Smart meters: Almost three million still not working

With 11 children and a 12th on the way, Sharlene Peppard lives in a "high energy household"

Almost three million smart meters in Britain are not working properly, data shows.

The issues are leading to customers being charged the wrong amount for their energy bills.

A total of 2.7 million of around 33 million meters are not in smart mode, according to figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

The DESNZ said the majority of meters were "modernising energy for millions".

It added: "We understand a small proportion are suffering from technical issues and are working with Ofgem, energy suppliers and data experts to solve these issues."

One woman told the BBC her energy company took more than £900 out of her account without warning, while another said her direct debit went from almost £200 a month to £2 and she now has to guess her usage to avoid getting into debt.

Smart meters measure how much gas and electricity a household uses and show how much it costs in near real time. They can send readings via a remote connection to energy suppliers (smart mode).

But if they lose connection to national network Data Communications Company, or local networks, customers often rely on estimated bills.

These bills should be corrected once the supplier has manual meter readings. But some customers have paid too much and struggled to get their money back - or too little and found themselves in debt.

The government said smart meters were crucial to making homes more energy-efficient. It is aiming to install them in most homes by the end of 2025.

Paula McCracken said EDF Energy took more than £900 out of her account on two occasions with no warning

Paula McCracken, 48, from East Yorkshire, said her smart meter had never worked properly and, despite taking regular manual readings, she was overcharged.

"I went to buy some food shopping and my card was declined and I was like 'what on earth's going on?' I just broke down into tears," she said.

Ms McCracken said EDF Energy took more than £900 out of her account on two occasions with no warning, "leaving me with my £500 overdraft fully taken".

She said she was refunded each time but not immediately.

"If I had no family and friends around me to lend me a bit of money for shopping and things, I would have been completely penniless with two children for a week," Ms McCracken said.

"They have mentally taken me into the darkest place. It didn't help it was on my mind constantly - I couldn't sleep."

EDF Energy said it was sorry to hear about the problems and acknowledged it "fell short in finding a solution for the issues faced by Ms McCracken".

"Having taken actions to diagnose and resolve the issue remotely, which were unfortunately unsuccessful, we set up an appointment to reattempt commissioning but could still not receive reads due to further technical issues on site that could not be resolved."

The firm said Ms McCracken "was notified in advance that the payments to cover debt on the account were due to be taken", but Ms McCracken said she had seen no evidence of this.

'Frightening to use appliances'

Sharlene Peppard, 42, from Doncaster, has 11 children and a 12th on the way. She lives in a "high energy household".

She said her gas and electricity smart meters helped her to budget but, after 18 months of working well, she said EDF Energy told her the meters were not compatible with each other.

"I went to the ombudsman who contacted the engineer. I was told the government had set a date for December 2025 to fix the problem and I'd have to wait until then."

Mrs Peppard said EDF estimated her bills to be £2 per month.

"I'd be in thousands of pounds worth of debt if I believed that. So I'm manually logging in to make the extra £200 payment each month."

How to check your smart meter is working?

According to Elizabeth Blakelock, principal policy manager at Citizens Advice, there are three things that need to be working so the smart meter gives the information required:

• The meter itself, usually on your wall or cupboard

• The in-home display unit or app showing how much energy you're using

• Communication between the meters and the system they use to send readings to your energy supplier. For most people, this will be the DCC. Others may use local networks.

If any of those things are not working, you may be getting estimated bills. The in-home display does not have to be working for your bills to be correct - and some people choose not to use it - but if there is a problem with it, it is worth checking your bills. There is usually an 'e' mark on your bill to show if it is an estimated meter reading.

If you think there's a problem between the smart reader and the central system, use the Citizens Advice smart checker.

Contact your supplier to give them a correct meter reading, which should help make your bill more accurate in the short-term. They should also help fix your meter.

If your supplier hasn't fixed the issue in eight weeks, contact the Energy Ombudsman.

The BBC has seen two bills for Mrs Peppard - both for 27 April to 28 November. The online bill showed she was £489.44 in debit, but a letter said she was £324.56 in credit.

"Price increases have impacted my family more than most. I would use my smart meter to calculate the cost of everything, from every time one of the kids uses the straighteners to how much it costs to put a wash on. Now I have to guess.

"It's almost frightening to use the appliances that make daily life normal purely because we don't know how much that is costing."

EDF Energy said: "In 2021, the meter stopped communicating due to a technical error. Since then, we've been in contact with Mrs Peppard to book multiple appointments to remedy the issue which have unfortunately not yet been successful.

"We've spoken to Mrs Peppard again to apologise for the inconvenience this has caused her and have scheduled a new appointment for early December to carry out another repair solution.

"We will also be applying a goodwill payment to the customer's account to acknowledge the time it's taken to remedy the issue."

It added that the direct debit was "lowered to £2 in May to use up the credit on the account before the annual review".

Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, said suppliers had a responsibility to put billing errors right as soon as possible, irrespective of a customer's meter status.

It said: "A small proportion of smart meters have lost full functionality and although this means they still operate as traditional meters, allowing customers to submit manual readings manually, suppliers still have a duty to replace these with a functioning smart meter when necessary.

"There can be a range of reasons for any problems - and sometimes the issue is with the in-home display unit rather than the meter itself. In some cases, it's possible to rectify the issue with a remote update or a reset of the in-home display which the customer can perform themselves."

What can I do if I can't afford my energy bill?

• Check your direct debit: Your monthly payment is based on your estimated energy use for the year. Your supplier can reduce your bill if your actual use is less than the estimation.

• Pay what you can: If you can't meet your direct debit or quarterly payments, ask your supplier for an "able to pay plan" based on what you can afford.

• Claim what you are entitled to: Check you are claiming all the benefits you can. The independent MoneyHelper website has a useful guide.

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