Energy bills

Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters.

They are being installed in homes across Great Britain at no extra cost, to replace the traditional meters, including prepay meters.

What smart meters do

A smart meter sends automatic meter readings directly and securely to your energy supplier, resulting in accurate bills, an end to estimates and manual meter readings.

The accompanying in-home display is a portable device which shows you exactly how much energy you're using and what it's costing you in pounds and pence, in near real time.

Smart meter rollout

The smart meter rollout is happening across Great Britain between now and 2020.

Energy suppliers will install over 53 million smart meters in over 30 million homes and microbusinesses.

Suppliers are rolling out smart meters to their customers at different times.

When you can get one depends on many different factors including the age of your existing meter and the type of home you live in.

Getting a smart meter in a rented property 

If you pay your gas and / or electricity bills and they're addressed to you rather your landlord, you don't need your landlord's permission to get a smart meter (although you should inform them).

If your landlord pays the bills, you should check with them first before arranging your smart meter installation.

Getting a smart meter on prepay 

Smart meters will make prepay as easy as pay-as-you-go on your mobile.

Some suppliers are already rolling out smart prepay meters and in the future, all smart meters will be able to switch between credit and prepayment modes.

With smart prepay, you should be able to:

• Conveniently see how much credit is left on your smart meter in-home display, without having to manually read or access the meter.
• Top up when and where you want to - online, with an app, on the telephone, or via text message.
• Top up in person at their local store/outlet, without any need to put a key or card back into a meter. Payments will automatically be added to your account. You will always be able to top up with cash.
• Pay the same rates as everyone else - smart meters will remove the need for prepay to be more expensive than other tariffs.

How to get a smart meter 

Every home in Great Britain is entitled to a smart meter at no extra cost.

There are three straightforward steps to getting one installed:

1. Call the supplier - everyone was offered a smart meter by 2020. You should contact your supplier directly to see if you can get a smart meter fitted now.
2. Fix a time and day - you should then agree when your supplier will come and install their smart meter, bearing in mind the installation usually takes around two hours.
3. Be home for installation - either you, or if they can't be there, a nominated, responsible adult will need to be present during installation. The installer will fit the meter and show you how to use the in-home display.

For more information about the rollout visit Smart Energy GB.