CtSI HaS ItS SaY Some of the institutes contributions to government policy debate A smart, flexible energy system A smart, flexible energy system office of gas and Electricity Markets (ofgem) & Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, January 2017 The whole rationale behind smart meters is, in the view of CTSI, completely flawed. Like the Green Deal, the smart-meter installation campaign could be a costly initiative that ends in disappointing failure, with consumers unaware that they have a choice being virtually press-ganged into having one. The energy sector failed to invest in energy-generation capacity while the UK population was rising rapidly, so now to keep the lights on consumers are at the heart of the development of a smart energy system principally because they are funding it. At a practical level, only washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers can benefit from time-of-use tariffs, so these will have a minimal impact on most consumers. Hopefully, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the energy regulator, Ofgem, are consulting with the fire service on the very serious issue ofovernight use of domestic appliances. Smart energy will be completely baffling to a large number of vulnerable consumers, and is likely to lead to anxiety and stress. Indeed,CTSI fears widespread consumer exploitation by an army of cold-calling, doorstep salesmen making highly inaccurate and unattainable promises of monetary savings for largely untested, expensive battery-storage systems. Also, turning the mains gas supply off and then on during installation of smart meters could lead to some existing gas appliances being condemned. This is because when the gas is turned back on, there is a sudden pulse of pressure through the pipework, which can potentially cause problems examples of which have already been reported to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. This could leave those consumers affected left to pay significant sums of money to fix something that wasnt previously broken. There should be a mandatory requirement for consumers to receive awritten record of their old meter readings on the day of installation, toavoid a growing number of disputes over incorrect bills. Just when the number of consumers switching energy suppliers is reaching record levels, smart meters and the potentially infinite number of tariffs will have a detrimental impact. The complexity of smart technology and smart tariffs will effectively diminish competition, resulting in consumers paying more for their energy. Lead officer: Steve Playle For more details, and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.uk Credits Images: SamJonah / Shutterstock To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like CTSI has its say January 2016 Cover story February 2017