The government has extended the deadline for the £13bn smart meter roll out by four years, from 2020 to 2024.

The extension comes amid claims that the technology isn’t ready, with millions of customers finding that their meters don’t work effectively when inherited by a new supplier.  

The Department for Business, Environment and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) suggested the programme is on track to deliver 30m smart meters by 2020, but added it was “reasonable to propose a regulatory monitoring framework for a period of 4 years”.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said:

“This new deadline gives suppliers time to fix ongoing technical problems and make sure customer service isn’t sidelined as the rollout continues.

 

We’ve seen some energy companies use aggressive techniques to try to persuade people to have smart meters fitted as soon as possible to meet the existing timeline.”

 

See the consultation here.