Months after being quizzed by a committee of cross-party MPs, the UK government is still failing to clarify ways to support the substitution of millio

Some smart meters won't be smart at all once 2/3G networks mothballed

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2024-05-16 10:30:10

Months after being quizzed by a committee of cross-party MPs, the UK government is still failing to clarify ways to support the substitution of millions of smart meters that will become obsolete when 2G and 3G networks are switched off.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reviewed the rollout of smart meters, a project beset with multiple delays since its inception in 2012, and published a damning report in October. It asked serious questions about the ramifications of aging mobile networks being switched off with some smart meters losing functionality.

Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), this week responded to the PAC but didn't offer any sort of timetable for replacing devices, as had been heavily recommended.

Nor did the senior civil servant inform of any measures the government is taking to pressure smart meter suppliers to put greater importance on exchanging the approximately 3 million smart meters installed that are either already faulty or not working properly – even before the 2G and 3G network switch-off.