BizzEnergy, the UK’s leading independent energy provider, today announces it has successfully installed its 1000th Smart Meter. The company, renowned for its innovative approach in a market dominated by six large suppliers, is committed to delivering Smart Meters to 20% of its business customer base by the end of 2008. The Meters are designed to help businesses run their energy more efficiently, and in turn reduce costs. BizzEnergy already has advanced orders for an additional 1000 meters which it will install by the end of May.  BizzEnergy pioneered the introduction of Smart Meters in 2004 when they were the first energy company to install the technology. The Smart Meters use GPRS technology to send actual meter readings to energy suppliers putting an end to estimated bills, a common complaint for business customers who need to keep a close eye on cash-flow. Recent studies conducted by the Energy Savings Trust have shown that the implementation of Smart Meters can reduce energy consumption by as much as 20%. Following successful trials of the technology throughout 2006, BizzEnergy has boosted its campaign to have Smart Meters installed with the majority of its customers. A BizzEnergy Smart Meter enables customers to track their energy consumption and costs by providing the data in half hourly segments. Each month this data is downloaded to BizzEnergy and customers can use it to see when they are using energy and identify what steps they could take to reduce their costs and environmental impact. James Constant, COO at BizzEnergy comments: “We’re always relentless in our efforts to improve the way in which we do business, and the installation of our 1000th Smart Meter is a significant milestone for us. The fact that we have already taken orders for another 1000 meters to be installed by the end of May signifies our commitment to making this technology available now, rather than sitting back and waiting for Government mandate or subsidy. It’s clear that customers no longer want or expect estimated bills, and why should they when the technology exists to make these a thing of the past? The additional visibility that Smart Meters bring means that customers are truly empowered to take more control over costs and cash-flow, whilst still doing their bit for the environment.”

Bglobal expects to report higher full-year losses with revenues below forecasts due to the slower than anticipated roll-out of a number of significant orders. However, the energy meter provider said it has a strong order book and is confident of an imminent increase in the uptake of orders for meters following recent news that the government has mandated smart meters for ‘medium size customers’. As a result, Bglobal believes that the rate of installations on contracts already signed will improve markedly during the next financial year. “The board continues to believe that the fundamental market drivers for the introduction of smart meters are strong and given the strength of the pipeline of contracted revenues and opportunities for 2008, the board is approaching the next financial year with confidence,” said the group.

The installation of smart meters across the country could cost more than £16 billion, dwarfing earlier industry estimates, according to figures released by the Government yesterday. The £16.1 billion estimate was contained in a preliminary study of the economics of smart metering by Mott Macdonald, the engineering firm. It stands in stark contrast to industry claims that the installation of the meters in 45 million homes and businesses, a process which could take up to 20 years, would cost only £6 billion. Smart meters, which measure exactly how much energy is used at all times, are designed to encourage efficiency. As well as helping consumers to identify ways to reduce their usage and their bills by turning off electrical equipment and using more energy-efficient devices, they enable power companies to introduce off-peak deals similar to those offered by telephone operators. They will allow consumers to be rewarded for using energy at off-peak times, such as between 1am and 5am, enabling a reduction in the total generating capacity necessary to power the UK. They should lead to more accurate billing by ensuring correct data is sent back to suppliers leading to accurate monthly bills. The Government, industry and consumer groups agree the UK’s existing electricity meters need to be replaced but officials and campaigners have given warning that companies have underestimated the cost of installation, which will be passed on to consumers through their utility bills. Yesterday the Government edged closer to ordering nationwide use of the new meters by informing energy companies that powers to do so would be included in a new Energy Bill. It stopped short of saying it would definitely back the scheme, pointing out that there were still big questions over cost and complexity and that more studies were necessary before a final decision could be taken. In a letter to Britain’s leading power companies, the Department of Business said that a final decision had been delayed until November because the Government is not yet convinced that the meters will be cost-effective. “We wish to deepen our understanding and, as far as we can, resolve remaining uncertainties before we take those final decisions,” the letter stated. A spokeswoman for the Department said yesterday that the £16.1 billion figure was the highest estimate of several in the report. They varied according to how the rollout would be implemented, the likely cost of the metering equipment and the timeframe. Mott Macdonald said that the cost could be only £7.5 billion if the industry took a more gradual approach. The Energy Bill enters its third reading in Parliament next week, making this the last opportunity for the Government to amend it. “These amendments give Government the powers it needs to take the next steps on smart metering subject to resolving remaining uncertainties,” the letter said. The plan is for companies to begin installing the meters in 2010, with the implementation lasting for years. But the Government and industry cannot agree the cost of the programme. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, said its own studies showed that the rollout could be achieved for £6 billion. Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive, said: “We are convinced there will be a significant positive return for the UK. This stems from our own detailed research, presented to government.”

