Public Release: 18-Sep-2017
From Eurekalert
University of Sussex
IMAGE: Smart meter campaign poster in London Underground. view more
Credit: Image by Benjamin Sovacool
Lack of consumer engagement, insufficient information, and inadequate attention to vulnerability has slowed down the UK rollout of energy smart meters, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Sussex.
The £11 billion smart meter programme, which is supported by a £100-million marketing campaign, has not met its targets due to consumer apathy and confusion, especially in the case of vulnerable people, say the researchers.
The UK government planned to install smart meters in every home by 2020 to reduce national household energy consumption by 5-15%, and thereby help meet the UK’s climate change targets. Smart meters are digital gas and electricity meters that connect households to suppliers and feature a home display that aims to help people better understand their energy use. The programme, officially called Smart Meter Implementation Programme (SMIP) is the largest government-run information technology project in history. Yet, a year in, energy providers had only managed to install the meters in seven percent of homes. To hit the target by 2020, suppliers would need to install 40,000 smart meters per day for the duration of the programme.
Professor Benjamin Sovacool, lead author of the study and director of the Sussex Energy Group, pointed out:
‘We have recently seen how the government had to backtrack on its ambitions to make installation in every home obligatory; they are basically admitting a degree of failure. Consumer confusion and even resistance to the programme exist, which is a clear sign that they need to improve consumer engagement and the provision of information about the benefits of the technology. This is especially true when it comes to vulnerable classes of people, such as the elderly and those less educated’.
The paper, published in Energy Policy, argues that discussions around technical glitches have partially obscured societal issues that need to be addressed for a more successful campaign. The researchers looked at two primary sources of data, a systemic review of the academic literature on smart meters as well as participant observation of seven major events on the SMIP during 2015-2016.
Dr Kirsten Jenkins, Research Fellow in Energy Justice and Transitions at the University of Sussex, adds that another benefit to the study is that it helps demystify the smart meter programme. As she clarifies:
‘I come at this paper both as a researcher and as a potential user of a smart meter in my own home, and one that despite initially being told I could upgrade now, was later informed there was no availability in my area. For many the SMIP has remained something of a mystery. Our study makes an important step towards revealing its dynamics and highlighting the necessity of not only technological advancement, but thoroughly considered social integration that is conscious of both new and old social vulnerabilities.’
The new technology is not only supposed to increase awareness around household energy needs, but also make households more energy efficient and reduce energy bills. However, the paper argues that rather than engaging consumers about the potential benefits, the technology has only generated ‘confusion and resistance’ in many households. There is little awareness of the benefits or understanding of how the technology works even in those households where the technology has been installed.
Dr Paula Kivimaa, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sussex, emphasizes that the actions of users and consumers could greatly compromise the success of the programme. As she states:
‘Given the removal of several important policy instruments targeting energy efficiency and demand reduction in buildings in 2015, the SMIP has a crucial role in advancing these policy targets. However, the failure to engage consumers effectively puts the success of this programme at risk, and, thus requires speedy and effective action on behalf of those in charge of its implementation.’
Dr Sabine Hielscher, a Research Fellow at Sussex, comments that the ‘high expected benefits associated with the rollout of smart meters have been kept alive and their achievements have stayed optimistic within the UK government over the last decade. Although the SMIP has been increasingly scrutinised and uncertainties surrounding expected benefits persisted, it will be interesting to see how the smart meter rollout will unfold over the next few years.’
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The full study is available for free until the end of September at https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1VWWr14YGgTtDm.
Citation: Sovacool, BK, P Kivimaa, S Hielscher, and K Jenkins. “Vulnerability and resistance in the United Kingdom’s smart meter transition,” Energy Policy 109 (October, 2017), pp. 767-781.
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
These meters are so smart that when my elderly aunt moved to a different energy supplier she had to have her electricity smart meter changed.
I haven’t tried switching suppliers here in Ontario, so I’m not sure if we’d have that particular problem. I suspect that the meters are managed by the same outfits that supply the wiring, but I could be wrong. However, it has not gone unnoticed (at the highest level) that the meters are (yet another) giant boondoggle:
http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/ontarios-2-billion-smart-meter-rip-off/
I have had a smart meter installed a year ago. It provides me with hourly statistics on both gas and electricity usage, both on the home wifi read-out and on-line via my supply account. It has proved interesting and has helped me isolate the cost of running a recently installed hot tub from other regular usage (it incidentally also showed how the costs rocket when the tub is in use rather than when insulated by its lid, due to heat lost to the air). It has, however, not helped me save electricity (it is no fun using a hot tub with the lid on). In the UK the easiest way to save on power bills is to regularly switch suppliers to ensure you are getting the best deal on energy supplies.
