Families Energy Watchdog has announced that smart meter will be able to get compensation from suppliers to delay the installation.
Togem Proposals have been unveiled to bring the rules that consumers will see the eligible for 4 40 compensation, if they have to wait for more than six weeks for smart meter installation, as well as not to work in defective meters and smart modes which are not fixed within 90 days.
It comes as a part of a broken crack Smart meterWhich has helped the regulator to repair more than 600,000 faulty meters from July last year.
Moneysavingexpert.com Founder Martin Lewis The proposals were welcomed as he said “one in five is likely to be” Smart meter Are defective.
It is believed that millions of smart meters have been left in the so -called “dumb” mode, where they have poor connectivity or stop transmitting readings automatically.
Togem Said that by expanding the rules to cover poor connectivity, it would mean that more consumers can get compensation.
Charlotte Fail, director of Retail Pricing & Systems at OFGEM, said: “Millions of consumers rely on their smart meters every day for precise billing, cheap tariffs, automatic meter readings and real -time data to help spend.
“But we know many customers who want a smart meter to wait for an installed or facial delay when it stops working – it needs to be changed.”
He said: “These new rules are about setting clear expectations of suppliers, encouraging them to promote smart meter standards and protect consumers from poor service, if things go wrong.”
Plans means that suppliers will need to improve smart meter standards or pay from the beginning of 2026, according to OFGEM.
Mr. Lewis said: “A lot of smart meters, one of the five is likely, as they should not work – a problem for not only all broken houses, but for smart meter rollouts.
“With so many disgruntled customers, Word-of-Mouth is bad, so people ask their friends and neighbors not to get one.
“We need to immediately fix the firms of firms from installing smart meters to those who are broken-only meters that go into dumb mode, but significantly stop working with all elements, in-hom displays.”
Under the new rules, micro-business will also be able to get compensation for smart meter issues.
Energy Consumer Minister Miat Fahnbulleh said: “Consumers are at the center of our mission to give an energy retail market that works for everyone, because we move towards a clean, homegron power system for security Houses Global fossil fuel value against spikes.
“This is why the government is taking action with OFGEM to better preserve families when a smart meter is installed.”
U-Surich said that its research found that one of the five houses with faulty smart meters waited for over two years to fix his device.
Richard Nudegag, director of Regulation on Uswitch.com, said: “Creation of consumer confidence is important to explain the rest of the houses to get a smart meter.
“These proposals by TOGEM focus more on fixing faulty smart meters, and give consumers confident of taking a dip.”
