Increasingly, heavy handed and even aggressive tactics are being adopted by energy companies to coerce the public into agreeing to the installation of smart meters. Last weekend, UK energy provider, Octopus Energy, hit the headlines because it’s resorted to warning consumers that their existing analogue meters have outlived their ‘best before date’, as if they were a food item. They double down with fear tactics by then implying that consumers are obligated under law to replace a perfectly good meter. But it just isn’t so. ANH's executive coordinator, Meleni Aldridge, has been subject to such coercion from Octopus. Deeply disappointing after years of providing an excellent service and renewable energy, but the response was simply, get a smart meter or find a new provider. So much for rewarding customer loyalty.

Such tactics are clearly being driven by government imposed targets. As a result, the UK energy watchdog, Ofgem, is imposing punishing fines on companies not meeting installation targets. In 2022 alone, energy companies in the UK that didn’t meet their targets agreed to pay Ofgem a total of £10.8 million—of customers' money!

How smart are smart meters?

According to a 2022 analysis by US organisation, Mission:data Coalition, 97% of smart meters have failed to provide the customer savings originally promised in 2009. A recent paper published in Cell Reports Physical Science blames the lack of savings on poor quality (= not so smart) data collected by smart meters.

In the UK, for example, many households are experiencing overcharges and other issues due to smart meter faults, poor supplier management, and connectivity issues. Technical issues and mismanagement by energy suppliers have led to a significant number of these meters not functioning correctly, leaving consumers unable to track their energy usage effectively and missing out on the potential savings and insights these devices are supposed to provide. Added to which smart meters allow the energy companies to overcharge annually on top of what’s been used.

High-profile cases, such as artist Grayson Perry's disputed bill increase from £300 to £39,000, spotlight the extreme consequences of not-so-smart meters. Consumers facing sudden spikes in their bills due to meter errors have seen little resolution, despite efforts to address these issues with energy suppliers. The severe overcharging and billing errors raise concerns about whether the investment in smart meters is truly benefiting consumers.

In Canada, despite clever marketing techniques based on savings having persuaded consumers to make the switch to smart meters, ‘time-of-use’ (TOU) tariffs have ‘backfired’ as consumers have refused to change their consumption habits. People have continued as normal and paid higher rates to use energy as when they choose.

TOU tariffs are currently under consideration for introduction in the UK. If they come in, energy companies will be able to charge different prices depending on the time of usage, the availability of so-called ‘green energy’, as well as the fluctuating cost of energy. The big question is whether consumers will adapt and comply, or continue in a manner that befits their needs and lifestyle despite incurring higher costs.

The global smart meter market is currently valued at $24 billion and is projected to grow to a massive $77 billion by 2032. But the truth of it is that early adopter countries are now facing significant bills to replace older technology that’s lost compatibility with evolving systems. Bills which are ultimately funded by us, the taxpayers.

In June 2024, 63% of all energy meters in the UK were 'smart' or advanced meters. Despite the coercion and huge marketing budgets directed at convincing consumers to install the devices, installation rates dropped by 11% as people have become more and more distrusting of the technology.

The UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero admits that 4 million devices aren’t working properly. However, independent research by The Money Saving Expert suggests that figure could be significantly higher.

Smart and safe?

The safety or otherwise of smart meters still provokes heated debate, yet governments cling to those well-worn claims, ‘there are no health risks’ and ‘smart meters are safe’, quoting industry influenced studies along with guidelines from regulatory bodies, such as the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). ICNIRP, which had its 2020 guidelines called into question and had to call on the World Health Organization (WHO) to prop up its claims. However, the situation is far more nuanced than we’re led to believe and many find themselves experiencing a range of, often debilitating, health issues following the installation of a smart meter.

Smart meters work by constantly streaming data back to the relevant energy company. In the UK, newer devices use the smart metering communications network. Potentially an individual household could end up with three smart meters – one each for electricity, gas and water if they have all of those services and they’re supplied by separate energy companies.

What we’re not told is that it’s the spikes of pulsed energy and not the average power density, that can cause health effects. Studies claiming there are no health harms only use data based on average power levels over a set period of time. In a letter sent by scientists and health professionals to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, they explain that smart meters and cell phones occupy similar frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, meaning that cell phone research can apply to smart meter radio frequency radiation (RFR). Smart meter RFR consists of frequent, very intense but very brief pulses throughout the day. Because smart meter exposure over a 24-hour period can be very prolonged (pulses can average 9,600 times a day), and because there is building evidence that the sharp, high intensity pulses are particularly harmful, the cell phone study findings are applicable when discussing adverse health impacts from smart meters.

A recent study shows that accumulated EMF exposures, such those from WiFi, smart meters, mobile phone, cell towers and other such devices, even at low levels, are causing oxidative stress that affects our organs, and damages our immune system.

Not only do smart meters pose a risk to our health they’re also at risk of cyberattacks.

Big Brother in your home

Contrary to what was initially touted, significant amounts of data are actively collected by smart meters, which are then shared with third parties. All without your knowledge. 

Not only that, in the UK, the Government has been considering making changes to the Smart Energy Code to allow energy suppliers to switch off power to high usage electrical devices such as electric vehicle chargers and heating systems in an emergency situation.

It’s not a very big leap from there to using your energy supply as leverage for more social control. Much along the lines of China’s ‘social credit system’ that rewards actions that “build trust in society” and penalise the opposite. And let’s not forget about the connection of more and more ‘smart’ electrical devices to the Internet of Things. Reading and recording your every move in an increasingly surveilled, controlled and authoritarian world.

Smart up or pay up!

The race to convert all analogue meters to smart meters globally is well and truly on. Almost a million homes in the UK now face having their cheap overnight electricity tariffs switched off unless they install a smart meter. A 2023 UK Parliamentary report warns that around 7 million early smart meters will cease to function as older mobile networks (2G and 3G) are switched off.

In Australia, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) proposed a draft rule to fast-track smart meter installations. The vast majority of responses (from individuals) to the ensuing consultation raised objections to the proposal, which was rammed through regardless, yet again, favouring industry and government agendas over people’s wishes.

In Ireland, the push is on to persuade unwary consumers with exhortations of safety and money saving, to agree to the installation of smart meters.

In 2022, French people refusing installation of a smart meter were threatened with financial penalties.

However, not one European country has yet achieved a 100% installation rate of smart meters. One has to ask why if they are such a positive asset.

Industry eyes are now turning to Asia as the next big market to target. It is yet to be seen how compliant these new markets will be.

Additional Resources

>>> Physicians for Safe Technology – Smart Meter Radiation Health Effects

>>> EM-Radiation Research Trust letter of complaint against Smart Meters – with additional links

>>> Physicians’ Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment (PHIRE)

>>> Environmental Health Trust

>>> StopSmartMeters.org

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