The installation of smart meters fell 40% year-on-year in January, as the enduring impact of the COVID-19 lockdown continues to be felt.
According to new data from ElectraLink – the company responsible for operating the data hub that underpins the UK energy market – in January 2021, 149,000 smart meter installations took place.
This was a significant decrease from 246,000 in January 2020 due to the reinforced safety measures suppliers have currently implemented for field engineers and customers to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
During January 2021, Eastern England installed 21,000 smart meters, Southern England 20,000 and East Midlands 16,000.
There are now 14.864 million smart meters installed overall according to ElectraLink’s Energy Market Data Hub (EMDH).
ElectraLink’s analysis is based on D0150 data flows, and includes the installation of meters flagged as SMETS1, SMETS2 or non-SMETS.
The analysis follows a similar pattern to that released by ElectraLink’s EMDH for 2020, which showed COVID-19 significantly impacted the rollout, with installations falling 27%.
Although impacted, the rollout of smart meters is continuing to push on, with the Data Communications Company celebrating the installation of the 10 millionth SMETS2 device on 1 February 2021.
