Category: Energy and Energy Markets

UK Smart Meter rollout – will new targets make a difference?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Energy and Energy Markets, Information Technology, Smart Meters, Technology

Reading the status of the UK’s rollout of Smart Meters to consumers just reinforces how woeful this programme continues to be. At the end of March 2025, 61% of all domestic meters were smart operating in ’smart mode’, and in the latest data published a few days ago this number rose to just 63% at the end of June 2025. It’s pretty clear that this programme, running since 2012, has years left to run before all households have a properly functioning smart meter. When launched in 2012, consumers were told this programme would modernise and empower their energy use, support a greener grid, ensure accurate bills and lower costs, and be complete by 2019. The reality for people, who are paying for the programme and its delays through their energy bills, has been somewhat different.

By the end of December 2025, the current rollout targets – much revised since 2019 – require suppliers to have ‘delivered’ smart meters to 74.5% of domestic premises. Note that the target is not ‘delivered and operating in smart mode’. The government is consulting suppliers  on a post-2025 framework to deliver service improvements and an  obligation to complete the domestic rollout by 2030. It feels like ‘Deja vu’! The government asserts that the rollout so far provides robust evidence that consumers with smart meters are achieving sustained savings of 3% for electricity and 2.2% for gas. That’s hardly impressive for a £13bn programme. In fact, most people feel that any reduction in their energy use has been driven by cost of living and energy crisis factors, not smart meters. The Badger thinks those associated with energy policy seem unable to recognise the programme for what it is – a ‘White Elephant’ in the eyes of the domestic consumer.

Why is it a ‘White Elephant’? Well, there’s missed targets with the goal of having properly functioning smart meters in every home being revised many times and probably being delivered a minimum of 10 years late. There’s the ballooning costs with consumers footing the bill and seeing little tangible return. There’s the technical failures with many installed meters not functioning properly and first-generation SMETS1 meters losing functionality and turning ‘dumb’ when switching suppliers. There’s the poor programme strategy from the outset, something obvious when comparing with more successful rollouts in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Japan, the USA and China. There’s also the abject failure to overcome consumer distrust and show them savings in their energy bills. The Badger is resisting the temptation to go on.

After more than 13 years, adverts like those here and here haven’t changed UK consumer scepticism. Consumers are distrustful, technology has moved on, delivery by politicians and suppliers is poor, and a new framework for 2026 onwards is only going to achieve one thing – give this elephant another lick of white paint…

Smart Meters…again…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Delivery, Energy and Energy Markets, Information Technology, Smart Meters, Transformation

The UK Smart Meter rollout programme missed its original completion date of 2019 and new arrangements were established for the rollout to get, as a minimum, a smart meter installed in 80% of UK homes by the end of December 2025. That number‘s still a long way short of the original 100% ambition, and it’s since been watered down to ~75%. The Government’s Smart Meter Statistics reports for Q3 2023 and Q3 2024 show the numbers stood at 59% and 65%, respectively. Not all installed meters are operating in ‘smart mode’ so, in reality, the numbers where smart mode is in operation are ~10% lower. However, regardless of how you look at the numbers, progress of 6% over a full year doesn’t provide any confidence that the end of 2025 minimum target will be met. Perhaps the next government report for Q4 2024 will paint a more positive picture? Unlikely.

The UK government and the enterprises delivering the programme are, no doubt, already discussing the consequences of falling short of 2025’s minimum target. Two things seem certain. Firstly, the rollout will continue for years beyond 2025, with some kind of reset dressed up by spin that covers some difficult realities. Secondly, the consumer will continue paying for the programme through their energy bills for a long time yet. Remember, the benefit to the consumer is miniscule compared to the benefit to the energy supply companies.

If the 6% rise in on-premises smart meters between Q3 2023 and Q3 2024 typifies  rollout progress for the coming years, you don’t have to be a genius to see that achieving 100% this decade is questionable. The programme’s cost ~£13.5bn, has been running for  >12 years, and there are millions of meters still not operating properly in homes. It’s supposedly a national infrastructure programme vital for modernising the UK energy system, improving energy security and resilience, and supporting net-zero greenhouse gas ambitions. Public scepticism, however, is unabated. Programmes of this ilk are, of course, always challenging, but many countries in Europe have already achieved or surpassed 80% penetration with their own smart meter rollouts and so something fundamental must explain why the UK’s programme consistently underperforms.

