Millions of households told their smart meters 'could be lying'

Martin Lewis calls for urgent action to address issues with smart meters

Millions of households have been warned their smart meters may not be working properly. Energy customers have been encouraged to get smart meters over recent years so suppliers know exactly how much they are using.

Many people also like to have in-house displays to keep track of how much they are spending and decide when they might want to cut their usage. But as many as one in five smart meters may not be working properly, according to research by Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert (MSE).

Some smart meters are in 'dumb mode'. This is when they don't send automatic readings to suppliers.

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Other reported problems include the displays not showing readings or connecting. MSE found 19% of people said their smart meters don't work properly.

Mr Lewis said the situation was not good enough and has demanded action from the new Government to address it." He said in a letter to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband: "The Government's estimate of how many domestic smart meters are not working is around 10%. Yet this only includes the narrow definition of smart meters in 'dumb' mode (ie, not sending automatic readings to the supplier).

"Our latest MSE research (via statistically representative polling), which asked people if their smart meters work, shows 19% say theirs don't work. The reason this is so much higher is that it includes everything people feel has gone wrong, including in-home displays that won't communicate or connect, incorrect data on tariffs or usage, and prepay top-ups that don't register correctly. These aren't in the official stats."

He added: "A rethink is needed – specifically I'd suggest shifting firms' targets from smart meter installations to the overall number of 'working' smart meters, which would incentivise firms to do both installations and repairs. This is because too many smart meters don't work.

"The industry can pump all the money it likes at marketing them, but when word of mouth is often saying 'don't bother', it's tough to shift the dial."