IET comment on DECC's announcement of preferred bidders

15th August 2013

The Institution of Engineering and Technology

Nat Bowers

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The Department of Energy and Climate Change have today announced preferred bidders for the competitions to establish the shared infrastructure needed to roll out smart meters across Great Britain. The Institution of Engineering and Technology has welcomed the reduction in uncertainty that this brings.

Dr Martyn Thomas, Chair of the IET IT Policy Panel, comments: “This is a major IT project needing professional systems engineering to ensure that the whole end to end system works securely and reliably not just the individual components. There is much work to do between now and the start of mass roll-out to ensure that the system performs as designed.

“It is important that the industry, in conjunction with DECC and Ofgem, now work in a harmonised way to ensure a successful rollout and a positive consumer experience.

“Smart meters are a vital first step towards creating the low carbon energy infrastructure of the future. The IET emphasises that the real prize is to ensure that the smart metering system is suitable for use as an integral part of a smart grid. Consumer participation in time shifting some of their electricity demand away from times of peak demand will be vital to enable the future delivery of affordable, secure and low carbon electricity. It is important that all consumers will be able to take part and be rewarded for their contribution.”