By Bill Heaney
Are smart meters experiencing a disproportionate number of operational issues compared with elsewhere in the UK, an MSP asked John Swinney at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.
Evelyn Tweed (Stirling) (SNP), pictured right, wanted to know if the Scottish Government has had a meeting with the UK government regarding reports from BBC “Panorama” that smart meters in Scotland are experiencing a disproportionate number of operational issues.This is said to be, compared with elsewhere in the UK, due to differences in the connection type used to send data to energy providers.
The First Minister told her: “I am disappointed to hear that Scottish energy consumers are being disadvantaged in this way.
“Given that smart meter roll-out is a reserved matter, we regularly raise such issues affecting Scottish consumers with the UK Government.
“We will continue to urge it to take the necessary action to ensure that all households with smart meters in Scotland are provided with full network access.
“We are also working with our consumer advice and advocacy partners to ensure that they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and information to support consumers who are seeking help on managing or accessing smart meters.”
Evelyn Tweed replied: “In light of the UK Government’s announcement that it is reviewing the roll-out of smart meters, how will the Scottish Government seek to engage in the review to ensure that Scottish consumers are protected?”
Mr Swinney said: “We regularly engage with the UK Government at both ministerial and official level on that point.
“The Acting Minister for Climate Action, Alasdair Allan, recently met his UK counterpart to share outcomes from our Scottish Government energy consumers round table, which brought together a range of stakeholders from across the energy industry to discuss issues affecting Scottish consumers.
“We aim to hold that series of round tables regularly, and we will continue to feed back to the UK Government the need for further consumer protection against the key challenges that are faced, including smart meter connectivity.”
LibDem MSP Liam McArthur, Orkney Islands, told parliament: “The First Minister rightly addresses the need to improve the communications network, but there is already a disparity in the roll-out of smart meters, which has seen 65 per cent installation nationally against 20 per cent installation in places such as Orkney.
“Would the First Minister back a regional approach to the roll-out, with delivery through locally recruited suppliers, rather than the current supplier-led model that uses delivery through installers who are working for multiple suppliers?”