Smart meter obsolescence will require the replacement of many meters installed in homes in the coming years, and a communication upgrade is necessary to deal with the demise of 2G/3G communication networks. There doesn’t appear to be a forecast cost to complete the meter installations needed to achieve 100% penetration and these upgrade issues in the public domain yet. The Badger thus concludes that consumers will be footing the bill for years yet, and that it’s right to be sceptical about the ability to deliver any new national energy programmes to time, budget, quality, and tangible consumer benefit…  

The digital world needs nuclear fusion!

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI & Robotics, Automation, Digital devices and the environment, Digital Transformation, Energy and Energy Markets, Information Technology, Internet of Things, Nuclear Power, Technology

When reading recently  that the ITER experimental nuclear fusion reactor under construction in Cadarache, France, is delayed by at least a decade, the Badger sighed deeply. The delay to this huge endeavour, a collaboration involving 35 nations,  inevitably puts back the holy grail of ‘limitless clean energy for the benefit of mankind’ from a tokomak reactor by many decades…again! Why the Badger’s sigh? Because his PhD and subsequent research, many years ago, related to the damage helium ions can cause in potential tokomak first wall materials. At that time, the Joint European Torus (JET) was under construction at Culham in the UK and the ultimate goal of ‘limitless clean energy for the benefit of mankind’ via fusion seemed achievable within the Badger’s lifetime. Realistically, that’s no longer the case, hence the sigh. The holy grail of ‘limitless clean energy‘ from fusion reactors is still far away even though the need for it has never been greater.

ITER, however, is getting a run for its money from private firms within the Fusion Industry Association (FIA). In July 2023, the FIA said that 4 private firms believed they could deliver fusion power into the grid by 2030 and 19 firms believed they could do so by 2035. The Badger’s sceptical. However, given the speedy technological advances of recent decades, these beliefs cannot be completely dismissed if recent technological momentum continues unabated. Wait a minute, you might say if the word ‘nuclear’ always sends uncomfortable shudders down your spine, why do we need power produced by nuclear fusion at all? The answer’s quite simple. As this article points out, and this one reinforces, the world is 86% driven by fossil fuels and energy demand is forecast to rise by 50% from today’s level by 2050. Global energy demand is then expected to triple between 2050 and 2100!  To get anywhere near meeting these forecasts, and have a decarbonised world, requires fusion to provide ‘limitless clean energy for the benefit of mankind’. Yes, wind, solar, and tidal power will play their part, but can they service the scale of this demand without blighting every picturesque part of our planet? That’s debatable.

So, here’s the thing. Digital transformation of the world economy continues at pace. The amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed will be nearly three times as much in 2025 as in 2020.   AI, the Internet of Things, cryptocurrency, and the digital automation of everything comes with a dramatic increase in electricity usage which cannot be met by non-nuclear renewables alone. When we use our computers, tablets and smartphones we are contributing to the rising demand for electricity, and we are also thus unconsciously making the case for why we need fusion reactors to provide ‘limitless clean energy for the benefit of mankind’. Let’s hope ITER isn’t the only game in town, because if it is then a digital future may not be quite what we currently envisage.

Fixing dud pixels on a Smart Meter’s in-home display unit…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Digital Transformation, Energy and Energy Markets, Information Technology, Obsolescence, Smart Meters

The in-home display unit for the Badger’s energy Smart Meter sits unobtrusively on a shelf where it has reliable wireless connectivity to the meter itself. The unit rarely gets looked at. It doesn’t influence energy use and it should really be switched off and consigned to a cupboard. The reason it gets little attention is because the Badger’s always been a thrifty, sensible, and environmentally conscious energy user. A Smart Meter with its display unit hasn’t changed what was already an embedded discipline.

In recent months, the Badger’s noticed an increasing number of dud pixels appearing on  the in-home display screen. This reminded him of two things, firstly that component, communication, and software obsolescence is as much a factor for Smart Meters and their in-home display unit as it is for any smart device, and secondly that the UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) raised concerns in October last year about built-in obsolescence in meters already installed. Apparently, out of 32.4 million meters installed by March 2023, 3 million (9%) were not working properly, and ~7 million (21%) will need replacement because 2G and 3G communication networks are being switched off by 2033. Consumers can expect to bear the associated costs in due course. The PAC also highlighted what has been long evident, namely that the UK rollout programme has failed to meet its original targets, repeatedly shifted completion deadlines, has no plan beyond 2025, and has failed to convince the public of the benefit.