The utter stupidity in the smart meter push is, however, that when you switch suppliers the smart meters cannot be used by the new supplier. I switched supplier at the beginning of this month and have been told that the new supplier will have to pull out my one-year-old smart meters (one each for gas and electricity) and replace them with ones that they can access. Whoever came up with the specifications for smart meters should be shot.
Our ‘smart meter’ to record our heating consumption is a long bit of bamboo cane. I unscrew the cap on top of the oil tank, lower the cane in as a ‘dipstick’, pull it out and see how much heating oil I’ve got left. The cane cost me 43p. Bargain.
Approx. 80% of the UK’s rural homes still have heating oil. £11 Billion would have been better spent extending gas pipelines.
Heating oil is almost the same as vehicle diesel, in fact in France they call their heating oil “diesel”. So when you buy it at 42p/l remember how much they charge if it’s going in a thing with wheels on it,119.9p today when I filled the van up! The van has 168K miles on it, I think I am too frightened to do the sums….
I use a piece of leftover dowel. Cost – nothing. Bargain 43p?, you were done, they must have seen you coming. 🙂
SteveT
I get letters from the utility company about installing a Smartmeters (the team will be in your area soon!). I just ignore them. I must “less educated”.
They are like the teams of “we’re tarring a drive in the next street and have some left. We can do your drive with it a a really reasonable cost” Travelers. They sound be given the same reply!
The assumption of stupidity really rankles,i had the pests knocking at my door.Do you know cfl or leds will save you money? Yes,i have them. Did you know that only boiling as much water as you need will save you money? Yes,i`m not stupid.
Do you want a smart meter? Why? Unless i sit in the dark, switch everything off how can i use less than i do now?
Who uses more than they need to for hell of it?
Maybe if they offer a discount for having one fitted….i rather think that is opposite of what they have planned.
Some of the models also have a habit of starting on fire. Partly because the installers are just not trained well enough but some are poorly designed as well.
Doesn’t burn the house down, just some significant exterior damage but who wants a fire hazard installed on their house when the old ones very rarely have this problem.
Ha!
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We could hire 30,000 NHS Nurses and pay them for 11 years, or pay for these smart meters. I know which one would have more benefits for actual humans.
I have also seen quite a lot of these adverts on the UK internet (you-know-who-tube). They are generally well made, in the TV-technical sense, and have clearly had a lot of money spent in the making.
Only government(s) can afford to spend so much money in an attempt to sell you something you have zero reason to buy.
Estimated meter readings in the UK are based on the same period in the previous year. So no need at all for smart meters, other than to loadshed.
BTW, I used to live in the UK and lived in council (State) housing installed with 50p gas/electricity meters. My parents at the time sometimes struggled to have a 50p piece to put in the meter as it would not accept any other coins.
They were also the most expensive tariffs (somewhat ironic for people who tended to be less well off).
OWO NWO Agenda to gather personal data; control electrical grid worldwide. High levels of microwave radiation cause decline in health; Medical issues. Dangerous, unsafe at any level; potential fire hazards and dirty electricity invading homes. My electric company installed Smart Meter dispute my opposition; without my consent. Did not know when I was without power. How smart is that? More costly, do not last as long, rates go up without any better service. Consequences of not being aware, informed; vigilant and pro active. World has a right to very concerned. Profit before People.
Janice – in re: turning off my electricity, I’m in the USA, where the utilities are publicly traded stock corporations, not run by or owned by the US government. The invoices I get for both gas (cooking and heating) and electricity (household equipment) both show this month last year and this year, for a comparison in usage. With the smart meter, I show 8.1KWH in 2016 and 7.5KWH in 2017 for the same billing period, a small but very real difference. The usage per KWH rate is lower, too.
It’s a completely different arrangement from the UK and other overseas companies, as the state and federal governments here have no control over anything. The utility itself is a corporation, not a government entity. The taxes shown on the invoice are state and municipal taxes. Nothing goes to the federal government.
Now, I don’t know if my power actually comes from the coal-fired plant 10 miles to the north of me across the state line, or if it comes from a different power generating station to the south of me. I know that the grid serves approximately 1.5 million people in this county, including people in large, expensive, energy-guzzling houses in overpriced McMansion subdivisions, but unless you don’t pay your bill, your power won’t be cut off. Period.
What you are talking about is an entirely different arrangement. My only concern is that my house is not suited for an emergency power generator in the event of a storm, which means that, as happened with a 2011 derecho in my county, I was one of 650,000 people who lost power for 10 hours when a transmitting station was damaged by the storm.
