lowri Beck). He’s still waiting for the energy supplier (Utility Warehouse) to sort out the problem, although  they say it was another energy firm’s fault.

Designed to bring better digital control of gas and electricity consumption to every bill payer, we don’t seem to be seeing that yet, do we.

Let us know about your smart meter story? Please comment below.

Here’s a few links by experts explaining how to get a smart meter. Let us know how much luck you have?

> Smart Energy GB’s guide to getting a smart meter
> Which? Consumer guide to smart meter installation
> ITV News story on ‘free’ smart meters