One of Britain’s biggest energy suppliers is abandoning its trial of smart meters in protest at government delays over the £11.7 billion nationwide programme.
RWE npower is telling customers that their devices are being disconnected, The Times has learnt.
The move is the latest blow to the programme, which aims to have a smart meter installed in every home and business by the end of the decade. The meters give suppliers and users real-time information so that electricity and gas consumption can be measured without the need for a meter reader to visit.
The Government started the smart meters programme in 2009 but the common operating standard from which they will work will not be chosen until the end of 2014.
RWE npower has installed about 4,000 smart meters in homes. One type enables lower-income households to pre-pay for their electricity and gas online, replacing the coin-operated model. The other enables consumers to pay a lower tariff during off-peak periods.
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RWE also wants to introduce a £200 million IT platform to handle customer accounts. The delay has left suppliers in limbo, running trials but not knowing whether their devices will be approved for use.
Jenny Driscoll, from Which?, said: “RWE npower scrapping its trial is a sign of how badly the roll-out is being managed. A lot of companies have been crying out for a managed roll-out.
“What the industry needs is clear leadership. There is frustration among some suppliers who are running trials because they are not getting a message back from the Government saying how the process is going to work.”