UK bill allows authorities to install smart meters in homes by force

An energy bill nearing its final vote in the House of Commons allows authorities to force-install smart energy meters in homes if necessary, including via forced entry.

Smart meters, or “energy smart appliances,” not only provide utility companies with real-time data on customers’ electricity usage, but they can also be controlled by the companies remotely. This process, called “load control” or “demand-side management,” enables electric companies to control how much electricity their customers consume and when — not by regulating the electricity output from energy sources, but by shutting customers’ meters off and on.

The 446-page energy bill defines an “energy smart appliance” as:

[A]n appliance which is capable of adjusting the immediate or future flow of electricity into or out of itself or another appliance in response to a load control signal; and includes any software or other systems which enable or facilitate the adjustment to be made in response to the signal.

Energy smart appliances will be regulated and compliance will be enforced, continues the legislation:

Energy smart regulations may include provision to ensure compliance with any prohibition or requirement imposed by or under the regulations, including provision. . .requiring persons to supply evidence of their compliance to enforcement authorities. . .conferring powers of entry, including by reasonable force. . .conferring powers of inspection, search and seizure. . .conferring powers to require the production of information or things held at, or electronically accessible from, entered premises. . .conferring powers to enable the testing of energy smart appliances by 25 enforcement authorities, including powers to require the provision of sample appliances and powers to make test purchases. . .conferring functions, including functions involving the exercise of a discretion. 

The British government has already mandated a smart meter rollout with the goal of installing the devices in 80% of homes and 73% of businesses by 2025. Energy companies have reportedly achieved 57% of that goal.

But energy bosses have been urging His Majesty’s Government to require smart meters in every home and business to help the country achieve its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2030.

“Getting the government to mandate that every household has to have a smart meter is absolutely necessary if we’re going to achieve net zero.  At the moment, it’s all voluntary, and we’re not getting the take-up that’s needed. If we want to transition the grid to a smart grid, we need to know what consumers are using in their homes,” said Telecom Plus CEO Andrew Lindsay. Telecom Plus owns Utility Warehouse, an energy company with nearly a million customers.

EDF Energy Managing Director of Customers Phillippe Commaret said smart meters, which he likened to seatbelts, should be compulsory for small businesses as well.

“It’s like the seatbelt in the car, you don’t have a choice to put it on or not for safety reasons. You have to wear the seatbelt. It really should be absolutely mandatory for small businesses to have a smart meter, in order to have a better grip on their consumption, which will then reduce their bills,” said Commaret.

Devices like smart meters and smart thermostats have mixed reputations, with some households wary of their home’s electricity or climate being monitored and controlled by a corporation.

In Virginia, over half a dozen Virginia residents opted to live without electricity in November and December after refusing to allow Dominion Energy to install smart meters in their homes.

“Smart meters also enable us to turn your electric service on and off without having to send an employee to your home or business,” says Dominion Energy on its website, adding that the program “means fewer trucks on the road, reduced emissions and less impact on the environment.” 

Last summer, thousands of Colorado residents who had opted-in to an “energy-saving” plan suddenly found their “smart thermostats” locked at 78 degrees Fahrenheit, Frontline News reported at the time. 

“By participating in AC Rewards, adjustments are made to your smart thermostat during the hottest summer days,” explains XL Energy on its website. “When the demand for electricity is the highest, you'll help us manage these peaks and ease the strain on the electrical grid. You'll be cut back on the time your central air works to cool your home with control events.”  

These “control events,” says Xcel Energy, can occur at any time, but participants can opt out of them manually if they choose. However, “[o]n rare occasions, system emergencies may cause a control event that cannot be overridden.”  

That “system emergency” reportedly happened in August, the first time in the program’s six-year history. Despite the temperature climbing into the 90s, an unexpected outage in Pueblo combined with heavy air conditioning usage led to the company locking 22,000 homes out of their thermostats which were automatically set at 78 degrees.