Millions of British households with smart meters are facing higher energy bills due to widespread technical problems, new research shows.
Around 3.5 million homes across Britain have smart meters that are stuck in what is called "dumb mode," meaning they can no longer communicate with energy suppliers. This leaves many people unable to track their energy usage or receive accurate bills.
The issue is so widespread that 1.4 million households have been waiting over six months for repairs, even after contacting their energy suppliers for help.
According to research by Uswitch, three-quarters of these affected households have tried multiple times, with some contacting their providers eight times or more without success.
The scale of the problem is huge, with 2.6 million households having already requested repairs for their broken smart meters or display units.
Nearly one in 10 households say their smart meter is not communicating with their supplier, and 11 per cent report that their display unit is not working.
Three million faulty smart meters have been installed in households across BritainPAThe average household has contacted their supplier about repairs four times. As a result, many people have had to take manual meter readings or risk receiving estimated bills, which could lead to higher costs.
However, when they stop working, it causes problems with both billing and energy management.
Reliability is a major consideration, as half (49 per cent) of households without a smart meter said they would want assurances that the technology would work properly before getting one installed.
Uswitch is calling on the energy industry to get the nation’s disconnected smart meters working again and help revive consumer confidence in a technology that could be essential in our path to a modern, low-carbon energy system.
Richard Neudegg, Director of Regulation at Uswitch said: "A working smart meter can save households time and money, helping them track and reduce their daily energy usage.
"It also helps consumers access cheaper energy prices when demand is low or there is lots of renewable energy available on the grid."
Unfortunately, millions of customers could be missing out on these benefits because their smart meters are not working as they should.
Neudegg contined: "While the vast majority of smart meters are working as they should, it's vitally important that the industry takes urgent action to fix the disconnected smart meters, to give those customers back the benefits and help reassure households who have delayed getting one so far."
The UK government and energy suppliers have set a target to install smart meters in 74.5 per cent of homes by the end of 2025. Currently, around 30.6 million smart meters are installed in UK homes.
Neudegg concluded: “There are multiple ways the roll-out could have been improved, but the important thing is helping more consumers reap the benefits as quickly as possible.
"Fixing disconnected smart meters and restoring consumer confidence in their reliability are fundamental to this.
“If your smart meter’s in-home display is not working, there are other ways to view your smart meter data. The Uswitch app, for example, connects to your smart meter to help you track your daily energy usage from your phone instead.”
