Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of barriers faced by people with a smart meter of changing energy provider; and if he will make a statement.

Consumers with first generation smart (SMETS1) meters are still able to switch supplier, and are in a better position to do so thanks to accurate information on their energy usage. If the new supplier is not able to operate the meter in 'smart' mode, the meter will continue to record energy consumption accurately and can be used in 'traditional' mode.

Second generation smart (SMETS2) meters will be fully compatible between energy providers, therefore allowing all consumers to retain smart services when they switch energy suppliers.

The Data and Communications Company is developing a solution to move SMETS1 meters onto the national communications infrastructure to enable consumers to retain their smart services upon switching. We expect this to commence in late 2018.