Smart metering
What are Smart Meters?
Over the next 11 years every household in Britain will receive Smart Meters, one for gas and one for electricity. This project will be one of the largest infrastructure projects to have taken place since the Second World War. It will require a substantial investment as there are 48 million traditional gas and electricity meters to be replaced nationwide.
Smart Meters will hugely change the way that you the customer, and we your supplier, interact.
Smart Meters come with two-way communications that will enable meter readings to be taken at any time of the night or day without the need for a visit from a meter reader. These Smart Meters automatically send the reading information electronically. Imagine: no more estimated bills, knowing how much energy/money you are using at any given time, more flexible tariffs and methods of paying your bill and being able to see if you are using less energy compared to yesterday, last week, or even last year.
Perhaps most importantly, lower bills through lower energy consumption. Good for the wallet, great for the environment.
What do Smart Meters mean for you?
You could save money, energy and time!
Also, unlike traditional meters, Smart Meters are read remotely. This means you won’t need to answer the door to the meter readers, fill in a card or even provide readings online.
Smart Meters will provide you with much more information on your energy consumption allowing you to be more fuel efficient and save money
An end to estimated bills! You will only be billed for the energy you've used - giving you more control and potentially saving you money. It will make it easier for you to manage your payments and monitor how much you owe
What are we doing at npower?
We have already started the work to get ready for this change by doing smart metering trials. We want to learn as much as we can about Smart Meters and what they can offer, so that we can have the right products and services ready for our customers once the mass rollout starts. We are carrying out trials in the Midlands and later this year we will be seeking to carry out further trials in Yorkshire and the North East. We want to be sure that we’re in good shape for the smart world when it arrives.
Our npower sponsor, Dave Ford says:
"Smart metering represents a huge challenge for the industry and an exciting opportunity for npower. Smart technology will help to change the relationship that we have with you, our customers, and enable us to understand your energy needs far better than we can with the current metering technology."
Smart Metering trials
We are currently running several Smart Meter trials across the UK, these trials will help us get a better understanding of the benefits smart meters will bring to our customers and how it effects consumption behaviour. With these learnings we will be able to bring you the right kinds of products and services, and enable you to make the most of what smart meters can offer – saving you time, energy and money.
What our customers think so far
Karen Gibson, a 33 year old Nursery Manager from Northumberland, is an npower customer who had a 'smart pre-payment meter' fitted in October 2007. Karen, partner Steven and son Jack live in a three bed-roomed terrace in Newcastle.
Karen prefers to use the pay-as-you-go method for paying for her electricity as she can closely monitor the amount she spends. Her old meter meant that she had to constantly ensure her key was topped up, which entailed many trips to her local shop. There were times when the shop wasn’t open and Karen had to resort to the emergency credit on the meter.
With her new 'smart meter' Karen is no longer tied to the opening hours of her local shop. She can now top up her meter from either her mobile phone or via the internet.
Karen said:
"This new smart meter has made life so much easier. I reckon I have saved around £250 since I had it fitted a couple of years ago because I am not wasting as much energy as before. I know at any given moment how much energy I am using in £s and pence and I pay for exactly what I use.
"An added bonus is that I don’t need to pop out constantly to top up my key. And if the shop is shut I don't need to worry as I prefer to use the internet to top up my meter. If I have a problem with my computer I can simply use my mobile phone. All the fuss has now been taken away with having a pre-payment meter."
Siobhan Webber, mum of two, is an npower customer taking part in a time-of-day trial which is running throughout 2009. Siobhan says
"I am really looking forward to the fact that I will not get any more estimated bills. I started to see the benefits of the smart meter immediately. I know I am already saving money I think I could save around £100 before the end of the year and that’s just on electricity.
"The display unit was easy to set up and really easy to use. It is a hassle free process and I can track and monitor my consumption so I won’t get any nasty surprises when the bill comes in.
"The first energy efficiency message I had sent to my display unit reminded me to unplug my mobile phone charger when the phone is fully charged. These regular messages are definitely of real value."
npower is a strong advocate of smart metering and the advantages that this can bring for customers, such as those experienced by Karen and Siobhan. The learnings from trials like these one will ensure that customers get the right products to help them better manage their energy consumption.
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