Big Six Energy Firms Hit with £10.8m Fine for Missing Smart Meter Targets
Britain’s top energy suppliers – British Gas, OVO, Bulb, E.ON, Scottish Power, and SSE – have been forced to cough up a whopping £10.8 million. Why? They missed their 2022 smart meter installation targets by over a million units.
Who’s Paying What?
- British Gas leads the pack, paying £3.37 million.
- OVO chips in £2.39 million.
- Bulb hands over £1.83 million.
- E.ON adds £1.72 million.
- Scottish Power pays £1.24 million plus an extra £440,000 for earlier missed targets.
- SSE contributes £252,000.
All payments go into Ofgem’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund (EIVRF), which supports vulnerable households battling sky-high energy bills and freezing homes.
Ofgem Holds Back on Tough Action
Despite this major shortfall – 1,026,628 smart meters not installed – Ofgem has decided not to launch a full-scale probe. The regulator accepted energy firms’ explanations and mitigation attempts. Instead, Ofgem wants cooperation to speed up the smart meter rollout going forward.
Smart Meter Rollout: The Road Ahead
The government launched a four-year Smart Meter Targets Framework in 2022 to fast-track the switch to smarter, greener energy use. So far, over 58% of UK meters (more than 33 million) are now smart or advanced. But missing last year’s targets shows there’s still a long way to go.
With rising energy bills squeezing households, these funds could make a real difference for those shivering in cold homes. The message from Ofgem: hit the targets or pay up.
