Why Smart Meters Benefit Big Energy — Not Consumers
Increasingly, heavy-handed and even aggressive tactics are being adopted by energy companies to coerce the public into agreeing to the installation of smart meters.
Last weekend, United Kingdom (U.K.) energy provider, Octopus Energy, hit the headlines because it’s resorted to warning consumers that their existing analog meters have outlived their “best before date,” as if they were a food item.
They double down with fear tactics by implying that consumers are obligated under the law to replace a perfectly good meter. But it just isn’t so. The Alliance for Natural Health International’s executive coordinator, Meleni Aldridge, has been subject to such coercion from Octopus.
Deeply disappointing after years of providing excellent service and renewable energy, but the response was simply, to get a smart meter or find a new provider. So much for rewarding customer loyalty.
Such tactics are clearly being driven by government-imposed targets. As a result, the U.K. energy watchdog, Ofgem, is imposing punishing fines on companies not meeting installation targets.
In 2022 alone, energy companies in the U.K. that didn’t meet their targets agreed to pay Ofgem a total of 10.8 million pounds — of customers’ money!
How smart are smart meters?
According to a 2022 analysis by the U.S. organization, Mission:data Coalition, 97% of smart meters have failed to provide the customer savings originally promised in 2009.
A recent paper published in Cell Reports Physical Science blames the lack of savings on poor quality (= not so smart) data collected by smart meters.
In the U.K., for example, many households are experiencing overcharges and other issues due to smart meter faults, poor supplier management, and connectivity issues.
Technical issues and mismanagement by energy suppliers have led to a significant number of these meters not functioning correctly, leaving consumers unable to track their energy usage effectively and missing out on the potential savings and insights these devices are supposed to provide.
Added to this smart meters allow the energy companies to overcharge annually on top of what’s been used.
High-profile cases, such as artist Grayson Perry’s disputed bill increase from 300 to 39,000 pounds, spotlight the extreme consequences of not-so-smart meters. Consumers facing sudden spikes in their bills due to meter errors have seen little resolution, despite efforts to address these issues with energy suppliers.
The severe overcharging and billing errors raise concerns about whether the investment in smart meters is truly benefiting consumers.
In Canada, despite clever marketing techniques based on savings having persuaded consumers to make the switch to smart meters, “time-of-use” (TOU) tariffs have “backfired” as consumers have refused to change their consumption habits.
People have continued as normal and paid higher rates to use energy when they choose.
TOU tariffs are currently under consideration for introduction in the U.K. If they come in, energy companies will be able to charge different prices depending on the time of usage, the availability of so-called “green energy,” as well as the fluctuating cost of energy.
The big question is whether consumers will adapt and comply, or continue in a manner that befits their needs and lifestyle despite incurring higher costs.
The global smart meter market is currently valued at $24 billion and is projected to grow to a massive $77 billion by 2032.
But the truth is that early adopter countries are now facing significant bills to replace older technology that’s lost compatibility with evolving systems. Bills that are ultimately funded by us, the taxpayers.
In June 2024, 63% of all energy meters in the U.K. were “smart” or advanced meters. Despite the coercion and huge marketing budgets directed at convincing consumers to install the devices, installation rates dropped by 11% as people became more and more distrusting of the technology.
The U.K. Department of Energy Security and Net Zero admits that 4 million devices aren’t working properly. However, independent research by The Money Saving Expert suggests that the figure could be significantly higher.
Smart and safe?
The safety or otherwise of smart meters still provokes heated debate, yet governments cling to those well-worn claims, “there are no health risks” and “smart meters are safe,” quoting industry-influenced studies along with guidelines from regulatory bodies, such as the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
ICNIRP, which had its 2020 guidelines called into question and had to call on the World Health Organization (WHO) to prop up its claims.
However, the situation is far more nuanced than we’re led to believe and many find themselves experiencing a range of, often debilitating, health issues following the installation of a smart meter.
Smart meters work by constantly streaming data back to the relevant energy company. In the U.K., newer devices use the smart metering communications network.
Potentially an individual household could end up with three smart meters — one each for electricity, gas and water if they have all of those services and they’re supplied by separate energy companies.
What we’re not told is that it’s the spikes of pulsed energy and not the average power density, that can cause health effects. Studies claiming there are no health harms only use data based on average power levels over a set period of time.
In a letter sent by scientists and health professionals to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, they explain that smart meters and cell phones occupy similar frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, meaning that cell phone research can apply to smart meter radiofrequency radiation (RFR).
Smart meter RFR consists of frequent, very intense but very brief pulses throughout the day.
Because smart meter exposure over a 24-hour period can be very prolonged (pulses can average 9,600 times a day), and because there is building evidence that the sharp, high-intensity pulses are particularly harmful, the cell phone study findings are applicable when discussing adverse health impacts from smart meters.
A recent study shows that accumulated electromagnetic frequency, or EMF exposures, such as those from Wi-Fi, smart meters, mobile phones, cell towers and other such devices, even at low levels, are causing oxidative stress that affects our organs, and damages our immune system.
Not only do smart meters pose a risk to our health they’re also at risk of cyberattacks.
Big Brother in your home
Contrary to what was initially touted, significant amounts of data are actively collected by smart meters, which can be shared with third parties. All without your knowledge.
Not only that, in the U.K., the government has been considering making changes to the Smart Energy Code to allow energy suppliers to switch off power to high-usage electrical devices such as electric vehicle chargers and heating systems in an emergency situation.
It’s not a very big leap from there to using your energy supply as leverage for more social control. Much along the lines of China’s “social credit system” that rewards actions that “build trust in society” and penalizes the opposite.
And let’s not forget about the connection of more and more “smart” electrical devices to the Internet of Things. Reading and recording your every move in an increasingly surveilled, controlled and authoritarian world.
Smart up or pay up!
The race to convert all analog meters to smart meters globally is well and truly on. Almost a million homes in the U.K. now face having their cheap overnight electricity tariffs switched off unless they install a smart meter.
A 2023 U.K. Parliamentary report warns that around 7 million early smart meters will cease to function as older mobile networks (2G and 3G) are switched off.
In Australia, the Australian Energy Market Commission proposed a draft rule to fast-track smart meter installations.
The vast majority of responses (from individuals) to the ensuing consultation raised objections to the proposal, which was rammed through regardless, yet again, favoring industry and government agendas over people’s wishes.
In Ireland, the push is on to persuade unwary consumers with exhortations of safety and money saving, to agree to the installation of smart meters.
In 2022, French people refusing the installation of a smart meter were threatened with financial penalties.
However, not one European country has yet achieved a 100% installation rate of smart meters. One has to ask why they are such a positive asset.
Industry eyes are now turning to Asia as the next big market to target. It is yet to be seen how compliant these new markets will be.
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Alan
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I have had smart meters for years and never had any problems. As for the celebrity billing problems they can also occur with standard meters. I had them installed so that there were no estimated readings and no need to be here for meter readers. Why wouldn’t the companies want to save costs and get rid of the boring jobs of meter reading?
I have never had any information from my supplier about any cost savings from different times of energy usage and I would probably ignore it anyway. I use energy when I want it.
I didn’t understand the statement about some people having three smart meters. How can they be combined into one, smart or otherwise.
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David
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EOn is also engaging in harassment using phrases like, “Urgent – your electricity meter needs replacing” and “your electricity meter has passed its certification date and needs to be replaced”. Even making reference to the Electricity Act 1989 to scare customers into yielding.
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