The installation of smart meters in Britain jumped 21% in 2021, largely recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to new figures from ElectraLink, throughout last year 2.417 million smart meters were installed compared to 1.997 million in 2020.
This was despite a decline in installations over the last few months of the year, with 154,000 meters installed in December, 10% less than in the previous year. While installations in November 2021 were 32% lower than in the same month in 2020.
Lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant the rollout of smart meters was halted in 2020. Despite lockdowns at the beginning of 2021 however, strong installation rates during the summer allowed the rollout to bounce back.
East England installed the most smart meters, with 21,000 in December and 2.06 million since the rollout began. It was followed by Southern England with 17,000 installations and 1.73 million in total, the East Midlands with 16,000 and 1.75 million in total, the West Midlands with 14,000 and 1.54 million in total and finally North West England with 12,000 and 1.47 million in total.
Since the rollout of smart meters began in 2012, 17.2 million have been installed in England, Scotland and Wales.
These new statistics from ElectraLink follow similar figures from the Data Communications Company earlier in January, which showed there are now over 17 million meters connected to its network.