LONDON, March 10 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

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Energy suppliers forced to fix faulty smart meters as soon as possibleor facefines andpenalties

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Cutting wait timetono more than 90 daysso households can save money on bills

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Builds on £40 compensation if consumers face issueswhile gettinga smart meterinstalled

Families will save money on bills through new obligations that energy suppliers will fix their smart meter more quickly, cutting waiting times for billpayers.

Under tough new standards, suppliers will have no more than 90 days torepair faultysmart meters - or else faceactionfrom the regulator, which couldincludefines orlegal action.

While 92% of smart meters work as they should,many households have struggled with their smart meters notoperatingin smart mode, meaning they do not send automatic meter readings to suppliers - and have had to wait far too long to get them fixed.

The government's changes will help put an end to that - driving up standards and cracking down on badpractice- in the latest step to reform the energy market and put billpayers first.

Consumers are alsonoweligible for £40 in compensation if they face issuesthroughouttheprocess of installing asmart meter, such as delayedor failedinstallations, following reforms brought forward by Ofgem last month.

And lastsummer,the government published aguide to smart meteringto support families to gain a better understanding of their rightsby clearly setting out in one place everything households can expect from suppliers when they get a smart meter.

Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey said:

Smart meters arealreadyhelping millions ofpeoplemanage their energyuseand save onbills.

But we knowfar too many peoplecan be waitingseveralmonths for theirsmartmeterto befixed- and losing money in the process.

Thesenew rules willput an end to this,making sure meters are fixed in good time - driving upstandards,protectingbillpayers, andhelpingmore consumers feel the benefits of having a smart meter.

Energy supplierswill alsobe requiredto replace all smart meters that are still connected to 2G and 3G before the services are switched offby2033, under rules introduced today- ensuring consumerscontinue tobenefitfrom their smart metersaslocalnetworks move over to 4G services.

Almost40million householdsand small businessesacross Britain already use smart meters tohelp thembetterunderstandtheir energy use and bring down their bills.In 2025,households withsmart meters saved an estimated £700 millionontheirbills.

Notes to editors:

Suppliersare already required totake all reasonable steps to fixsmart metersthat arenot working as they should.The obligations being introduced today will now provide atime framewithin which suppliers mustprovide repairs - mandating thatsuppliers must take all reasonable steps to ensurethatmeters are fixed as soon as possible, and no longer than 90 days after they are notified of the issue.

Failure tocomply withthese rules couldresultin the energyregulator putting companies on notice orenforcing fines.

The consultation on the post-2025 smart metering policy framework can be found here:Smart metering policy framework post 2025 - GOV.UK

Ofgem's announcement on guaranteed standards of performance for smart meters can be found here:Ofgem to roll out tougher smart meter rules from February Ofgem

40million householdsand small businesseshave a smart meter, according to DESNZ analysis:Smart meter statistics - GOV.UK

DESNZ analysisalsoestimates thathouseholds withsmart meters savedan estimated £700 million on theirbillsin 2025.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.