Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the number of households with smart meters in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that are required to provide manual meter readings of their energy usage to their supplier; and what steps the Data Communications Company is taking to resolve smart metering communication issues.

The Government collects data on the number of smart meters in traditional mode, i.e. meters temporarily unable to automatically send meter readings to the energy supplier, at Great Britain level only.^[1]

The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the smart meter national communications infrastructure, is obligated under its licence to provide coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain. In addition, energy suppliers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are functional.

The energy regulator Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers and the DCC against their licence obligations.