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Smart Meters

Every home in Great Britain will be offered a smart meter. As of December 2022, there were 31.3 million smart meters installed in homes and small businesses across Great Britain. This is one of the biggest national infrastructure projects of our time and it will enable a more efficient energy system for Great Britain.

a smart meter can help you take control of your energy bills

Control and access to information

See what you’re spending at a glance – and work out where you could reduce your energy use. With energy costs rising, more and more people are finding it harder to manage their household bills. A smart meter can help you keep an eye on how much gas and electricity you or your family are using, and how much it’s costing.

Saving and budgeting benefits

Smart meters also come with an in-home display, sometimes called an IHD. This shows you at a glance how much gas and electricity you’re using and how much you’re spending. That means you can plan ahead, with a better idea of how much your energy bill will be. It could also help you make small changes around the home to use less energy, which could save you money too.

Accurate billing

You’ll get more accurate bills based on the energy you’ve actually used, not an estimate.

Renters

If your gas and electricity bills are addressed to you and you pay them, you can choose to have a smart meter installed by your energy supplier. You should tell your landlord before you get one, as there may be rules in your tenancy agreement about how energy is supplied to the property, including the type of meter that can be installed. If you don’t pay your energy bills, you can ask your landlord to get a smart meter installed for you.

Prepay customers

If you’re on a prepay meter, you can still get a smart meter. There are lots of benefits to doing so. Your in-home display will show you when you need to top up your credit and you can top up in different ways, using your mobile phone or in a shop. It’s also really simple to top-up online.

Accessibility

The accessible in-home display, sometimes called an AIHD, has larger buttons and can read information out loud. This could be helpful if you:

  • are blind or partially sighted
  • have difficulties using your hands or wrists, or
  • have difficulties with memory loss

Your energy supplier can give you more information about accessible in-home displays.

With energy costs rising, it helps to feel in control of your spending. A smart meter could help. The in-home display shows you how much energy you’re using and what it costs. Contact your energy supplier and request a smart meter today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are smart meters?

A. Smart meters record how much electricity or gas you are using, although you can also see your energy use on the in-home display that is provided. Having a smart meter means that your energy bills are based on how much energy has been used rather than estimates. You need separate smart meters for electricity and gas.

Q. How do smart meters work?

A. The smart meter records how much energy you are using and automatically sends this information to your energy supplier. As a result, you will get a bill based on the amount of gas and electricity that you have used. You also get an in-house display, which shows you how much energy is being used and how much this costs.

Q. Are smart meters secure?

A. Smart meters are not connected to the internet and the only people who can see your energy information are you and your energy supplier. The only information your energy supplier gets is how much energy is being used and when so they can’t see how or what you are using the energy on.

Q. Do I have to pay for a smart meter if I don’t have one?

A. No.

Q. Do I have to get a smart meter?

A. No it is your choice. However, energy suppliers are required to offer them to all of their customers.

Q. Can I get a smart meter if I have a prepayment meter?

A. Yes. Smart prepay meters have several advantages over analogue prepay such as the ability to top up your meter from home and easily check when your credit is running low on the in-house display. This can help you monitor energy use and makes budgeting easier. With analogue prepayment meters, you need to manually top up energy credit and often meters are located in difficult places. mergency credit and other support are usually easier to access on a smart prepay meter. For example, the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme discount instalments were automatically added to smart prepay meters with no need to redeem a voucher.

Q. How do I get a smart meter?

A. Contact your energy supplier.

Useful Links

Introducing smart meters

Smart meters for prepay customers

Accessibility

Smart meters and carers

Smart meter help

FAQs - our FAQs which can help you understand smart meters and the rollout Free-phone numbers - this page offers additional support for customers to contact their energy supplier Extra support available - information for anyone who may need help with energy bills

How to find us

The service is based at our Centre for Independent Living (CIL), located on Beaufort Street, Warrington, WA51BA. You can also book in at our Energy Efficiency and Smart Flat located across from our CIL to see the energy consumption within your home and how implementing energy-saving and assistive measures could work within the home.

Contact Us

Contact a member of our team via telephone at 01925 240064, through our Warrington Disability Partnership Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn), our online enquiry form or via email through our Energy Administrator on E.Houghton@disabilitypartnership.org.uk

SEE ALSO

The Energy Support Team

Financial Help 2023/24
Energy Saving Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Smart Meters