Almost a third of UK smart meters aren’t working properly, say Citizens’ Advice

It comes at a time when more buildings than ever have smart meters - around 33.9m in Great British homes and small businesses.

Transcript

00:00Are you one of the millions of people that relies on a smart meter to send accurate gas

00:05and electricity usage data to your energy provider? Are you 100% sure it's working properly?

00:11Citizens Advice has issued a warning that their data has found nearly a third of the

00:15UK's smart meters are faulty or not working properly. They say the issues are down to

00:19poor customer service and tech problems. Smart meters work by sending real-time data to suppliers

00:25for accurate billing and display how much energy is being consumed at any one time to

00:29customers, allowing them to reduce their consumption when necessary. The tech is thought to be

00:33a great tool for both reaching net-zero targets and helping us save some cash, but Citizens

00:38Advice warn we're missing out on these promised benefits. They're now calling for new rules

00:43to be put in place after they reported a quarter of people seeking their help with energy had

00:47billing issues. In particular, concerns have been raised that customers could be hit by

00:52huge unexpected bills if their smart meter isn't recording usage as it should. And the

00:57news comes just weeks after British gas boss Chris O'Shea called for mandatory installation

01:01of the devices to take place street by street over five years.