The vision for the Smart Meter programme started taking shape way back in 2008 but published rollout statistics (here) make it difficult for the organisations involved to claim it’s a success. Programmes like this are, of course, always difficult, and so to test if the Badger’s objectivity has become distorted, Microsoft’s Copilot was asked ‘Is the UK Smart Meter Programme a success?’  The first line of its answer, ‘The verdict on the UK Smart Meter programme is somewhat mixed’ reassured the Badger that his objectivity is not overly distorted. The last line of Copilot’s response, ‘Whether it’s a complete success remains a matter of perspective’, represents ‘maybe, maybe not’ which is hardly an endorsement for a programme running for the best part of 15 years.

From the consumer’s perspective, this programme is clearly not a success. In fact, the way consumers have been treated throughout borders on the scandalous. With the UK Post Office scandal high in public consciousness, journalists are associating Smart Meters with the word ‘scandal’ more often. This item, a compelling 3-minute read, is a case in point. But let’s get back to the dud pixels on the Badger’s in-home display unit. This week the issue was fixed – by switching the unit off and consigning it to the back of a cupboard! If only that could happen with the Smart Meter programme itself…

Electricity – Domestic self-sufficiency…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Energy and Energy Markets, Obsolescence, Risk, Smart Meters

When there’s international turmoil, it’s the average person and their families that are impacted the most. This hit home last week while chatting to the Badger’s aunt after the funeral of his uncle, Jim, her husband. ‘To save electricity, we haven’t watched much television in the last few years’, she said. ‘Jim has also told our electricity supplier,’ she continued, ‘that we’d only have a Smart Meter if they put the daily standing charge down to its 2017 level’. Jim, always a plain speaker, had little time for politicians and the energy industry, and he was perpetually exercised that the daily standing charge on his electricity bill had risen from 15p in 2017 to 48p today. He hated the standing charge. He believed it was a way his supplier penalised him for diligently reducing the amount of actual electricity he’d used over the years in order to keep within his pension budget.

Jim saw the daily electricity standing charge rise by 200% between 2017 and 2023. He was outraged that he must pay this even if he used no electricity. Explanations from politicians, regulators, and energy suppliers justifying rises were ignored because he didn’t trust them! In today’s world of instant information, disinformation, misinformation, and vested interests, perhaps that’s not a surprise, especially amongst the elderly, vulnerable, and those struggling to make ends meet. Jim didn’t want a Smart Meter because he already closely managed his electricity use. He didn’t see what benefit it provided and so he didn’t see why he should be paying through his bills for the rollout programme, especially when it provided little real benefit for consumers. (The rollout continues to struggle – see here and here – and further delay and cost look inevitable).

The Badger’s aunt asked if Jim was right not to have a Smart Meter. Before the Badger could reply, she answered her own question with ‘Yes’. She then asked, ‘Can I avoid the electricity standing charge by completely disconnecting from the grid?’ The Badger nodded. ‘When I was a girl,’ she continued, ’we used a wood-fired range for heating and cooking. The wood came from trees in the local area. It was stored until it was good to burn, and we used candles and paraffin lamps for light. I miss those days because things were simpler. We were self-sufficient and had no reliance on massive companies for our basic needs’.

Jim would’ve been very happy today if he didn’t have to pay £175/year in standing charges because all his domestic electricity was produced from renewable sources at his home. With international turmoil and volatility in energy supply a norm, the day that domestic consumers routinely vote with their feet and isolate from the electricity grid in favour of self-sufficiently is getting nearer. Jim, RIP, will be grinning at the thought…

Gas boiler, heat pump…net-zero fatigue…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Change, Climate & Environment, Energy and Energy Markets

A smartphone ping announced the arrival of an email from the Badger’s energy provider. It contained a marketing pitch regarding the replacement of home gas boilers with air-source heat pumps. The Badger had already seen a similar pitch on social media, and read the many comments left by others. The email was deleted because, like those commenting on social media, he will not be replacing his home’s reliable gas boiler until the end of its serviceable life, which is still many years away.

