The brand new guidelines are being enforced from February twenty third
New good meter guidelines are in power from February 23 (Picture: GETTY)
Households with good meters may obtain computerized £40 funds every time they encounter one among three specific issues, as new rules come into power. Nonetheless, Ofgem remains to be contemplating an extra problem that may be added to the eligibility checklist later this yr.
Beforehand, corporations merely had targets for becoming good meters for patrons, leaving many with defective units and poor customer support. These new guidelines – launched at the moment (Feb 23) – are meant to power power corporations to prioritise repairs and assure each good meter features correctly.
Issues that may end up in £40 compensation:
- Ready greater than six weeks to have your good meter put in
- Set up appointment fails as a result of fault throughout the provider’s management
- You don’t obtain a ‘decision plan’ inside 5 days of reporting a problem along with your good meter
Melissa Giordano, deputy director of programs and processes at Ofgem, mentioned: “Sensible meters supply clients correct payments, cheaper tariffs, and real-time power use monitoring.
“Each buyer who needs a sensible meter ought to get one rapidly, and it ought to work from day one. These new guidelines will set clear expectations of suppliers, drive higher efficiency, and shield customers when issues go flawed.”
The primary class solely applies to new or first-time installations. It doesn’t cowl conditions the place you might be ready greater than six weeks for an appointment to restore or exchange your good meter.
Points deemed ‘inside a provider’s management’ for the second class embody situations comparable to not having an engineer with the required experience readily available or being with out the right tools to securely full the set up.
Decision plans should element the actions the corporate has undertaken to guage the problem you have flagged and the steps the enterprise is taking to resolve it. Decision plans cowl each good meters and linked in-home units.
Ofgem first put ahead these good meter compensation proposals in August 2025. Initially, the checklist of circumstances triggering computerized compensation additionally featured good meters working in ‘dumb’ mode.
These are good meters that can’t ship readings to the provider. The unique proposal indicated households can be eligible for compensation if this wasn’t resolved inside 90 days, however this provision stays below assessment.
In accordance with MoneySavingExpert, Ofgem acknowledged it “intends to take ahead additional work” on the problem “with a view to implementing it later this yr”. The regulator is, nonetheless, ready for the Authorities’s response to its personal examination of good meter efficiency requirements.
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Must you expertise one of many qualifying points, your power provider ought to pay out the £40 compensation inside 10 working days, and you will not must do something to say it. It might be credited on to your power account or paid straight into your checking account, along with your provider figuring out which technique is used.
If you end up nonetheless ready after 10 working days, you could possibly be entitled to an additional £40 on prime of the unique fee — although this extra sum will solely be awarded as soon as per incident.
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