British Gas is to put smart meters in a
million homes this year as part of an ambitious programme that will create
2,500 jobs and could cut household energy bills by at least £1 billion over the
next ten years.
The meters monitor energy consumption as
it is used and send the information directly to suppliers over wireless
networks. At the same time, a monitor placed prominently in the home shows
customers exactly what they are using, encouraging them to switch off
power-hungry appliances.
At the end of last year, the Government
backed the roll-out of the meters to every home in the country in a £9 billion
programme described as the biggest shake-up in the energy industry since the
introduction of North Sea Gas in the 1970s.
British Gas has decided to start
installing the meters immediately — before the end of a government trial —
because of compelling calculations that show that the sooner the country’s 26
million households are switched to smart meters, the bigger the benefits in
terms of cutting energy consumption and lowering carbon emissions. Other
companies are expected to follow suit.
“We want to take a leadership
role,” Ian Peters, chief operating officer of British Gas, said. “This will
transform our relationship with our customers. Instead of merely sending them a
bill, we will be able to advise them on energy efficiency methods and how to
cut their usage.”
Meter readers will no longer have to visit
homes and estimated bills will be a thing of the past. The meters will also
enable energy suppliers to spread peak demand by introducing deals, similar to
those now offered to businesses, to customers who are prepared to use
appliances only at off-peak times, such as in the early hours of the morning.
Eventually, energy companies hope to be
able to turn customers’ appliances off remotely, thereby reducing the load on
the network. Home owners who have solar panels or wind turbines will be able to
put power back into the Grid.
Petter Allison, director for smart
metering for British Gas, said: “Smart meters help customers become far more
aware of the amount and cost of energy they use, which encourages people to
reduce their usage and save money.”
The savings attributable to the meters
have been described as a triple play: the customer will save money, there will
be a reduction in power generation and carbon emissions will be cut. The meters
are expected to cut the average £1,000-a-year dual fuel energy bill by 3 per
cent or £30, but their use in parts of the
United States
has brought savings of up to 10 per cent.
With a 3 per cent annual saving, the cost
benefit to households would be £1 billion by 2020 and demand would be reduced
by the equivalent of the output of four power stations. At that rate, carbon
emissions would be five million tonnes lower.
British Gas will work with the metering
company Landis + Gyr, for whom the programme will be worth about £200 million,
according to industry estimates. Cameron O’Reilly, the chief executive, said:
“This represents a major breakthrough. The
UK
is the first country to install both gas and electricity meters on any scale. It
is a huge undertaking and we hope to set the technical and practical standards
that the industry will follow.”
The Department of Energy and Climate
Change and the energy regulator Ofgem are due to publish a prospectus on the
requirements for smart meters this summer. Detailed design will follow, taking
evidence from several trials now under way. However, the first installations
are not expected until 2012.
British Gas, which replaces 850,000 old or
faulty meters a year, intends to develop its meters to an open standard, which
it will share with its competitors. Mr Peters said: “The sooner we start, the
sooner we will finish. The costs of installation will be lower if we can do it
over a shorter period.” A new company within British Gas will be set up later
this year, which is expected to create 2,500 new jobs with a range of skills
from meter fitters to home energy advisers.
British Gas customers who want a smart
meter will be able to request one from 2011. Before that, the company plans to
install the meters across a broad span of customer types: these will include
families with children at home all day, retired people, professional people who
are out all day, low-income families and high earners.
Energy wise
• Energy suppliers will eventually be able
to “talk” to the home, through intelligent dishwashers or self-regulating
heating controls
• More people will prepay online or by
telephone or text, and will receive alerts when money is running out
• It will soon be possible for your
in-home display to tell you how much longer your money will last, if you simply
turn your thermostat down by one degree celsius
(from
The Times)