Energy smart meter issues creating north-south divide

The original roll-out of smart meters is a “textbook example of a project failure”, Sir Dieter Helm, a former government advisor on energy policy, told Panorama.

He believes the Coalition government made several mistakes that led to the roll-out taking too long and costing too much money. The decision to divide the communications network in two was one such error, he says, which meant there “were bound to be problems and right from the word go”.

Energy suppliers do not have direct control over the communication network – in both the north and south. Instead it is run by an organisation known as the Data Communications Company (DCC) and is operated by outsourcing company, Capita.

Panorama contacted Dr Battu’s energy supplier, Octopus Energy, about the problems he was having with his meter. The company said the situation was “frustrating” because government regulations dictated it must use the radio-wave technology to provide a signal to Dr Battu’s meter – and that it was not permitted to access the local 3G signal instead.

However, in what they described as “a highly unusual move”, Octopus told us that it had in fact decided to break the rules and fix his meter by connecting it to the mobile network. It added that “regulation has not moved with technology”.

Meter engineer, “Alan”, agrees with Octopus that the rules are too rigid. When he encounters problems in the north with radio-wave technology, especially in built up areas, he says he wishes he could access the cellular network.

“It shouldn’t be an either-or. We should be able to use both.”

Capita told the BBC it advised energy suppliers against using alternative technological solutions, because that would mean there was no contractual or consumer protection for the meter user to ensure service was maintained or problems addressed.

It said the network it runs provides 99.3% coverage across Great Britain, adding that it was “fully committed to resolving connection issues”.

In a statement it added: “The DCC is actively working with government to provide a future-proof 4G technology solution for the whole of Britain.”