4 days ago
Labour plots to force households to have two smart meters
Britain's smart meter rollout promised to help households save money – and energy. In reality, the high-tech gadgets have been a disaster, leaving thousands of households with inaccurate energy bills at a huge cost to the taxpayer.
And yet, Labour could soon force homeowners to have two smart meters – one for energy and one for water.
The move forms part of the Government's proposed 'family bath time tax' which would force owners of larger properties and gardens to pay more for their water bills.
However, experts have warned that forcing homes to have a smart meter would overcomplicate bills, undermine customers' privacy and allow cyber attacks to cut off the nation's water supply.
Nick Hunn, founder of the wireless technology consulting firm, WiFore, told The Telegraph: 'We were told that the big benefit for smart meters would be lower bills. We can see by number of complaints that this didn't happen.
'We would see the same thing with smart water meters – moving from a system that's quite simple to one that is needlessly complicated and more likely to go wrong.'
At the weekend, The Telegraph revealed that ministers will support utilities companies trialling new tariffs that charge the heaviest users of water a higher rate.
Introducing 'progressive' water bills would mean rolling out smart water meters nationwide so that customers' consumption can be tracked in real time or at short intervals.
Around 60pc of homes in England have a water meter, but the vast majority of those have a conventional meter from which periodic readings are taken.
The plan has raised alarm bells among experts, especially as British households continue to pay the price for the botched smart meter rollout for energy bills.
The initial target was to have a smart meter installed in every home by 2020. This has now been reduced to 74.5pc by the end of 2025, with the devices currently installed in just 68pc of homes.
It is forecast to cost over £13.5bn, but a significant minority of homes are unsuitable for smart meters, which rely on having adequate reception.
An estimated 4.3 million smart meters are faulty and unable to send readings back to suppliers remotely, leading to customers being sent sky-high bills that do not reflect their usage.
The National Audit Office said in 2023 that 37pc of smart meter customers surveyed by Smart Energy GB, the company tasked with rolling out the devices nationally, reported having issues with their smart meter, including no automatic readings, inaccurate bills and the connected handheld device not showing any information.
Smart meters have also found themselves at the centre of a row over privacy. In January, the Government launched a consultation on plans to allow household energy usage to be shared with third parties who could steer them to cheaper deals, as well as lower carbon tariffs from rival suppliers.
A spokesman for Open Rights Group, a digital rights campaign group, said a mass smart water meter rollout posed similar risks for consumers, adding: 'Smart water meters could be used to track how many people are in a property, analyse daily routines, and reveal when you cook, shower or water your garden.
'This is a clear example of how everyday infrastructure can quietly become a surveillance tool – without public awareness or consent.'
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said Labour had been 'caught red-handed' planning a new tax on water usage with the help of 'Big Brother technology'.
Concerns have also been raised over consumer protection. Electricity companies are able to switch off your electricity remotely if you have a smart meter, but only under a very narrow set of circumstances and after taking all reasonable steps to manage debt repayment. Any customers deemed vulnerable cannot be disconnected.
However, The Telegraph previously revealed how some energy suppliers are forcibly installing prepayment meters remotely by switching customers' smart meters from credit to prepayment mode.
Campaigners have said that doing this amounts to disconnecting customers from the grid 'by the back door', as anyone unable to pay on a prepayment meter will lose power.
Even if similarly strict regulations are put in place to stop water companies turning off the taps, digitally connecting the water system raises the threat of a widespread cyber attack, Mr Hunn said.
He added: 'Electricity companies can disconnect you through a smart meter. If that logic goes into water then you have a situation where the company would be able to turn off your water.
'If someone hacks into that system, they can turn off large chunks of the country's water supply.'
