Smart metering: Benefits for all

Following is a guest commentary by John Roberts, chairman of Remote Energy Monitoring (REM), a UK-based firm specialising in smart metering.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) announced on Monday the Government’s plan for the universal roll out of smart energy metering for all UK homes and a consultation process. This announcement is a significant step in improving the UK’s energy management.

The implementation of smart metering will revolutionise the way in which energy is consumed and managed, with households and businesses gaining a host of benefits. These will include improved energy conservation and reduced energy costs. It will also enable utilities to offer their customers previously unattainable levels of service and support.

So what makes a meter smart and what benefits will it provide? True smart metering solutions allow utility providers and consumers to monitor energy consumption “on demand” and accurately.

The immediate and obvious benefit is that home consumers will no longer receive inaccurate estimate bills. Smart meters will ensure that utilities can read meters remotely and issue accurate bills. However, this intelligence will also enable the utilities to fulfil their obligation to work with consumers to reduce their energy costs and consumption.

This is not only good for the environment but crucial for helping the utilities fulfil their desire and responsibility to support the energy vulnerable and reduce energy debt, which is fast becoming a significant social issue. Essentially, smart metering solutions will enable the utilities to work far more closely with those at risk, providing support and advice on how to reduce their consumption patterns by adjusting their behaviour to ensure that they do not fall into unexpected energy debt.

With a truly smart solution, utilities will be able to communicate directly with the smart meter to activate service changes; a process that currently can take weeks can be done instantaneously. This is what we call “closing the event-to-action gap.”

Imagine the following scenario: You have just moved into a new property and there is no power. With smart metering and a quick call to the utility, the power can be turned on within a matter of minutes. Utilities will also be able to change meters from a credit to pre-payment functions as appropriate. By having a better understanding of energy consumption patterns, utilities can provide energy efficiency advice to customers and ensure that the appropriate tariffs are applied, as well as buy their own energy more effectively resulting in significant cost savings for all.

One of the main concerns to emerge from the DECC announcement is who is going to pay for these new meters. This should be viewed as only a short-term issue, as in the long term everyone will be better off.  Test programmes for smart meters have demonstrated that consumers reduce their energy usage by up to 15 per cent. Based on savings of 5 per cent, if everyone in the UK switched to smart meters, British householders could save £1.2 billion a year.

The key is to install multi-mode meters that can be  upgraded and adapted to the latest technologies but are also supported by a completely integrated software system, so that the information gathered is used and acted upon quickly — and therein lies the true efficiency of the smart metering offering. It is clear that there are significant advantages to smart meters and we now look forward to the consultation process, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.