Smart & Remote Meters

A supplier can flip a smart meter from credit to prepayment mode remotely, but only under the same strict rules that govern forcing a physical prepayment meter. It is treated as an involuntary installation when done without your genuine agreement, so the full protections apply.

• At least seven working days' notice, the supplier must give you advance notice before switching the meter to prepay mode. No notice means the switch is improper.
• Vulnerable households cannot be switched at all, the same bans as forced installation: homes needing continuous supply for health, where everyone is over 75 with no support, with severe illness or a warm-home dependency, or with very young children. Tell them in writing if this is you.
• They must have tried to reach you and assessed your circumstances, repeated contact attempts and a welfare assessment, exactly as for a warrant installation.
• Last resort only, after offers of affordable repayment and support.

People fear that a smart meter lets a supplier cut them off at the touch of a button. The reality is far more constrained. A smart meter cannot disconnect you on its own, and a supplier can only disconnect or restrict supply under very strict regulation, the same protections that apply to any meter.

• No self-disconnection by the meter, the device cannot cut your power autonomously.
• Disconnection is a last resort with strict steps, a supplier must follow a defined process, give notice, and offer support before any disconnection, and many groups are protected from it entirely, especially over winter.
• Emergency credit, all smart prepayment meters must provide emergency credit so you are not instantly cut off when you run low.
• If you are left off supply, this is a serious failure. Contact the supplier's priority line immediately, and if anyone is at risk, treat it as an emergency. Ask Claude to draft an urgent complaint.

Smart meters record how much energy you use and send it to your supplier. There are real privacy rules around this, and you have more control than most people realise over how often your data is collected and how it is used.

• You can set how often readings are taken, you can ask your supplier to collect data less frequently (for example monthly rather than half-hourly), limiting the detail they hold.
• Consent for marketing use, your supplier cannot use your detailed consumption data for marketing without your consent.
• Data protection rights apply, under UK GDPR you can ask what data is held, request a copy, and object to certain uses. Ask Claude to draft a data request to your supplier.
• You can usually still get a smart meter put in "dumb" mode, if you object to remote functionality, you can ask for it to operate without sending automatic readings, though you then submit your own. Ask Claude how to request this.

Smart meters now carry Guaranteed Standards with automatic compensation, and you have the right to move back to a credit meter in the right circumstances. Suppliers often do not volunteer these.

• £40 automatic compensation, from 23 February 2026 the Guaranteed Standards extend to smart meters. You are owed an automatic £40 payment if you wait more than six weeks for an installation appointment, if an installation appointment fails through the supplier's fault, or if the supplier does not give you a resolution plan within five working days of you reporting a problem. A further standard covering meters left out of smart mode for more than 90 days is expected later in 2026.
• Right to switch back to credit, if your debt is cleared or a repayment plan is agreed, you can ask to move from prepay back to a credit meter, and this should be done at no charge.
• Faulty meter, if your meter is faulty, the supplier must repair or replace it within the standard time or pay compensation, and you are entitled to a refund for any overcharge.
• Complaint and Ombudsman, if they will not put it right, complain formally, get a deadlock letter or wait eight weeks, then go free to the Energy Ombudsman. Ask Claude to prepare it.