The two millionth SMETS2 smart meter has been installed, marking the doubling of installs since May.
The Data Communications Company (DCC), which manages communications between the country’s smart meters, is celebrating milestone, which has come amidst an uptick in installs. Leading areas are seeing 1-in-7 households with a smart meter, the DCC said.
Smart meters are being installed at a rate of 23 per minute, enabling this milestone to come only months after hitting one million installs in May.
Despite the ramping up of installations, there is still a way to go to meet the government’s 2020 target. Earlier this year, Cornwall Insight predicted 50,000 meters would need to be installed a day – equivalent to approximately 35 per minute – if this target is to be hit.
The installation rate of smart meters has attracted repeated criticism, with Citizen’s Advice most recently branding the 2020 target as “unfeasible”.
However, Angus Flett, CEO of the DCC, said several areas in the country are “really leading the charge” in embracing smart meters, pointing to Tewkesbury, Bolsover and South Derbyshire as the three fastest adopters of smart meters, and suggested installations will only continue increasing.
“As consumers see the benefit of smart meters enabling a low carbon economy we expect installations to accelerate further. This work reaffirms the DCC’s purpose of making Britain more connected so we can all live smarter, greener lives,” Flett continued.
The milestone installation comes a month after the DCC revealed its five-year plan, which provides detail on the enrolment of first generation SMETS1 meters onto the centralised network, as well as plans for a faster, more reliable switch service and other delivery, technology and innovation plans.