Smart meter warning: British Gas, EDF and OVO customers risk overpaying on bills due to supplier 6-month delays

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.

The 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.

How Different Suppliers Are Affected:

• British Gas has the highest rate of faulty meters, with 16.3 per cent of their smart meters stuck in dumb mode.
• Scottish Power follows with 14.5 per cent, while EDF Energy has 12.1 per cent of meters affected.
• In contrast, smaller suppliers like E have a much lower failure rate, with only 2.6 per cent of meters affected.
• OVO Energy and Utilita also have relatively low failure rates, at 5.6 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively.

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.”