Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 29 Customers SMART METER PENETRATION BILLING PROBLEMS THOUGHTS ON THE PROCESS AND INSTALLER FEELINGS BEFORE INSTALLATION AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE SMART FUNDING AWARENESS Apr 2018 38% 55% 23% 32% 19% No Yes 12% Offer Installed Installed in the last 6 months Meter installation Very straightforward Reasonably straightforward Quite complicated Very complicated Satisfaction with the service/ technical skills of the installer Satisfaction with the information provided by the installer Aware of government scheme for smart meters Knowledge of smart meters I liked the idea I was not interested I wanted to find out more before going ahead I was worried about it I already owned other smart/ connected home technology that I thought was better Q. Have you been offered a smart meter for your current property by your energy supplier? (Base: 1,069) Q. Has the smart meter already been installed? (Base: 558) Q. When was the smart meter installed? (Base: 337) Q. Before getting a smart meter installation how did you feel about the prospect? (Base: 337) Q. Are you aware that there is a government-mandated scheme to offer smart meters to all homes in the UK? Q. Did you know what a smart meter was before taking part in this survey? (Base: 732) Q. Are you aware that the smart meter rollout is being funded via contribution from customer bills? (Base: 1,069) Q. Have you experienced any billing problems since having your smart meter/s installed, such as inaccurate billing based on faulty usage data, or a back bill to cover historical errors in estimated meter reads? (Base: 337) Q. How did you find the installation for your meter/s? Q. How satisfied were you with the service and technical skills of the installer? Q. How satisfied were you with the information provided by the installer about how to use your meter? (Base: 337) The latest wave of research suggests that the majority of people claim to have been offered a smart meter and that installs have continued to increase. The proportion of recent installs has remained relatively stable. The amount of consumers claiming to experience billing problems has remained consistent with the last wave, though the most common issues are still the same; bill confusion and meter problems causing read issues. The installation process continues to be seen as relatively straightforward by most, while overall satisfaction levels for the service and information from the installer have continued to improve. While the number of early adopters has decreased slightly since the last wave, almost three-quarters of respondents were open to the idea of installing a smart meter, with a very small number of respondents stating they were worried about the idea. Continuing the trend set in previous waves, a third of those who don't have a smart meter currently are not aware of the government-mandated scheme and just under one in ten claim not to know what a smart meter was before taking part in the survey. About two-thirds claimed that they are unaware that the smart meter rollout was being funded via contribution from customer bills. Nov 2017 Apr 2017 Apr 2018 Nov 2017 Apr 2017 Those who owned other technology were more likely to own Amazon (with Alexa) and Hive Apr 2018 Nov 2017 Apr 2017 Apr 2018 Nov 2017 Apr 2017 Apr 2018 Nov 2017 Apr 2017 Apr 2018 Very dissatisfied Quite dissatisfied Neither/nor Quite satisfied Very satisfied Nov 2017 Apr 2017 41% 53% 23% 30% 15% 14% 69% 53% 41% 16% 24% 11% 14% 31% 69% 31% 91% 9% 87% 13% 70% 30% 89% 11% 10% 6%29% 65% 1% 4% 29% 66% 7% 28% 63% 5% 33% 43% 7% 12% 10% 37% 51% 14% 34% 49% 5% 39% 38% 8% No Yes 2% 3% 30% 65% 1% 2% 31% 67% 32% 68% 39% 61% 34% 66% No Yes No Yes Don't know 78% 76% 81% 5% 8% 7% 17% 16% 12% 10% 8% 8% 62% 74% 74% 8% 7% 10% 6% 16% 9% 5% 3% 1%

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