But thanks for the heads up on how badly a government can screw up what most people take for granted. Why am I not surprised at what you said about ‘allowance’? Geez, Louise, why not just tell people to go back to using oil lamps and candles?
Sara:
1. The government in the U.S. (I’m in the state of Washington) controls the utilities by regulation.
2. The “allowance” is not a presently existing thing. It is a danger made easier by the installation of a smart meter.
3. The public is easily fooled.
Best wishes to you as you enjoy without worry your smart meter. 🙂
The real danger is the gypsy part=timers running around to every house in the area, wanting to see the gas or electric bill to see if the “numbers are correct” when, in fact, they are running a scam to transfer accounts to a different invoicing company without a user’s consent.
Janice, you may be paranoid about The Government shutting off your power and/or creating some kind of “allowance”, but I am not. Nor am I easily fooled.
Well, dear Ms. Sara.
You appear to have been fooled into thinking that the high price of your power is “just the way it has to be” (thus, you docilely acquiesce in accepting a smart meter to help you adapt to “the way it is”). You appear, perhaps, I am mistaken, to have forgotten why your energy is as expensive as it is in the first place….
Am I “paranoid?” I wouldn’t know. Thanks for alerting me to seek help for what is generally considered to be a serious mental disorder.
Unfortunately, while I realize that there is a possibility that you are correct in your assessment of my mental state, I am TOO FAR GONE to care! I really don’t. And, that I realize (I really do) that this would only confirm your diagnosis doesn’t change my view of myself a wit: I just cannot see it, so, (shrug) on — I — go! 🙂
Peacefully certain that I am healthy mentally, complacently continuing on down the road of life convinced that you are mistaken, I remain,
Your ally for science realism,
Janice
P.S. But, thanks for trying, all the same.
P.P.S. And, again, best wishes as you merrily monitor that meter and save some money on power.
You appear to have been fooled into thinking that the high price of your power is “just the way it has to be” (thus, you docilely acquiesce in accepting a smart meter to help you adapt to “the way it is”). You appear, perhaps, I am mistaken, to have forgotten why your energy is as expensive as it is in the first place….
Am I “p a r a n o i d?” I wouldn’t know. Thanks for alerting me to seek help for what is generally considered to be a serious mental disorder.
Unfortunately, while I realize that there is a possibility that you are correct in your assessment of my mental state, I am TOO FAR GONE to care! I really don’t. And, that I realize (I really do) that this would only confirm your diagnosis doesn’t change my view of myself a wit: I just cannot see it, so, (shrug) on — I — go! 🙂
Peacefully certain that I am healthy mentally, complacently continuing on down the road of life convinced that you are mistaken, I remain,
Your ally for science realism,
Janice
P.S. But, thanks for trying, all the same.
P.P.S. And, again, best wishes as you merrily monitor that meter and save some money on power.
I have given talks and advised people not to allow a “smart” meter to be installed in their homes. I am part of the problem.
So, it’s nothing to do with intelligent people reading articles like this – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/29/smart-electricity-meters-dangerously-insecure-hackers
Smart meters use more energy than they save. The smart meters gives the government monopoly more control and surveillance over your energy use.
Where did £11B come from….
Utility supplier British Gas, with 11 million customers (well less than 50% of the number of UK households) were looking forward to spending £12 billion installing these things.
And when they were first mooted (how I wish I’d saved some screenshots 5 or 6 yrs ago), these things were, ever so carefully costed by legions of minions at £344 each. per household.
Oh the joys of cronyism.
Latest wheeze to sell them really is the offer of using them to remotely switch off (supposedly) high consumption appliances in times of low supply (At night and when the sun goes behind a cloud by example)
Te Carrot on offer here is ‘cheaper electric’ which, a similar group of minnions as before, predict will save consumers “up to” £50B between 2020 and 2050
Take there as being 30M households – that doesn’t even pay for the meters. and that was their “up to” figure.
Another Governmental mash-up to try to cover up a previous mash up which tried to cover a previous fail etc etc etc
And all the while consumers get poorer, cronies get more numerous & fatter and the thing they were trying to improve gets ever, shonkier, unreliable and expensive. And these muppets imagine that adding the word ‘Smart’ to all this crap will fix them.
Previously we had the succession of UK Fails such as steel-making, motor industry, electronics industry, railways, mad-cows, dotcom bubble, diesel engined cars and not leasr, the UK road (haha) network.
and now the Complete Bollox that is Global Warming.
In common??????
