UK government announces 'Smart' meter rollout

3 December 2009


At the official opening on 8 December of Europe’s first Smart Grid centre at GE Energy’s Bracknell, UK, headquarters, energy minister Lord Hunt, presiding over the ceremony, announced the publication of a Smart Grid policy document and the results of a “2050 Vision document” drafted by the Energy Networks Strategy Group. Its most important outcome is the UK government's plan to bring about the installation of smart meters (for gas and electricity supplies) in every home by 2020. The cost of installing 47 million meters in 26 million homes is to be met by the electricity suppliers.

Addressing concerns that suppliers would regard the neceassity of passing on some of the cost of the operation to consumers as an opportunity to profiteer, the minister assured his listeners that the regulator Ofgem would be charged with keeping a tight rein on the process and that it would be given new powers during the next few months to enable it to do so. He added that the new conditions would give the customer an opportunity to make a genuinely free choice of supplier, thus enhancing competition.

In his remarks Lord Hunt cited “the need for a concerted effort to build a smarter electricity grid will result in new employment opportunities across the UK” and called on utilities, technology companies and consumers “to work together with government for a smarter energy future.”

Some of the technologies that will improve energy efficiency for consumers across the UK will be showcased at GE’s new Smart Grid Centre in Europe. The centre offers visitors the first-ever “turbine to toaster” view of the smart grid, showing utilities, government and consumers the many dramatic energy-management and carbon footprint-reducing advances available today.

“With increasing global demand for energy and on the eve of the Copenhagen climate change talks, now is the time to re-think how we deliver smarter, cleaner and more efficient electricity,” said Magued ElDaief, GE’s UK managing director. “In addition to participating in the global dialogue to plan a better energy future, GE has been building and testing real-world solutions that are ready to deploy today. In the UK, GE already manages grid intelligence for 13 of the 14 Distribution Network Operators. Our solutions at the Smart Grid Centre show how we can further maximize performance from power plants to neighborhood distribution and ultimately consumer usage in the home, the school and the workplace. We invite utilities, scientists, government officials and engineers to visit our Smart Grid Centre and work together towards a cleaner, smarter, more efficient energy future”.




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