Tories back smart meters for every home
Rollout would "revolutionise" energy use, says David Cameron
Smart meters allow real-time monitoring of energy use
Conservative leader David Cameron has committed his party to "ensuring that smart meters are installed in every home in the country".
Delivering a much-heralded speech called "Blue Green Charter" at the Royal Horticultural Society, Cameron claimed the technology has "the potential to revolutionise people's relationship with the energy they use" and provide more accurate bills.
The government is prevaricating on whether to throw its support behind smart meters for every home in the light of widely-differing estimates of the cost involved.
The energy industry says full rollout of the real-time energy monitoring devices will cost £5bn to £10bn, but the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) puts the figure at £10bn to £20bn over 30 years.
A final decision is expected before the end of the year, following a series of DBERR-backed trials.
You may also like
/news/4338523/tatas-uk-gigafactory-project-takes-major-step-forward
Components
Tata's UK gigafactory project takes major step forward
Sir Robert McAlpine to build multi-billion-pound factory
/sponsored/4336571/orion-revolutionising-uks-fibre-network-planning-survey
Leadership
ORION: Revolutionising UK's Fibre Network planning and Survey
Flagship program will enable faster network planning and building
/podcasts/4333508/national-grid-analogue-digital-ctrl-alt-lead-podcast
Public Sector
National Grid is turning analogue to digital - Ctrl Alt Lead podcast
'We can't do what we've always done, just more efficiently'