British Gas has installed 6 million smart meters in homes and offered smart meters to all eligible customers
British Gas has installed 6 million smart meters in homes and offered smart meters to all eligible customers
- British Gas is leading the smart meter roll out with more installed than any other supplier, despite slower take-up than the government programme expected
- 6 millionth meter is out of the 13 million installed by entire industry and has been installed in the home of Anisha Worrell from Birmingham
- Customers with smart meters save an average of £33 a year by making changes to the way they use energy
- More than two-thirds of British Gas customers with smart meters would recommend them to others
- British Gas is committed to the programme within the allowances envisaged under the default tariff price cap
British Gas has announced the installation of its 6 millionth smart meter – in Birmingham. This is the latest milestone for the company in the smart meter roll out where it has led the sector on using smart data to improve bill accuracy and help customers save energy.
British Gas has over 2,000 trained Smart Energy Experts upgrading meters across the country and is currently installing them in homes at a rate of one every 23 seconds.
Smart meters come with a smart energy monitor that shows how much energy is being used. Over 2 million British Gas smart meter customers have access to apps or online reports to receive a personalised breakdown of their energy use. This shows spend down to the hour or day, across all appliances, with suggestions on how to make savings.
Research amongst British Gas customers shows that smart meter users are more satisfied with their service and 70 per cent would recommend them to others.
The smart meter programme is an opt-in programme, and consumer take-up levels are slower than the government and suppliers first envisioned. However, British Gas is committed to making all reasonable efforts to offer all its customers smart meters by 2020.
Sarwjit Sambhi, Managing Director of UK Home, Centrica:
“Our customers with smart meters are already benefiting from a better understanding of their energy use. With the right infrastructure and mass adoption, smart meters can offer easier switching and help increase consumer engagement.
“We have made a significant investment in the roll out to date with 6 million smart meters installed of the 13 million smart meters installed by the entire industry. This has been a challenging process but we will continue to work with Ofgem and BEIS on this vital infrastructure programme.”
The 6 millionth smart meter has been installed in the home of Anisha Worrell from Birmingham. She has already seen how small changes to her energy use can make a difference to her bills.
Anisha said: “The smart meter installation was really quick and simple. The smart energy expert was really helpful too – they took the time to talk me through the smart monitor and meter so I knew exactly how it worked.
“Since having the smart meter it’s been so much easier to keep tabs on my electricity and gas use - I look at the smart monitor every day. It’s especially great for making sure I stick to my budget and don’t spend more than I need to.”
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