Why should I get a smart meter?

1. Smart meters give you more accurate bills.

They mean an end to estimated bills because your supplier always has an up-to-date reading of your energy use and only charges you for that.

2. Smart meters help you become more energy conscious and reduce your usage.

You know the old saying ‘knowledge is power’? With a smart meter display, it’s easy to see what energy you’re using and when, and how much it’s costing.

We get asked a lot whether a smart meter will save a customer money. And the answer is simple: it’s not the meter that saves you money, it’s how you use the information you get from the meter that will help you make savings.

You’ll get a clearer insight into how much energy different appliances use, and you can change your behaviour accordingly – like only boiling the water you need to make a cuppa (kettles are surprisingly energy-greedy), turning off appliances at bedtime, making sure the washing machine is full when you use it, and drying your clothes outside on the line.

3. In the future, smart meters will allow you to take advantage of advanced time-of-use tariffs.

Energy suppliers, including us, have big plans to give you even more control over your energy usage. When time-of-use tariffs launch, smart meter customers will be able to cut their bills by using energy at cheaper times and help fight the climate crisis by using energy intensive appliances when there’s lots of green energy available.

4. Smart meters help energy network operators balance the grid by providing more information about our energy consumption patterns.

Knowing about UK consumers’ energy usage will enable the National Grid and energy suppliers to be more efficient about the energy they produce and make changes that will benefit the environment. The more people who use smart meters across the country, the more accurate a picture the network operators will have of our energy usage.