Smart meters in every business and home will play a crucial role in reducing the UK’s energy bills and carbon footprint, energy minister Malcolm Wicks has claimed.
Wicks issued the comments alongside the launch of the government’s consultation on metering and billing today.
The consultation will look at how to implement the government's proposals to reduce energy use though smart meters, which allow energy providers to communicate directly with customers, and real-time visual display units, which tell people how much energy they are using from individual appliances.
Wicks said: “Cutting carbon emissions is one of the greatest challenges we face. Smart meters provide the chance for each one of us to play our part, providing better information and more accurate billing.
“It is vital that we make best use of this emerging technology that will not only help cut our energy use but reduce our bills too.”
Proposals being consulted on include: providing more enhanced information on energy bills to include historical comparisons of energy consumption.
Also being proposed is the introduction of smart meters in all but the smallest businesses over the next five years, and the provision by suppliers of real-time visual display units to all new meters fitted from 2008.
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