Industry group insists rolling out simple clip-on meters could hamper the
adoption of the sophisticated smart meters needed to cut energy use.
The government was today accused of hindering the widespread adoption of
smart meters and imposing unnecessary costs upon energy companies through its
plans for the rollout of simpler clip-on electricity monitors.
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simple clip-on electricity monitor only displays your usage and emissions at
the current time, but can be a useful tool in educating and creating
awareness around energy use in the home or small office. |
As part of its Energy White Paper the government has proposed that energy
companies should be mandated to supply customers with free clip-on monitors that
are attached to the energy meter and send a signal to a monitor elsewhere in the
house showing householders how much energy they are using in real time.
However, the
Energy Retail Association (ERA) and energy meter company Onzo have today
joined forces to criticise the move, which they claim will hinder the adoption
of more sophisticated smart meters that provide two-way communication with
energy companies and can underpin a range of functionality, such as notifying
customers if they are using too much
energy or automatically turning off appliances when electricity costs are at
their highest.
Speaking ahead of next week's close to the consultation period for the
billing and metering section of the whitepaper, ERA chief executive Duncan
Sedgwick said that imposing clip-on meters upon the industry would fail to
deliver the desired benefits of reducing household energy use.
"This proposal is a distraction to the rollout of smart meters, which
crucially include gas as well
as electricity,
as the devices will be redundant when smart meters are installed," he said. "Now
is the golden opportunity for the government to give us the green light on smart
meters."
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modern smart meter with LCD screen can display and record detailed usage
information and enables 2-way communication between supplier and customer. |
Joel Hagan, chief executive of Onzo, added that currently the whitepaper only
expresses an expectation that sophisticated smart meters will be rolled out and
urged the government to set mandatory targets.
"We want to see smart meters rolled out on an aggressive seven year timeline,
" he said. "The clip-ons could cause a delay to that meaning it could be 12 to
15 years before we see widespread use of smart meters."
He insisted that smart meters would represent a win-win scenario, benefiting
the government, customers and energy companies.
"The government should want them as they will help it meet carbon cutting
targets, customers will appreciate lower bills, and even the energy companies
are broadly in favour as it means they don’t have to invest as much in meter
readings and call centres," he argued.
Sources:
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/
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