42% of meters in Britain are now smart or advanced meters

There were 23.6 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses in Great Britain by the end of last year, according to latest Government statistics.

As at 31 December 2020, 19.1 million of these were smart meters in ‘smart mode’ or advanced meters, meaning more than a third of all meters in the UK were either operating smartly, or were an advanced meter (the alternative remote reading device for businesses). This rose to 42% of all UK meters being smart or advanced when including smart meters operating in ‘traditional mode’ (i.e. SMETS1 meters yet to be adopted and enrolled by the DCC).

Of the 23.6 million smart and advanced meters installed so far, 15.7 million are SMETS1, 6.7 million SMETS2 and 1.3 million advanced.

DCC, which manages the country’s smart meter data and communications infrastructure, is currently enrolling and adopting first generation (SMETS1) smart meters to its network, with more than 3.7 million of these already migrated – accounting for almost a quarter of all SMETS1 meters installed.

The DCC’s over-the-air adoption and enrolment process is allowing for all SMETS1 meters installed to either maintain or regain smart connectivity, crucially enabling consumers to switch between suppliers without losing any of the benefits that smart meters can bring. Second generation smart meters, or SMETS2, are automatically connected to the DCC network and readily interoperable.

Though installation numbers during 2020 were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic –  with the greatest impact occurring during Q2 2020 – since then, data provided quarterly by large suppliers shows that installation numbers have demonstrated a strong industry recovery despite the continued challenges, with Q4 2020 levels increasing by 14% on Q3 2020.

During 2020 overall, energy suppliers installed a total of 3.2 million smart and advanced meters, 3.1 million of these being domestic smart meters and 98,600 smart/advanced meters in non-domestic properties.

The Government’s latest installation statistics follow the news that Ofgem’s consumer perception survey has found more than 70% of consumers ‘satisfied’  with their smart meter – the highest level recorded since the national rollout began.

Delivering the UK smart meter rollout

We are the country’s leading smart meter installation and asset provider, that’s why energy suppliers count on us to deliver smart meters to their customers around Britain.

• • If you are an energy supplier, visit our smart metering & data page.
  • If you are a domestic consumer, go to smart homes.
  • If you are interested in our direct metering and data services for I&C organisations, go to our metering for business page.