Energy secretary Amber Rudd has high hopes for the smart meter rollout due next year saying it will be a “great opportunity” to promote energy efficiency.
While the new smart meters will provide consumers with accurate readings, it is also hoped that it will help to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption.
This should be a golden opportunity to promote home improvements to consumers in order to make their properties more energy efficient. However, the government scrapped the Green Deal last year after low uptake and minimal interest from the public.
Rudd said: “As new approaches and technologies are proven, we need to consider how smart technologies are rolled out across the country so we maximise the benefits to consumers. The smart meter rollout I think will already provide energy efficiency opportunities.
In society as a whole we are entering a new age of consumer activism, digital revolution has made it much easier for consumers to get real time information about products and services and for them to be able to choose what is right for them. This combined with the need to reduce our carbon emissions has resulted in any energy markets entering a new phase in development and innovation.”
We agree wholeheartedly Amber. But that doesn’t tell us exactly what you’re planning to do to educate homeowners and businesses on the merits of smart meters and how they can make their properties energy efficient saving them money in the long term.
Perhaps a scheme along the lines of the Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) might be put into place for consumers. The current scheme forces businesses of a certain size to audit their premises in order to find recommendations for energy efficiency improvements.
This has been closely followed with the introduction of the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) scheme, which is of a similar ilk but aimed at non-domestic landlords. Can we expect domestic energy users to be audited next?
With the removal of subsidies for renewable energy, is that how the government are planning on hitting EU set carbon targets?
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