Are new energy meters so smart after all?

Malfunctioning smart meters have caused confusion across the country as they display hugely inflated energy readings. Affected SSE customers have taken to social media to highlight the issue – one […]

Malfunctioning smart meters have caused confusion across the country as they display hugely inflated energy readings.

Affected SSE customers have taken to social media to highlight the issue – one customer’s display showed a bill for more than £30,000 for a single day.

According to media reports, Jane Allen from Portsmouth has owned her smart meter for around five months, until she noticed the strange readings on Wednesday.

She said: “I was quite frightened to be honest, thinking it could be a gas leak.”

Her meter stated she was on £36,448.29 for the week, compared to her expected daily rate of around £3.80.

Around five million smart meters have already been installed as part of Smart Energy GB’s nationwide rollout and the government wants every home and business to be offered one by the end of 2020.

SSE told ELN: “We’re aware of a small number of SSE customers currently seeing inaccurate information on their in-home display as a result of an issue with a routine software upgrade carried out last week.

“Customers should rest assured that their billing is completely unaffected as the technical issue only affects the digital display in their home, as opposed to the actual smart meter.”

Smart Energy GB has declined to comment.

The government’s smart meter rollout could cost £1 billion more than previously predicted, taking the total cost to £12 billion.

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