They were/are all the over hasty, ill-conceived, rapidly enacted responses to poorly diagnosed problems.
i.e They panicked.
They went into panic-mode not just through their own dull witted ineptitude but by driven by vociferous groups who’ve learned how to milk the system and were, to a greater extent, in panic-mode themselves.
And what makes people dull-witted, inept and prone to panic?
Oh noes, couldn’t *possibly* be the consumption of psychoactive (depressant) substances could it?
Not those health giving carbs, tasted up with sugar and washed down with alcohol. No, not those.
and which of us does NOT enjoy that afternoon ‘power nap’, especially after a ‘heavy lunch’?
The big issue (here in the UK) about Smart meters is that Version 1 cannot easily (or at all) transfer when you switch supplier. I am unclear as to why this is but was assured that Version 2 – originally said to be coming out about now – should accommodate that. But even then I know of no one with one who uses it to reduce their consumption.
I monitor my fuel usage carefully, and keep records. Thus I can demonstrate /exactly/ how my usage compares month by month with previous years (back to 2000), and I can do all necessary stats on these data.
This prompts me to change my supplier at quite short intervals, like every 12 to 15 months, and I always get the very best deal. Changing is very easy and I believe that it helps keep the energy companies on their toes.
No smart meter for me, if I can prevent it!
But if the government integrated the system, the smart meter could do that for you.
It could check the marketplace for all deals available and automatically place you on the best deal.
The only question is how often should that change take place.
The industry has been talking for years about trying to get ones current supplier to automatically transfer you to their best tariff for your usage (UK). Best of luck with trying to get put on the best rates across the whole market any time soon.
SteveT
In the UK electricity is traded in 30 Minute segments, the morning and evening peak prices can be many multiples of the average off peak price due to the overhaul electricity demand approaching the system capacity. This also creates a huge problem for the electricity companies especially so during winter months because they need to pay for expensive standby plant just for a few peak hours.
So now thanks to “smart meters” they have the capability to charge consumers electricity prices at spot market prices real time and the smart meter can gleefully inform you that you are paying up to five times normal off peak prices. Go smell the coffee.
People aren’t stupid, they are generally pretty good at working out how much something is actually worth.
People have a “quantum” in mind when they look at stuff, and that quantum is different for each different thing.
For example, when congestion charging was brought in in London, we were told that average commuting time would reduce by 10%. Sounds good, but my commute was around 25 minutes. So I saved – on average – 2.5 minutes. What could I do with that time? Couldn’t lie in bed as it was only on average. Get to work two minutes early – on average? So what? My quantum for a saving i would pay for would have been 50% or more.
5% of my annual electricity bill is around £0.13/day. How much effort each day am i going to make to save that? None whatsoever.
There is an old lady living next to me she is 80.
She had a smart meter fitted, I asked why,
the reply was I do not Know,
Some one came to her front door ,said that were fitting smart meters,
in the area did she want one.
The said that it would save her money on her bills and she would be in control of the power that she used.
The meter was duly fitted.
The day she was due to go on holiday, to Falmouth,
She was at my door in a right tizzy.
The power had gone of and she did not know why, was mine still on?
She had tried to phone the power company, But the phone did not work as it was fed from the mains.
I go round to her property, I interrogate the smart meter.
It gave the information that she had not any credits left.
( she buys them at the local shop on a card £20.at a time)
I go and Buy her £20.00 of power credit, go back but the power is still not on.
The meter on interrogation says that she has £18.56p.of power credit,
But no power, Safety feature is in operation. press button A. Then confirm by pressing button B.
This I do< bingo! power on, the kind meter tells me that at the present usage there is 10 days of power credit.
Holiday is for 14 days, so another trip to the shop.
So far she has lost power 4 times.
She does not have a bank account to pay by direct debit.
She has no computer or smart phone.
Even if she was able to remotely pay the bill while away, how is the meter going to be reset?
I have showed her how to reset it. When I was away she approached the neibours who are in their 40's.
It took them 2hrs and 5 phone calls to get the power back on.
If you are Old and vulnerable, Smart meter is the last thing you need to worry about.
That’ll teach her to vote Brexit!
Brilliant!
An invalid assumption!
Sorry about that, it was meant to be a comment on the assumptions in the paper highlighted above. I did (60+ chartered engineer, my elderly neighbours did too. Their comment “we remember when Britain stood alone” brought a lump to my throat. They met as children playing on bomb sites in east end of London. I know several other graduates (engineers, historians) who came to the same conclusion as me (and Foot , Benn, Shore etc.) that the traitor Heath had sold us a pup.
