It is hoped that by 2025, 75% of homes and 70% of small businesses will have a smart meter installed.
Homeowners are being warned that their smart meters could soon stop working when the latest mobile technology is rolled out.
Since first being proposed in 2019, the deadline to have smart meters installed in homes has been pushed back three times. But, energy companies have said they have fitted the meters to most households who want one and are struggling to get the rest to sign up, according to an earlier report from the National Audit Office . Data has shown that about 32.4 million homes currently have a smart meter fitted and about 900,000 were installed in the first three months of 2023.
Meg Hillier, the Labour MP who is chair of the committee, said: “Some 15 years later and four years after that missed target, and its vision of access and support for every household to control their energy efficiency remains a distant one. On top of this, smart meters have serious reputational obstacles to overcome with the public.”
About three million smart meters, almost 10% of those installed, were not working as they should have been by March 2023, according to the report and millions more could be affected when the 2G and 3G mobile communication networks close.