Does that mean the Badger doesn’t care about achieving net-zero and green issues? It certainly does not. Like most with children and grandchildren, he’s very conscious of the importance of such issues. He’s simply being realistic and objective, all be it that the incessant net-zero evangelism from UK politicians, activists, and experts, and the actions of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, means that some personal ‘net-zero fatigue’ has set in! This fatigue seems to be becoming more widespread in the general public, ostensibly because the implementation of net-zero policies has reached the point where people are starting to realise the cost to them and the impact on their lives. It appears that grumbling and push back is building, and that most people will not be replacing their gas boiler for a heat pump in the foreseeable future!

Ditching a gas boiler for a heat pump is simply not an option for many, which is hardly surprising when the UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe, with ~80% built before 1990, and 20% built before 1919. Converting this housing for heat pumps is simply unrealistic for most who live in it, especially when the raw installation cost not only surpasses the annual income from the maximum UK State Pension, but also amounts to about a third of the annual income of those earning the average UK wage. It’s not realistic to believe that people will prioritise net-zero above immediate family needs and channel a significant portion of their income to invest in a heat pump, especially when its running costs are not dissimilar to that of a gas boiler.

Although our need to achieve net-zero is clear, a transition from oil and gas needs to be realistic and affordable, targets set by politicians are never met (cf. UK Smart Meters),  and there will be alternatives to heat pumps in the coming years. The Badger’s thus not installing a heat pump any time soon just to help net-zero. It’s not a suitable or economically viable option for his home. If this is a sign that the Badger’s suffering from ‘net-zero fatigue’, is there a cure? Yes, a social and political shift away from evangelistic net-zero idealism to common-sense, pragmatism, and transition realism. But with a UK General Election due in the next year, the chance of any cure seems remote…

Change starts with the individual…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Change, Climate & Environment, Energy and Energy Markets, Learning

The amount of electricity and gas Kilowatt Hours the Badger uses has reduced by 12% and 21%, respectively, over the last year. He’s also used 10% less vehicle fuel. The reductions come from small behavioural adjustments, rather than wholesale lifestyle change. The Badger’s pleased because the savings are helping the planet, and because they illustrate the impact of taking personal responsibility for ‘change’ which is, after all, one of the perpetual rhythms of life which humans have coped with for millennia.

Feeling good about his energy reduction helping the planet, the Badger visited his community’s monthly street market where stalls of locally produced goods, food, and drink interleave with those of charities and campaign organisations. Good weather meant the market was busy. As the Badger nonchalantly browsed the stalls, he lingered a little too long at a climate campaign stall. He was cornered by the stall’s hosts, a mother and daughter who were vaguely known to the Badger as neighbours from further along the road where he lives. Not wishing to be rude, the Badger listened politely to their pitch about the need for more government action in climate issues and moving away from fossil fuels to save the planet.

They asked if the Badger agreed that reducing  the world’s dependency on fossil fuels was beneficial, and if he soon planned to drive an electric car. He answered Yes and No, respectively, and added that a) he wasn’t sure that the whole-life environmental impact of current electric cars was positive, b) that he expected to drive his trusty diesel SUV for the foreseeable future, and c) that he was already adjusting his behaviours to benefit the planet regardless of campaigns by environmentalists! They seemed a little stunned. The Badger asked if changes to their individual behaviours had reduced, for example, their own energy consumption over the past year, and, looking rather sheepish, they admitted they didn’t know. They disengaged when the stall became busier, and the Badger sidled away to continue browsing through the market.

Walking home afterwards, a car pulled up and asked if the Badger wanted a lift. It was the pair from the climate change stall. The Badger declined the offer on the basis that the exercise was good for both him and the planet. The mother grinned and said ‘You’re a proper ecowarrior! You made us realise that we really should be doing more adjustments to our own day to day behaviour to reinforce pressing our climate message to others’.

The Badger’s been called many things over the years, but never an ecowarrior! Just remember, change starts with the individual and is not the responsibility of others. You too are an ecowarrior if you make small behavioural adjustments that will ultimately benefit our planet. Life is, after all, a journey of continual change, and our inherent individual capacity to change is why our species has come to dominate the planet…

Being moved to a new system shouldn’t mean the services in a customer’s account go backwards…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Energy and Energy Markets, Information Technology, Online Services, Project Management, Transformation

Two emails from the Badger’s energy provider made him cogitate on his account being moved over a year ago to a new billing system. The move has resulted in less functionality in his online account than with the old one. If companies want customers to engage with them using online accounts and smartphone apps, then surely a transition to a system that provides customers less online functionality when logged into their accounts indicates that something’s awry behind the scenes?

