Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many times the (a) start and (b) completion dates of the roll-out of smart meters have been changed.

The Smart Metering Programme in Great Britain was launched in December 2009, with the intention of completing the roll out of smart meters to all homes by 2020. The roll-out has started. At the end of June 2014 around 900,000 meters were in operation under the Programme.

The completion dates of the roll-out of smart meters have been changed as follows:

a) In March 2011, the Government stated in the Ofgem/ DECC Response to the Prospectus Consultation that suppliers would be required to complete the roll-out of smart meters in 2019 and confirmed in April 2012 that the roll-out should be completed by 31 December 2019, rather than 2020.

b) In May 2013, following a review of the Smart Metering Programme, the Government announced that it had decided to move the completion date for the mass roll-out from end 2019 to end 2020.