(Heath can be seen skulking in the background)
So YOU pay ahead for electricity ini the UK, whereas I pay for electricity based on kilowatt hours used.
If that’s the only difference, then what is the real issue?
It’s not age that makes you vulnerable. It’s being uninformed,
So do I .
I have a an account with the energy company.
That allows me to pay a set amount every month.
Then at the end of the contract period the account gets settled.
The lady in question does not have this arrangement and does not want one.
She is un-fortunately paying over the odds, for energy, as the card payment is top rate.
With the smart meter she has (issue 1) she also can not change her energy supplier,
without paying for a different meter to be fitted.
She is and has been informed of these facts. But!
I live in South London
I have not been approached regarding smart meters, I got a £1,100 rebate in July through estimation.
It came in handy!
If the government was serious about rolling out this technology, they would fully integrate them with the electricity market.
A consumer’s electricity usage would be monitored and behavoiral patterns analysed on say a weekly basis, the meter would also monitor all supply options and deals available and place the consumer each week on the cheapest supply for the consumer’s pattern of usage.
This automatic switching would ensue that at all times the consumer was paying the lowest tariff and this would generate more competition in the market place.
However the large energy suppliers would not like that and they would oppose the roll out of these meters.
It is often claimed that a typical consumer can save themselves between £250 and £400 per year by switching suppliers and getting the lowest tariff.
Why not get the smart meters to live up to their name and perform that task for the consumer. The consumer would like that and they would then be much more happy to have a meter installed.
Of course, one cannot expect sensible thinking from politicians.
In case you haven’t read any of the above comments, switching suppliers means switching to a NEW “Smart Metre”…..They are NOT interchangeable…
So what you’re saying is that if I somehow exceed some undefined number of kilowatt hours, which no one has informed me of but should have appeared on my monthly bill, my electricity will automatically go off without my knowledge or any notice? And all the food in my fridge and freezer chest would spoil? I do think that Commonwealth Edison has enough issues with its history of taking six weeks in 2011 to restore power to some neighborhoods after that derecho that damaged a transmitting station.
Okay, that may be true in the UK, but where I am? I don’t think so. We haven’t achieved quite the idiotic state of dumbassery in gubbmint that exists over there.
i haven’t seen this much paranoia expressed in one spot in a long time. PURPA is less important than it was in 1978, when there was some sort of energy crisis (thanks to Jimmy Carter), and the contracts created under it in the 1980s are expiring or have already expired.
If it’s such a problem, then explain why electric utilities in the USA give credits to customers whose private power systems can feed power into the power grids instead of using it? Or are you forgetting about free trade and all that stuff that goes with it?
I have no idea what it’s like in Washington state, but this Big Brother Is Watching Your Meter stuff is going more than a bit beyond the pale. I can just imagine the SJW special snowflakes setting up a freaking howling episode over losing their internet and World of Instant Contact because they can’t charge their iPhones and iTablets and the rest of that crap.
If you’re really that worried, start your own power generating system and find a way to funnel lightning bolts into the power grid. That’s really wasted energy, you know.
Firstly let me clarify the definition of vulnerable people. Unlike those the governments wishes to label as vulnerable which is the old, it is the young who can be readily conned. The young are the vulnerable ones who have been taken in by the dishonest way the smart meters have been presented as being good for the consumer.
The smart meters are a way to make it possible for the expensive and unreliable renewable energy to be rationed by huge price hikes at high demand times. Far from making switching easier they make it impossible in many cases and difficult in all.
Be warned. Smart meters are a disaster for the consumer . Why else are the suppliers so keen for us to change to them?
Define “high demand times”. That seems to be a bugbear with a lot of people.
Sara…high demand times or peak energy consumption is the power demand twice a day in the morning when many get up to go to work, cook breakfast, have a shower, start the laundry etc. Same for the other peak energy consumption time of late afternoon to early evening, when the majority are cooking dinner with all in the household active with something consuming electricity like hot water, turn the heat up when coming home, electronics etc.
There are two identified periods in the day when people on average consume 2-3 times as much electricity as compared to the middle of the night when most people are fast asleep and not consuming as much electricity. When everyone is on the grid at the same time all wanting as much electricity as they want at the same time, creates an instantaneous demand on the generating source to supply that electricity real time.
Therefore, the utility has to build enough generating capacity, and have an electricity grid capable of delivering this energy without a major voltage drop or an unstable grid that will trip off. This is to deliver all this electricity for just two short periods a day, and then electricity consumption is only a fraction of what it is for daily peak demand twice a day. This costs the utility a lot of money to be able to supply the peak demand for a few hours of the day.