The Telegraph has just run an op-ed they asked me to write over the weekend, after I pointed out here on Friday that the Conservative manifesto had quietly downgraded the smart meter programme to a voluntary one.
Regular readers of Light Blue Touchpaper will have followed the smart meter story for almost a decade, back through the dishonest impact assessment to the fact that they pose a threat to critical infrastructure.
Our utility company has been pushing us to get one, but they only admitted reluctantly that the “smart meter” they wanted us to have them install, would only be compatible with our current utility supplier! If we had this installed and then switched suppliers, this would effectively revert to being a normal meter — and we would then need to read it manually, as before.
I’ve been holding out for the last two years, for them to finally offer a “smart meter” that works across suppliers — enabling me to take advantage of the ostensibly free UK market in energy billing, without artificial impediments to competition. SSE’s customer service staff are friendly and generally honest — but they keep promising that a new kind of universal smart meter will be available within months. Somehow, the deadline for availability just keeps moving!
I thought Smart meters were dead ; what has caused the Government to push on with them?
Possibly a publicity stunt to deflect criticism by pretending they are “doing something” about climate change.
We now learn about whistleblowers within Ofgem who were silenced with the threat of prison.