Energy regulator Ofgem is investigating ScottishPower in a bid to determine if the supplier breached rules around its smart meter obligations.
Specifically, Ofgem is looking at its obligations to install smart meters for domestic customers in 2019.
The regulator pointed to the requirement for suppliers to take all reasonable steps to rollout smart meters to all homes and small business by 30 June 2021, with suppliers setting annual targets for installations. However, it also stressed that the opening of the investigation “does not imply we have made any findings about non-compliance”.
As it stands, concerns have been raised over the pace of the rollout by the likes of Cornwall Insight and Energy UK following research from Frontier Economics. Ofgem itself has previously promised to take “tough action” if targets are missed, and in 2018 fined EDF £350,000 for missing its smart meter targets.
The rollout has also been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with installations paused between March and June 2020 as a result of the lockdown. Despite this, over one million smart meters have now been installed this year.
