Contact/Cyswllt:  Sian Cliff
02920 898342 / sian.cliff@wales.gov.uk

Welsh Lib Dem Spokesperson for the Environment, Mick Bates AM, welcomes the news that the UK Government has at last made the first cautious steps forward towards a roll out of Smart Meters to all homes and businesses, by proposing the necessary amendments to the Energy Bill currently before Parliament.

“Smart meters have immense potential and could save people across Wales around 5% of their energy use, which equates to savings of over £58million. They allow consumers to manage their fuel expenditure and monitor their carbon emissions, helping the Government to achieve its objectives in fuel poverty and climate change” comments Mick.

The Government is still undertaking an impact assessment on a roll out of smart meters to domestic and small business customers and hopes to give a final decision in six months time. The amendments to the Energy Bill which goes through Report Stage in the Commons tomorrow will then allow the next stage in the process to be handled through secondary legislation, following consultation on the best method and timetable of any roll-out.

“The Energy Bill provides a golden opportunity to move forward with smart meters. These meters have the ability to increase energy efficiency and provide more accurate billing, which will help the many vulnerable fuel-poor houses in Wales” adds Mick.

“The number of fuel poor households in Wales has increased from 134,000 households in 2004 to 250,000 households in 2006. As energy prices continue to rise, I am pleased the Government is at last waking up to the benefits that smart meters can offer.

“Smart meters can also play a key role in reducing energy consumption – a quarter of carbon emissions in Wales come from energy use in households, so by making people more aware of their energy use this will encourage energy efficiency and help to reduce carbon emissions as we battle against climate change.

“Although the amendments to the Energy Bill as they currently stand do not appear to allow any framework powers for Wales, I hope that the Labour-Plaid Government will embrace this move forward and press Westminster for powers at a later stage in the passage of the Bill, so that there can be a joint role for the Welsh Assembly Government for the roll out of smart meters across the country.”


Notes:

What is a Smart Meter?

• Smart meters are electric or gas meters that measure the exact amount of energy being used by a building. Smart meters are able to transmit this information to energy suppliers, avoiding the need for house calls to read meters. They display the energy being used in pounds and pence so customers can see at-a-glance how much energy they are using, a task much more easily accomplished than the electricity display devices (EDD) which display energy use in kilowatt hours.

• As part of the 2008 Budget the Government announced its support for a roll out of advanced meters to medium businesses over the next few years, following the positive results of trials undertaken by the Carbon Trust, an impact assessment and responses received to the 2007 Metering and Billing consultation.


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