Tories must take back control of smart meters

Responding to the National Audit Office report on rolling out smart meters, Ed Davey, former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said:

“The smart meter programme's aims are positive and making the energy system smarter is essential if we want to move to a low carbon economy.

“However, the Tories have bungled this rollout badly. When I left Government we were expecting 2^nd generation meters and a central database within a year; we currently have neither. Instead, because of Conservative failings, suppliers are still rolling out 1^st generation meters that go ‘dumb’ when you switch. What’s the point of a smart meter that stops working if you switch? Liberal Democrats demand better.

 
“The Government needs to take back control of smart meters. First, they need to accept some hard truths: they have completely botched this, it’s going to come in vastly over budget, and they are responsible. Only then can the public trust that smart meters will work for them, otherwise they’ll think it's nothing more than a white elephant.”