Energy Bill [HL]

My Lords, we agree in large measure with the amendments tabled by my noble friend Lord Whitty. We thank him for introducing the subject of smart meters so that we may discuss certain aspects of their operation. On his first amendment, on marketability, we understand that a balance must be struck between information provided to the consumer and possible salesmanship at the time of installation. He is quite right to draw the attention of the Committee to the fact that only 20 per cent of consumers view their energy supplier as ““most trustworthy””, which is a huge gap to bridge in getting to a degree of confidence for the consumer. On the question of smart meters and interoperability, as we know, at present consumers cannot change supplier without changing meters. We understand that there could already be something approaching 2 million smart meters in the marketplace, although the exact number is not known. It would be very interesting if the Minister could provide us with any figures. At Second Reading, my noble friend Lady Smith raised the question of interoperability. The Minister has since written to us to say that he has had discussions and will do his utmost to make sure that, as far as possible, interoperability will be maintained. What exchanges has the Minister had with the energy companies in this regard? I draw to his attention that this is a vital area for consumer confidence, and ask whether there are indeed ongoing conversations with the industry. The noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, drew to our attention the fact that the Energy Retail Association has produced a draft code of conduct for consultation, building on suppliers’ current work on a draft voluntary code of practice on vulnerable consumers and accurate billing. Our understanding is that, when the code of practice comes into place, this interoperability should be a standard requirement. Perhaps the Minister can comment on whether, by the time the regulations are drawn up, smart meters will be not only entirely interchangeable between credit and pre-pay systems but completely interoperable between energy companies. That leads me to ask the Minister a few general questions that are afforded by this opportunity. Does he have in mind perhaps undertaking a review of consumer protection in this field? It is a huge area and could benefit from such a constructive operation. Furthermore, does he have in mind a strategy to deliver consumer benefits? These smart meters are not simply a new device that will allow the ““market to provide””, as he said. Perhaps we cannot simply install them and hope that they will work. There will have to be a strategy to ensure that the consumer benefits are realised and, indeed, a constant interactive review of the rollout strategy to ensure that all the opportunities are not missed. At the moment there does not seem to be any monitoring framework in mind. There are also no minimum standards to encourage not only general acceptance among consumers but some knowledge of what they are looking at when they see a smart meter. The whole consumer field could be greatly augmented by undertaking a constant interactive review. Lastly, has the Minister thought about an independent smart-metering delivery campaigns body to monitor these situations and perhaps to give him guidance on extra help to low-income and vulnerable consumers?