Maximising non-domestic smart meter consumer benefits, improving the data offer and enabling innovation
Download the full outcome
Detail of outcome
Government aims to lay the licence changes before Parliament in June 2022.
These changes consist of:
- an on-request data offer - this will enable non-domestic consumers and their nominated third parties to request free access to (up to) 12 months of their historic smart meter energy use data in a machine-readable format via the internet from their energy supplier. Suppliers must respond to data access requests within 10 working days, either granting data access (where all legal requirements are met) or clearly outlining why the request has been rejected and next steps
- awareness raising requirements with respect to data - energy suppliers must regularly raise non-domestic customer awareness of the routes by which they can access their smart meter energy use data for free
- a default data offer - this will require energy suppliers to provide or make available free, user-accessible energy use information to smaller non-domestic customers with smart meters. Information must be based upon the half-hourly/hourly (electricity/gas) data from their smart meter and regular enough to give customers insights into, and help them make informed choices about, their energy consumption
Subject to Parliament, the on-request data offer and awareness raising requirements will come into force from 1 December 2022 and will apply to all non-domestic consumers with a smart (SMETS or AMR) meter (smaller and larger industrial and commercial (I&C) organisations) as set out in our consultation proposal.
Subject to Parliament, suppliers will be required to provide or make available the default data offer by 1 October 2024. This will be limited to smaller businesses and public sector sites that fall within the smart metering mandate. We expect that some in industry may choose to implement sooner than the implementation date.
We have also published guidance and examples alongside this consultation response to support industry with policy implementation.
Detail of feedback received
We received 33 responses to this consultation, from a variety of stakeholders including:
- non-domestic consumer representatives
- the building industry
- energy suppliers
- energy system stakeholders
- metering agents and third party innovators
In line with the views of the majority of respondents, the government plans to proceed with measures to improve the smart meter data offer for non-domestic consumers. We have balanced feedback regarding the proposed timelines and scope of the policy against the broader support for the proposals and the benefits to both consumers and the government’s net zero objectives. We will therefore phase the policy into effect more gradually alongside making some amendments to the scope of the policy. These amendments are detailed in the government response.
Original consultation
Consultation description
We’re consulting on proposals to improve the smart meter data offer for non-domestic energy consumers. The proposals would:
- ensure non-domestic smart meter customers are provided with engaging feedback on their energy consumption so that they can save energy and manage costs
- require energy suppliers to provide non-domestic smart meter customers with regular free information about their energy consumption, based on the data from their smart meter
- make it easier for non-domestic customers to share their data with third party innovators (acting with their consent) to support energy saving and net zero initiatives
- make it easier for third parties acting with customer consent to access the data they need to enter the market and deliver services to non-domestic smart meter customers
We’re also seeking more general views on how best government can support industry to drive forward innovation in the market for non-domestic smart meter data-driven services.
We welcome views on these proposals, including feedback from a diverse range of representatives across the energy supply, innovation, business and consumer representative communities.
See the BEIS consultation privacy notice.
Please do not send responses by post to the department at the moment as we may not be able to access them.
Documents
Last updated 1 June 2022 + show all updates
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Government response published.
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First published.