Energy Bill [HL]

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, with many of whose remarks I entirely agree, I, too, have been trying to keep in touch with what has been going on—indeed, ever since I was offered the chance of installing a smart meter by one of my suppliers, only to be told that I could not possibly have it because it was in a porch and, therefore, accessible to anyone passing the house. It seems to me that these are the kind of things that must be dealt with. I think that the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, has not fully taken account of the extent of the discussions, which have been going on now for some time, between the Government, the industry, Ofgem and consumer groups. These discussions have been extremely positive and seem to me to have been exactly the right way forward. We now have the Government’s prospectus—issued in July, I think—and a draft code put out by the Energy Retailers Association, which works with Energy UK, that sets out how a code might deal with precisely the points to which the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, drew our attention. I am told that this has attracted comments from the consumer organisations, which are clearly interested in seeing how it will develop. In terms of securing a system that is both clear and at the same time offers flexibility—and flexibility is something that the industry has tried to build into the system; there must be some flexibility in how this will be done—a code which can be more easily amended in the light of experience may be better than trying to establish firm statutory rules, such as those in the amendments which the noble Lord has moved. One of the points right at the heart of these discussions is that the right of changing your supplier has to be built into the system. I have had a letter from my noble friend’s department only this morning in response to a representation that I made to him a couple of weeks ago. It states: "““Common specifications will also be the means for achieving ‘inter-operability’, which means that suppliers can use smart meters installed by other suppliers, allowing easy switching.””" It seems to me that that is the kind of standard which the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, was looking for, and I think it is now firmly taken on board by both the industry and the department. Indeed, I have been told that the question of maintaining the right to switch suppliers has been regarded as a sine qua non. It has to happen with the installation of smart meters, and nothing in the system should prevent it, given that it is the way in which competition can be made to produce benefits for the consumer. A voluntary code that balances flexibility to provide the customer with information, while at the same time guaranteeing their rights, would be a very desirable way forward. I do not know what my noble friend will say but, against that background, the amendments might be regarded as being overprescriptive. This will be a major exercise. There are 26 million or 27 million smart meters to be installed by 2020, as we were originally told. The target was then changed to 2015 or 2016. It will be a huge operation. Many consumers will find it quite a hassle. It is not unlike the problem—although it is not quite as serious—with insulation and other such matters that were raised in our discussion of the Green Deal. The consumer protection aspect of this is very important. I shall certainly look forward to hearing what my noble friend has to say on that. However, I am encouraged by what I understand is going on between the various parties—the industry, the bodies representing the installers, consumer groups and so on. This is the right way to approach it and, I hope, to get the right answer. One thing in the noble Lord’s amendment with which I wholly agree, and it is very much in the code, is that installers should not use their presence in a consumer’s house to bully them into taking other products which may or may not be related to the ones that they are selling at the time. We have all been subjected to that. One has to be robust and say firmly, ““No thank you””. However, the installers should not do it. The noble Lord will find that that is firmly in place when the code comes out. The companies that we will be dealing with will have a firm policy on that, and, no doubt, disciplinary proceedings for those against whom complaints are made. While supporting entirely the motives behind the amendment, I would like to think that the discussions that have been taking place, which have been intensive and are ongoing, may produce a result that combines protection for the consumer with the flexibility that is necessary to ensure proper competition and room for development.