Ofgem has issued five supplier with final orders after they failed to become Data Communications Company (DCC) users.
The news follows an announcement by the regulator in January that it was consulting on issuing nine suppliers final orders for failing to join the DCC, despite all suppliers having been required to from 25 November 2017.
Of the nine, Daligas, Enstroga, Entice Energy Supply, Euston Energy (trading as Northumbria Energy) and Symbio Energy have now been issued the final orders. This will mean that they cannot take on new customers until they become DCC users.
Of the other four suppliers originally under consultation, Ampower, Green Supplier and UK National Gas are now compliant, and Better Energy has made Ofgem aware that it no longer has any domestic customers, as such it has requested the revocation of its supply licenses which it will receive on 20 March.
The DCC provides a system that allows smart meters to continue operating, even if a household changes supplier. It was brought in after first generation smart meter users lost the functionality of their devices when switching suppliers.
The smart meter rollout has been picking up pace, with the four millionth second-generation smart meter (SMETS2) installed in February. This milestone followed the three millionth meter being installed in December, highlighting the increasing pace of the rollout. According to the DCC, there has been a 13-fold increase in speed so far in 2020, when compared to 2019.