What do changes to smart meter data collection mean for energy customers?
By 2025, smart meters will transmit meter readings to your energy supplier every half hour by default, rather than once a month or once a day. This change is part of updates the energy regulator, Ofgem, is introducing to help make the electricity grid greener. We explore what the changes mean for customers.
National electricity usage goes up and down throughout the day. It’s highest when millions of us are at home, switching on lights, cooking dinner and watching TV. And as you might expect, usage drops right down over night.
Energy suppliers forecast how much electricity their customers will use throughout the day, and make sure they’ve sourced the right amount to match it. If they’ve bought too much, they have to sell it. And if they’ve sourced too little, they have to buy more. Energy is traded in half-hourly windows, and prices rise with demand. This means energy suppliers buy and sell power at different prices throughout the day.
Household energy bills have traditionally only been calculated using monthly readings or estimates. Ofgem’s introduction of half-hourly settlements for domestic customers will give energy suppliers a clearer picture of how much their customers’ electricity usage costs them at different times. This will incentivise energy suppliers to develop innovative new services that support people to shift their usage to times of lower demand.
How will more frequent electricity readings help make the electricity grid greener?
Monthly meter readings and estimates mean that energy suppliers and network operators don’t have a detailed picture of how much electricity people actually use throughout the day. They have to rely on trends and forecasts to make sure enough electricity is being generated. Peak electricity demand is often met by large-scale generators that can be switched on quickly, such as polluting coal and gas.
Smart meter readings taken on a half-hourly basis help provide an accurate view of how much electricity people use, which will help make sure electricity supply and demand are matched more closely. This is a vital step towards creating a flexible, efficient grid that is better able to make the most of electricity generated from renewable sources.
How can half-hourly electricity readings help us use electricity efficiently at home?
Many people already use the information provided by their smart meter to save energy. A survey by Smart Energy GB found that 94% of households with a smart meter have implemented at least one energy saving habit, with almost 40% saying the change was directly inspired by the information provided by their smart meter.
However, making the whole electricity grid more efficient also means levelling out some of the peaks in electricity demand, so that we don’t have to rely on fossil fuel generators. This means shifting some of our usage into off-peak times.
To do this, many suppliers are bringing out smart time of use tariffs. They incentivise people to use more electricity off peak, by making it cheaper. At Good Energy, we currently have two time of use tariffs – our heat pump tariff and our EV charge tariff. These offer low unit rates for customers during specified off-peak windows.
What data do smart meters store and how is it kept safe?
Smart meters don’t store as much data as you might think, as they don’t hold any personal information. Their sole purpose is to monitor your energy usage, so the only information they need to store is the amount of gas and electricity you’ve used and whether you’re on a single or multi-rate tariff.
The data sent to us by your smart meter is sent via a secure communication system, which is similar to those used in banks. Everything is encrypted to a high standard, with the system specifically designed with input from GCHQ to prevent hacking. Only you and your energy supplier can view the information, and no one has access to the system without your permission. The smart meter network is managed by the Data Communications Company.
All of your data is handled according to guidelines set out by the energy industry. If you have any concerns about this, you can find out more in our smart meter data guide or by reading our privacy policy.