The first email notified the Badger that his energy bill was available in his online account. The second, entitled ‘We need your help’, was a request to answer a few questions related to customer satisfaction and customer service. The Badger logged into his account to look at his bill. He sighed, just as he has on each login since February 2022 when his provider moved his account to their new system. The Badger’s been with this provider for some years, and it used to be easy to track energy usage and cost trends, payments, and to see local comparative information in a useful customer-friendly way. Given the climate crisis, the need to reduce fossil fuel usage, and the pandemic, these facilities were particularly useful. Sadly, being moved to the new billing system meant these facilities, which require access to historic data on the old system, were no longer available. Prior energy data was not migrated to the new system. The move effectively meant becoming a new customer on a new system providing only rudimentary online services for meter readings, bills and payments.

There’s been no change in the rudimentary facilities in the Badger’s online account since being moved to the new system. Instincts honed from decades in the IT industry have driven the Badger to think that the energy provider’s move to a new billing system has proved more problematic behind the scenes than expected. If this is the case, they will never admit it! Moving from older systems to new ones is always a challenge for any company. It’s always difficult to effect the transitions that a company needs to make for its own purposes without upsetting some customers, but if customer online account services go backwards and stay that way for a year or more, then either the change hasn’t gone as planned or the company is disdainful of its customers – or both.

After logging in this time, the Badger decided that his days as a customer with this provider are numbered. He answered their ‘We need your help’ email with some clear points, but it will make no difference. Why? Because as one of the big six energy suppliers to UK customers, their perpetually mediocre customer service scores imply that customers are not really a high priority. So, who’s the Badger’s provider? Look here and see if you can guess…

The UK energy crisis has done more to change consumer energy behaviour than Smart Meters…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Energy and Energy Markets, Smart Meters

If you cut through the flim-flam about how to change the way people behave, then there’s an immutable truth, namely that the quickest way to change behaviour is to change the amount of money people have in their pocket!  It’s a hard-nosed reality that lifestyle for most people is determined by whether their money covers the overheads of living, or not. Governments, businesses, and even project managers all use the lever of money in our pockets to pursue their overall political, business, or delivery objectives. They use, for example, tax changes, bonuses, and overtime payments to powerfully incentivise the behavioural changes they need to meet their objectives in an expected timescale.

The UK energy crisis neatly illustrates how our behaviour changes when our pockets take a financial hit. The huge rise in consumer electricity and gas prices has already cut consumption by much more than 10%.  If the Badger household is typical, then this cut in consumption may be much greater than reported. It seems that our behaviour of energy wastefulness is being replaced by a welcome return to a more disciplined ethos, and that’s a good thing! Clearly the dramatic rise in electricity and gas prices has hit everyone in the pocket and quickly changed our energy behaviour for the better. In fact, being a little mischievous, the rises have done more to permanently change consumer energy behaviour in a year, than the UK’s Smart Meter programme and its Einstein advertisements have achieved in a decade.

Which takes us to the UK Smart Meter statistics update published a few days ago on 24th November 2022. It shows that there are still less than 50% of domestic homes with a Smart Meter installed and operating in smart mode. The installation rate remains, at best, broadly flat. On the current trajectory, the rollout’s revised 2024/2025 deadlines will be missed yet again. The adoption of Smart Meters, which primarily benefit energy providers, thus still has a long way to go before it materially embeds any significant change to consumer behaviour. It’s easy, therefore, to conclude that the energy crisis hit to consumer pockets has changed behaviour more and faster, and for the long term, than the rollout of Smart Meters. It’s also a solid reminder that the quickest way to change the behaviour of an individual, a team, a workforce, a community, or a population, is to do something that puts money into, or takes money out of, their pockets.

Finally, the energy crisis has exposed many flaws in UK energy policy and UK energy markets that go back at least two decades. The installed level of Smart Meters coupled with the paucity of their impact in materially changing consumer energy behaviour, simply adds weight to the feeling that this programme is another one of these flaws.