Siemens and eMeter announce a global, joint development and supply agreement for the sale and implementation of eMeter’s EnergyIP(TM) meter data management software. Siemens will provide a global EnergyIP(TM) sales and delivery channel including installation, configuration and first line support. eMeter will support Siemens’ sales providing EnergyIP(TM) software, globalization and advanced support.  Leveraging the strengths of both Siemens and eMeter, EnergyIP(TM) is poised to become the global standard in meter data management (MDM) software and a cornerstone for the Smart Grid. Siemens and eMeter will enable the integration of MDM with existing utility systems through strong partnering programs with providers of AMI technology and system integration services. Siemens selected eMeter for its market leadership in MDM based on the architectural superiority of EnergyIP(TM) and its independently certified performance. EnergyIP(TM) offers sustainable competitive advantages in functionality, flexibility, scalability, open architecture, and total life-cycle cost of ownership. “For successful utilities’ long-term AMI and MDM strategies, it is essential to have an open, technology-neutral and independent MDM system, such as that offered by eMeter’s EnergyIP(TM),” said Paul Maher, CEO, Siemens Metering Services. eMeter elected to partner with Siemens for its unsurpassed global capabilities in utility software sales, delivery, and support; its expertise and array of products and services for Smart Grids; and global experience working with existing eMeter partners, including system integrators and AMI technology companies. “Through this joint development and supply agreement, eMeter will extend the capabilities of EnergyIP(TM) and complement this with Siemens’ global sales and project execution,” said Cree Edwards, CEO, eMeter. “Our relationship will leverage Siemens’ global sales organization operating in 190 countries and Siemens’ strengths in Smart Grid products and services to make EnergyIP(TM) the global MDM standard and a foundation for grid automation.”

UK-based utility Scottish and Southern Energy has agreed to invest GBP1 million in data systems developer Onzo, in return for a 24.5% share in the company. SSE’s investment partner, Sigma Capital Group, will also invest GBP1 million for an equivalent 24.5% share.   Onzo’s technology is used in the development of display devices that support smart metering systems. The devices provide real-time information about energy consumption and have the potential to provide data down to the individual appliance level. Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has also placed initial orders worth over GBP7 million with Onzo for the company’s energy display products and specialist data services. As part of this order, SSE has secured exclusive rights to Onzo’s products and services covering the UK and Ireland. David Gardner, head of ventures at SSE, said: “Energy customers have a growing expectation that their supplier will provide new ways to help them reduce their energy consumption, and in the future this could become an important service differentiator. This partnership with Onzo will give SSE access to leading-edge technologies that will help us provide a new level of support to customers who want to reduce their energy consumption.”

Can you imagine a situation where your grocery shopping involved you having to guess the cost of food you were buying, with an accurate bill not arriving until three months later?  It may sound ludicrous and yet this is the way that the vast majority of us currently shop for our gas and electricity! Our latest Green Barometer IV research report, launched yesterday, highlighted that nearly eight out of ten Brits don’t know what they’re paying for their gas and electricity. I am not surprised – have you ever tried to read your electricity or gas meters? Normally they’re hidden away in a cupboard under the stairs, in the garage or in my case at the bottom of the food cupboard - hardly conducive for helping you to keep track of your energy usage!

Our study finds that energy bills are the most difficult for us to understand of any household bill: twice as hard as phone bills and four times as difficult as bank statements or credit card bills. This lack of transparency surrounding energy usage is one of the biggest problems holding back the UK’s fight against climate change.  This is where smart meters come in. They include a portable display unit that can be taken anywhere in the house and which would allow you to monitor how much energy was being used at any time – as well as over days, weeks, or even months.

All well and good you might be thinking, but how will simply knowing energy consumption help people to save energy? Well, this is where I believe that the energy suppliers will have an important role to play. Unlike so-called clip-on displays, smart meters offer a two way communication system between the householder and the energy supplier. What does this mean? Well, it would allow the energy supplier to monitor and assess your home energy use, and then based on this they could offer tailored energy saving recommendations that were relevant to your needs and situation.

International trials, in places such as Sweden and the United States have shown smart meters offer an energy saving potential of between 5 and 10 per cent.  Even, using a conservative five per cent baseline, if everyone in the UK switched to smart meters British householders could save £1.2bn a year and the equivalent of 7.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions – figures that can’t be ignored. 

Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas group, has bought a stake in a British smart meter supply company, hoping the energy efficiency product will make its supplies more attractive to UK customers. The Russian company, which yesterday ended another damaging stand-off with Ukraine over wholesale gas supplies, said the stake in TruRead would help it “differentiate” itself by offering innovative services, though it refused to disclose the size of the stake or its cost. “With rising public and regulatory concern about the need to reduce carbon emissions, this proprietary technology will enable multi-commodity consumers to be more energy efficient and to control their energy use more easily and cost effectively,” said Vitaly Vasiliev, chief executive of Gazprom Marketing & Trading. This is the first acquisition in Britain since the summer of 2006 when Gazprom bought a small Cheshire gas supply firm, Pennine Natural Gas, which has recruited 10,000 UK customers, including the steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters. Gazprom says it expects to expand further although expectations that it would soon buy a major utility such as Centrica have faded. The British government is keen to encourage the use of smart meters to reduce carbon emissions. Wednesday’s budget statement included a commitment to introduce them in medium and large companies over the next five years, by providing greater incentives for businesses to reduce the energy they consume. Simon Slater, managing director of TruRead, said Gazprom’s involvement gave it the green light to develop its products and services further, in the UK and globally. In the longer term the government would like to see 45m gas and electricity meters replaced by smart equivalents, which can be read remotely by energy companies and allow users to monitor consumption.

Shares surged in Lancashire-based Bglobal, which supplies smart meters to help businesses monitor their energy consumption and reduce their bills, after the company announced a £3m deal. Bglobal, which has its headquarters in Blackburn, said it had won a contract for meters and data collection services with Opus Energy, which supplies electricity to small and medium-sized firms and larger corporates. The news prompted a 5.2 per cent rise in Bglobal’s shares. They rose 2p to 40.5p. In a stock market statement, Bglobal said Opus was planning a fast rollout of the service and has begun installing the first batch of 5,000 meters. Tony Stiff, commercial director at Bglobal, said: “This contract provides further endorsement of the financial benefits and associated environmental advantages of using smart meters. “Opus Energy is taking an innovative approach by providing their meters for free and this represents a landmark agreement in the industry.” Opus has more than 40,000 customers, including Deloitte, Yell and Thorntons. It is based in Oxford and Northampton.

An Oxford University spin-out company has developed an innovative electricity metering and monitoring device the Geni-e meter and is planning to spin-out from Isis Innovation, the technology transfer arm for Oxford University. Intelligent Sustainable Energy’s (ISE)  founders include Dr Malcolm McCulloch, head of the Electrical Power Group at Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science, and chartered engineer Jim Donaldson. While so-called ‘smart meters’ are currently available these only measure total electricity consumption in half-hourly periods, making it difficult to see exactly where energy savings could be made. The Geni-e meter, by contrast, can accurately identify the amount of energy being used by types of appliance or even individual appliances such as cookers or immersion heaters. By delivering this kind of detailed energy-use breakdown to home PCs and handheld devices it can help householders to spot malfunctioning or energy-intensive devices and enable them to both reduce their carbon footprint and save money.

Power distribution company National Grid is to challenge the multi-million pound fine issued by energy regulator Ofgem, which claimed the company’s restrictive contracts were holding back developments in the energy metering market. Ofgem imposed the fine after nearly three years of analysis led to the conclusion that National Grid was in “serious” breach of competition laws. By entering into restrictive long-term contracts with five of the nation’s six largest energy suppliers, National Grid is alleged to be preventing those companies from replacing outdated and manual gas meters with more modern and potentially cheaper ’smart’ meters from rival meter suppliers. Smart meters can give consumers a better understanding of their energy consumption. For example, some meters provide a portable display device that gives users their real-time energy consumption rates both in terms of energy used and the cash value it is costing them. Smart meters are capable of transmitting users’ consumption rates wirelessly back to the energy provider. This allows for more accurate billing and reduces the need for physical meter reading by power company staff. Financial penalties in the contracts deter energy providers from buying cheaper, more advanced meters from other providers, and from replacing more than a small number of the National Grid-managed meters, Ofgem determined. Executives at National Grid were quick to refute Ofgem’s claims, insisting that their contracts were well-negotiated and completely sound. “We strongly believe we have never acted anti-competitively in the development of our contracts,” said Steve Holliday, chief executive of National Grid. “National Grid has been instrumental in helping Ofgem to develop competition in the UK.” Ofgem begs to differ, however, alleging that National Grid’s control of the metering market has harmed customers and slowed growth in the industry. “The abuse has prevented suppliers from contracting with other companies for cheaper metering deals and could discourage suppliers from installing smart meters,” Sir John Mogg, chairman of Ofgem said. By showing consumers what they are paying to use (or waste) energy, smart meters could significantly decrease unnecessary consumption. The more readily they are available to consumers, obviously, the greater their impact could be.