Government will miss smart meter targets, MPs say

The government will not reach its target of installing smart meters in every home in the UK by the end of 2020, MPs have warned, after a string of setbacks hit the initiative.

Meanwhile, northern customers are helping to pay for meters many of them will never see, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee found.

Read more: Smarting: Energy meter rollout behind schedule, auditor warns

Chair Rachel Reeves said: “As costs rise, it is the household customer who will … pick up the bill.”

Reeves accused the government of trying to “sugar-coat” the roll-out and attempting to “pretend that everything will turn out alright.”

Read more: Prime Minister Theresa May aims at the wrong energy target in tariffs

She called on the government to take a tougher approach to ensuring energy suppliers meet their obligations.

Institute of Directors interim director general Edwin Morgan told Morning Wire: “We’ve warned for some time that the 2020 deadline will not be met, and unfortunately it looks increasingly likely the smart meter roll-out programme will fail to deliver the benefits that were promised to consumers.”