Non-Profit Takes Over Britain's 39m Smart Meter Network
A non-profit startup has taken control of the data network that connects Great Britain's 39m smart meters. It replaces Smart DCC, a Capita subsidiary whose 13-year licence has ended after years of spiralling costs and delays.
A rollout behind its own schedule
Smart DCC held a 13-year licence to build the first national data network for smart meters. Building it was marked by expensive delays, and billing faults affected millions of homes in the meantime.
Ministers had hoped every home would have a smart meter before 2020. They wanted to bring the ageing energy system up to date, with more renewable power and tariffs driven by data. Instead, three in ten households still have no meter, and the government's spending watchdog says another £1.7bn may be needed to finish. It cites serious reputational obstacles.
In 2024, Citizens Advice said households had been let down because almost a third of smart meters were not working properly.
What industry sources say about the tender
Industry sources say the subsidiary was effectively blocked from tendering for a new licence. Whitehall officials had decided to drop the commercial framework set up in 2013 in favour of a non-profit model built around the public interest, with an independent board in charge.
The tender ran last summer. Around the same time, the regulator began investigating Smart DCC's procurement contracts. Some deals were awarded without a competitive process, and one went to its parent, Capita. In July, Smart DCC agreed to pay £200,000 into a consumer redress fund.
Capita's wider troubles
The redress payment came in the same week that Capita had to apologise over its role in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which left thousands of former civil servants waiting to be paid. Capita, once in charge of a string of government schemes, has seen its market value fall by 97% in a decade. Ahead of an emergency restructuring, the company disclosed badly stretched finances and a growing debt pile.
The successor and its board
The network will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Smart Energy Code Company. The new operator says it will focus more on cost, transparency and the needs of customers and consumers. Its board mixes veteran energy and telecoms executives with Dame Gillian Guy, the former chief executive of Citizens Advice.
Capita's 99.6% availability claim
Capita has promised a seamless transition. A spokesperson said the programme that began as an ambitious project is now "critical national infrastructure", connecting more than 39.2m meters across 23m homes and small businesses, with 99.6% network availability.
An Ofgem spokesperson credited Smart DCC with a major part in delivering a secure, efficient communications structure. The new licence holder, the regulator said, is expected to "build on that solid foundation".
Our Take
The licence change moves a key piece of energy infrastructure to a model aimed at cost control. Its success depends on meters that work and on reaching the homes still without one. The first signs will be whether billing problems persist and whether the £1.7bn estimate holds under the new operator.
Source: the Guardian