The campaign company, Smart Energy GB, has run a new public poll to reaffirm the benefits of smart meters in the light of current national criticism.
A recent report released by Citizens Advice, revealed that last year saw roughly 600,000 people with energy meters automatically switched to prepayment mode due to being unable to maintain payments on energy bills.
In the same year, the study showed that 3.2 million people were cut off from their energy supply due to being unable to top up their prepayment meter – 19% of which spent a minimum of 24 hours without gas or electricity.
The energy industry responded by uniting with multiple charities in a call for adequate support for vulnerable households.
The most recent development in this discussion came yesterday (13 March), when Ofgem and Citizens Advice launched a national call for evidence on prepayment meters.
As smart meters “rightly received a lot of media attention” in consequence of the report, Smart Energy indicated that “some of the benefits of smart prepay meters, and the differences between smart and analogue meters, have been lost within this media coverage.”
To address this, the not-for-profit ran a new poll with Censuswide asking 2,000 adults in Britain their views on smart prepayment meters.
The poll found that 93% of respondents believe their smart prepay meter is helpful, with 44% specifically highlighting the ability to top-up online.
Having the Energy Bills Support Scheme discount automatically added to their smart prepayment meter was also cited as a helpful asset by 92%.
Of the 2,000 respondents, 78% had previous experience with an analogue prepay meter.
When asked to compare the analogue meter with the smart prepayment meter 72% agreed they now had a better understand of their energy usage using a smart prepay meter.
The poll also found:
- 65% find keeping on top of budgeting easier since switching from an analogue prepay meter to a smart prepay meter
- 73% find topping up with credit easier since switching to a smart prepay meter
- 88% found something difficult about their old analogue prepay meter, with 43% naming the need to travel to the shops to top up as the primary inconvenience
Smart meters are still predicted to significantly contribute to the UK’s future energy system. In January 2023, Cornwall Insight released a research paper that argued using smart meters to allow flexible energy usage behind-the-meter would “play a vitally important role in securing energy security in the UK.”