Smart meters to be introduced across the UK
In a move which could potentially save UK energy companies around £3 billion a year it has been revealed that the UK government is looking at introducing smart energy meters into houses across the UK. However the cost of introducing these meters could be anything up to £8 billion and could take up to a decade to complete with over 26 million homes under consideration. So who will benefit the most?
The main benefit will come from the reduced cost of sending out personnel to read meters up and down the country with the smart meters able to transmit information directly to energy providers. However, thankfully for consumers the meters will also be able to monitor the use of energy around the home and potentially switch consumers to different tariffs for different periods of the day and different uses.
While there is no doubt that there is a need for smart meters in this new modern day world there are serious concerns that the potential £3 billion of cost savings could be used to line the pockets of UK energy companies rather than reduce bills for UK consumers. The fact that UK consumers would be expected to cover the £8 billion cost of the scheme is also another factor to consider.
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