Whilst the benefits of smart metering are obvious, there are still widespread concerns about the cost and timescale for the roll-out across the UK. In this article, Hans Kristiansen, Chief Executive of smart meter firm Orsis (UK) Ltd (www.orsis.co.uk) is urging the UK Government to adopt a far simpler and less costly approach.
The impending smart meter rollout programme is not in any way simple. In fact it's the opposite. It looks like being highly complex. And complex things tend to follow one rule of management, "if things can go wrong, they usually will".
The current specification is far too complicated and over-specified. And the speed at which technology advances means that much of the technology involved will have to be updated regularly (or put another way, will quickly become obsolete).
Over-specified products cost more and break down more often. Every household in the UK already has an abundance of domestic appliances, from TVs to washing machines, that are overly complex and therefore need expensive maintenance and repairs. Hand on heart, have you ever used all 30 programs on your washing machine?
The UK's track record in implementing large-scale IT projects will not fill householders with confidence either - the NHS National Programme for IT is a £12.7 billion project that is already four years behind schedule. But the smart meter project is too important to our long-term energy security to let it fail.
The operation of the home area network is a largely unknown area too. And contradictory statements have already been made about what it will and what it won't be able to deliver - including the ability to manage individual appliances remotely.
This truly is a leap into the dark that introduces an unnecessarily high level of risk. Surely an existing, tried and trusted solution would be more appropriate?
Smart metering alone will not improve the change of supplier process. There are currently 38 steps in the process, and the provision of an actual read will not resolve all of these issues. In fact, the consumer transfer programme (CTP) completed by the Energy Retail Association in 2005 revealed that it was possible to have a much improved change of supplier process without an actual read.
The CTP also recognised that the single biggest cause of failure in the change of supplier process was data quality. Recommendations were made to improve this, but they have never been implemented. Simply changing the meter and providing an actual read will not resolve all of the problems. There are many stages in the process that must be examined before the change of supplier experience improves for the consumer.
Experience in other countries is already indicating that a rollout of smart metering is far from simple and that consumers will resist change unless they understand it. In the Netherlands, 20% of consumers refused to have a smart meter which has led to the establishment of a “switched off” smart meter, where the functionality exists but is not used! We are far from sure that all consumers in the UK understand what smart metering means to them, how to use it effectively, and we’re almost certain they don’t know what it’s going to cost them in addition to already rising fuel costs.
Orsis has additional concerns on the feasibility of rolling out this many meters in only 5 years. The initial rollout was to take 10 years, but due to huge delays in decision making, this has been squeezed to half that. There simply isn’t the workforce available to install this many meters in that short a period of time, and that shortage can mean one of two things – poor quality of service or rising costs. In Sweden, some 70% of installations occurred in the final 18 months of the programme; if that happens here, then the deadline of 2019 looks even more “aspirational” rather than achievable. And DECC have already suggested that this deadline be brought forward to the early part of 2019!
Much of the benefits of smart metering to the consumer are said to be in reduced energy consumption as a result of having an In Home Display device to inform them how much, and when, they use their energy. The success of these devices in producing significant and lasting changes to a consumers’ energy usage is still unproven. I am genuinely concerned that once the “novelty factor” of these devices wears off, or the batteries need replacing, consumers will consign them to a kitchen drawer never to be seen again. The lasting reduction in their energy bills will simply not happen.
Orsis is the UK division of China’s Revenco Enterprises which has extensive experience of metering. It is shortly to roll out smart meters to more than 27 million households in Guangdong. That is equivalent to installing over half of the 53 million smart meters in the UK's programme. Despite the enormous strides that the Chinese have made in developing their country, the Chinese revere simplicity. Throughout their long history, they have understood that simple things cost less and usually work first time. They work for longer and when they go wrong, they can be quickly put right. Let's take a leaf out of their book and make smart meters simple.
For further information, please contact Hans at hansk@orsis.co.uk or Mike Harrison at Taylor Keogh.
The impending smart meter rollout programme is not in any way simple. In fact it's the opposite. It looks like being highly complex. And complex things tend to follow one rule of management, "if things can go wrong, they usually will".
The current specification is far too complicated and over-specified. And the speed at which technology advances means that much of the technology involved will have to be updated regularly (or put another way, will quickly become obsolete).
Over-specified products cost more and break down more often. Every household in the UK already has an abundance of domestic appliances, from TVs to washing machines, that are overly complex and therefore need expensive maintenance and repairs. Hand on heart, have you ever used all 30 programs on your washing machine?
The UK's track record in implementing large-scale IT projects will not fill householders with confidence either - the NHS National Programme for IT is a £12.7 billion project that is already four years behind schedule. But the smart meter project is too important to our long-term energy security to let it fail.
The operation of the home area network is a largely unknown area too. And contradictory statements have already been made about what it will and what it won't be able to deliver - including the ability to manage individual appliances remotely.
This truly is a leap into the dark that introduces an unnecessarily high level of risk. Surely an existing, tried and trusted solution would be more appropriate?
Smart metering alone will not improve the change of supplier process. There are currently 38 steps in the process, and the provision of an actual read will not resolve all of these issues. In fact, the consumer transfer programme (CTP) completed by the Energy Retail Association in 2005 revealed that it was possible to have a much improved change of supplier process without an actual read.
The CTP also recognised that the single biggest cause of failure in the change of supplier process was data quality. Recommendations were made to improve this, but they have never been implemented. Simply changing the meter and providing an actual read will not resolve all of the problems. There are many stages in the process that must be examined before the change of supplier experience improves for the consumer.
Experience in other countries is already indicating that a rollout of smart metering is far from simple and that consumers will resist change unless they understand it. In the Netherlands, 20% of consumers refused to have a smart meter which has led to the establishment of a “switched off” smart meter, where the functionality exists but is not used! We are far from sure that all consumers in the UK understand what smart metering means to them, how to use it effectively, and we’re almost certain they don’t know what it’s going to cost them in addition to already rising fuel costs.
Orsis has additional concerns on the feasibility of rolling out this many meters in only 5 years. The initial rollout was to take 10 years, but due to huge delays in decision making, this has been squeezed to half that. There simply isn’t the workforce available to install this many meters in that short a period of time, and that shortage can mean one of two things – poor quality of service or rising costs. In Sweden, some 70% of installations occurred in the final 18 months of the programme; if that happens here, then the deadline of 2019 looks even more “aspirational” rather than achievable. And DECC have already suggested that this deadline be brought forward to the early part of 2019!
Much of the benefits of smart metering to the consumer are said to be in reduced energy consumption as a result of having an In Home Display device to inform them how much, and when, they use their energy. The success of these devices in producing significant and lasting changes to a consumers’ energy usage is still unproven. I am genuinely concerned that once the “novelty factor” of these devices wears off, or the batteries need replacing, consumers will consign them to a kitchen drawer never to be seen again. The lasting reduction in their energy bills will simply not happen.
Orsis is the UK division of China’s Revenco Enterprises which has extensive experience of metering. It is shortly to roll out smart meters to more than 27 million households in Guangdong. That is equivalent to installing over half of the 53 million smart meters in the UK's programme. Despite the enormous strides that the Chinese have made in developing their country, the Chinese revere simplicity. Throughout their long history, they have understood that simple things cost less and usually work first time. They work for longer and when they go wrong, they can be quickly put right. Let's take a leaf out of their book and make smart meters simple.
For further information, please contact Hans at hansk@orsis.co.uk or Mike Harrison at Taylor Keogh.
