Ofgem to roll out tougher smart meter rules from February

New smart meter standards and more compensation for customers facing long wait times for installations or repairs will take effect from February, following a decision made by Ofgem today.

Ofgem has confirmed it will take forward new rules which mean customers will automatically receive a £40 payment when:

• a customer has to wait more than 6 weeks for a smart meter installation appointment
• a smart meter installation appointment fails due to a fault within the supplier’s control
• a customer reports a problem with their smart meter, but the supplier does not provide a resolution plan within five working days of the report

Last March, Ofgem announced plans to review its Guaranteed Standards of Performance. This included a new set of rules to improve the service offered by energy suppliers to customers that want a smart meter.

These new Guaranteed Standards will support the smart meter rollout and provide better outcomes for consumers. They form part of Ofgem’s wider work to improve the smart meter experience by toughening up requirements and taking action to drive up supplier performance.

Since 2024, Ofgem's compliance engagement has seen more than 900,000 previously non-operating smart meters repaired or replaced.

This figure continues to rise, and Ofgem's new standards will further incentivise suppliers to install and repair smart meters as soon as possible or pay their customers compensation.

Melissa Giordano, Deputy Director of Systems and Processes at Ofgem said:

“Smart meters offer customers accurate bills, cheaper tariffs, and real-time energy use tracking.

“Every customer who wants a smart meter should get one quickly, and it should work from day one. These new rules will set clear expectations of suppliers, drive better performance, and protect consumers when things go wrong.”

According to the latest government data, over 70% of homes in Britain have a smart or advanced meter, and more than 90% are working correctly.

Ofgem is committed to ensuring consumers with smart meters receive a high standard of service throughout the customer journey, from installation to long term meter operation in smart mode.

Following engagement with stakeholders - including industry and consumer groups - the regulator intends to take forward GSOPs 1-3 immediately.

Automatic compensation remains a powerful way to incentivise industry to ensure smart meters are working in smart mode and to fix issues quickly. Ofgem therefore intends to take forward further work on GSOP 4 - which covers compensation when smart meters are not operating in smart mode and remain unfixed after 90 days - with a view to implementing it later this year. This is subject to successfully working through the accountability, technical and regulatory issues raised through the consultation.

This will allow time for maturity of ongoing technology upgrades and to ensure an appropriately balanced regulatory framework between licence obligations and automatic compensation. New smart meter standards and more compensation for customers facing long wait times for installations or repairs will take effect from February, following a decision made by Ofgem today.

In parallel, government has consulted on introducing a requirement on suppliers to fix smart meters that aren’t working properly as soon as possible, and within a maximum of 90 days.

The Guaranteed Standards of Performance were introduced by Ofgem to ensure that energy suppliers offer an appropriate level of service and compensation payments to customers when standards are not met.

Suppliers are currently required to make an automatic payment of £40 to consumers if they fail to meet the minimum standards outlined in the Guaranteed Standards. This includes making and keeping appointments, investigating and fixing/replacing credit or prepayment meter faults, and switching supplier within five working days. The announcement today confirms that these will now be extended to include smart meters.

They will be implemented from February 2026, and Ofgem has committed to reviewing these standards in early 2027 to ensure they are driving the right outcomes for consumers.

Notes to editors

• The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) sets smart meter policy, and the Data Communications Company (DCC) is responsible for managing smart meter connectivity.
• Suppliers are responsible for providing meters that offer the best outcome for consumers and were set installation targets by the government to the end of 2025. Ofgem is responsible for suppliers' compliance with their smart metering obligations.
• In 2023 Ofgem opened compliance engagement into six energy suppliers for not meeting their smart meter installation targets and for smart meters not operating in smart mode. More recently, it opened another case into three suppliers relating to their smart meter installation obligations.
• This decision links to Ofgem’s consumer confidence programme published in September 2024 which proposed the introduction of new smart meter Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSOPs) regarding the installation and maintenance of smart meters.
• As part of this programme, Ofgem committed to undertaking a wider review of the Guaranteed Standards framework following its decision to increase the payment level to £40 from January 2025 to reflect inflation.
• In addition, the Department of Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) outlined in its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan its ambition for new GSOPs on smart metering.