Smart meters

If your energy smart meter isn't automatically sending readings to your supplier like it's supposed to, you may soon be due compensation of £40. Under new proposals from energy regulator Ofgem, suppliers will also have to offer quicker fixes when you report a smart meter issue – though we don't yet know exactly how either of these measures will work in practice.

If you're a Scottish Power smart meter customer, you're likely to be paying 5% more than it shows on your linked monitor – also known as your 'in-home display' (IHD) – new research from MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) reveals, so check now.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has responded to calls from MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis to address high standing charges, fix broken smart meters and tackle the lack of competition in energy switching.

British Gas is extending its offer of half-price electricity on Sundays for some smart meter customers until April 2024. It's part of the energy firm's 'PeakSave' scheme and is a no-brainer for those who can get it. But you should still keep an eye out for cheaper fixed deals, as they could save you more in the long-term.

Two of the largest energy firms in Britain, British Gas and Ovo, are still unable to confirm they'll let smart prepay customers use their £400 energy support payments on both electricity AND gas – despite gas being crucial for many people's heating this winter. As the second Government payment of £66 starts hitting meters, MoneySavingExpert.com is once again calling on these firms to let their customers decide how best to use it.

MoneySavingExpert.com is calling on some of the biggest energy firms to make it possible for prepay customers with smart meters to use their £400 energy support payments on both electricity AND gas, as it's the gas meter that's crucial for many people's heating this winter. It is unfair – and potentially unsafe – not to let smart prepay users decide how to use the payment. See our round-up of what each company allows below.

Big six energy supplier SSE has agreed to pay £700,000 to Ofgem after missing its 2018 targets for installing smart meters. 

Energy supplier Utilita is facing a ban on taking on new customers after installing old first generation smart meters that often don't work when households switch.

Small energy firm Avro Energy has been banned from taking on new customers because it hasn't joined the national smart meter network.

A 'misleading' radio advert which claimed installing a smart meter could save consumers an average of 354 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year has been banned.