Warning issued over British Gas, Scottish Power, EDF smart meters

Energy firms are letting down millions of households with broken smart meters despite strict rules which say they must fix them. Around 36 million households have a smart meter but one in ten of them do not work, official figures reveal.

One in ten smart meters are in "dumb mode" and do not send readings, it has been warned. New data from industry regulator Ofgem shows British Gas has the highest proportion of disconnected smart meters of any major supplier.

A worrying 16.3% of smart meters used by the supplier are operating in “dumb mode”. British Gas tops the list at 16.3%, closely followed by Scottish Power at 14.5%, and EDF at 12.1%. Conversely, E, Ovo, and Utilita have the lowest percentages of faulty meters at 2.6%, 5.6%, and 5.8% respectively.

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Based on these figures, it's estimated that around 2.6 million households are using faulty smart meters. You can tell if your energy bill has been estimated as there should be an “e” mark on your statement. If you have a first generation smart meter, and you switch suppliers, your new energy provider might not be able to read your data automatically.

Energy companies are currently installing second generation smart meters, and all first generation ones will eventually be added to the national network so they can communicate with all suppliers. Households aren’t required to have a smart meter.

Instead, it is completely down to you. However, energy companies are under pressure to take “all reasonable steps” to install smart meters by 2025. There are several reasons why smart meters stop working - for example, if they lose connection, the regulator Ofgem has said previously.

If your smart meter suddenly stops working, you’ll be issued an estimated bill until you send over a manual meter reading to your energy supplier.