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How smart meters could support Britain’s energy security in the future

Smart meters could help to create a future where we're less reliant on imported gas. They help us manage our energy use throughout the day, which improves the balance of supply and demand. Read on to find out how.

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This means that smart meters could help to efficiently integrate more homegrown and renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, into our energy system. This could help to support Britain’s energy security in the long term.

We believe that Octopus Energy is now responsible for Affect Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Yu Energy are responsible for Ampower UK customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Yu Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Angelic Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that SSE is now responsible for Atlantic Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with SSE who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Nabuh Energy is now responsible for Avid Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Nabuh Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy are responsible for Avro Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Beam Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas are responsible for Better Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We are connecting you to your supplier's website. They will take your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Breeze customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that SSE is now responsible for Brilliant Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with SSE who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas are responsible for Bristol Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

You can continue your smart meter journey at your supplier's website. They will take your request forward.

We believe that British Gas are responsible for British Gas Evolve customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy are responsible for Bulb customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that SSE are responsible for Cardiff Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with SSE who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for CitizEn Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Shell Energy are responsible for Colorado Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Shell Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

You can continue your smart meter journey at your supplier's website. They will take your request forward.

We believe that Scottish Power is now responsible for Daisy Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Scottish Power who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

You can continue your smart meter journey at your supplier's website. They will take your request forward.

Eon have informed us that Eon Next are responsible for smart meter installations, so you'll be redirected there.

We are redirecting you to the E.ON Next smart meter webpage. You can continue your smart meter journey at their website. They will take your request forward.

We believe that OVO Energy are responsible for Economy Energy credit customers. Therefore we are connecting you with OVO Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward. If you are a prepay customer you will need to visit Boost Energy at www.boostpower.co.uk/smart-meters. They will be responsible for taking you request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy is now responsible for Engie customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON Next is now responsible for Enstroga customers. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON Next who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that So Energy is now responsible for ESB customers. Therefore we are connecting you with So Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Utilita is now responsible for Eversmart customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Utilita who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Scottish Power is now responsible for Extra Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with Scottish Power who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Shell Energy Retail is now responsible for First Utility customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Shell Energy Retail who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Fosse Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Green Star Energy is now responsible for Future Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Green Star Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy is now responsible for Gen4U customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that Bulb Energy is now responsible for GnErgy customers. Therefore we will connect you with Bulb who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that Shell Energy is now responsible for Goto Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with Shell energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Great North Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Shell Energy is now responsible for Green Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with Shell energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that EDF Energy is now responsible for Green Network Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with EDF Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that E.ON Next is now responsible for Hub Energy customers (formerly Gulf Gas and Power). Therefore we will connect you with E.ON Next who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that E.ON Next is now responsible for Hub Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON Next who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON Next is now responsible for Igloo Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON Next who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy is now responsible for Iresa customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that EDF Energy is now responsible for iSupply Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with EDF Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that OVO Energy is now responsible for Lumo customers. Therefore we are connecting you with OVO Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for MoneyPlus Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Nabuh Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Neon Reef Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON is now responsible for Npower Select customers. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON Next is now responsible for Npower Select customers. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON Next who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Utilita are responsible for Omni Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you to Utilita who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We beleive that Scottish Power is now responsible for Orbit Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with Scottish Power who will be responsible with taking your request forward.

We believe that Utilita is now responsible for Our Power customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Utilita who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for People's Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for PFP Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON Next is now responsible for Powershop customers. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON Next who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Shell Energy is now responsible for Pure Planet customers. Therefore we will connect you with Shell Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy is now responsible for Qwest Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Ram Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Robin Hood Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

You can continue your smart meter journey at your supplier's website. They will take your request forward.

Scottish Gas have told us that British Gas is responsible for providing smart meters on their behalf. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

Scottish Hydro have told us that SSE is responsible for providing smart meters on their behalf. Therefore we are connecting you with SSE who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy is now responsible for Shell Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward. If you are a former Shell customer and haven't seen an email from Octopus, please get in touch with them.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Simplicity Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that SSE is now responsible for Spark Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with SSE who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Southend Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Nabuh Energy is now responsible for Snowdrop Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Nabuh Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Social Energy customers. Therefore we will connect you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We don't currently have information from your energy supplier regarding their bookings for smart meters, but we will connect you to their website so you can contact them directly.

We believe that EDF are responsible for Solarplicity customers. Therefore we are connecting you with EDF who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

Swalec have told us that SSE is responsible for providing smart meters on their behalf. Therefore we are connecting you with SSE who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

Symbio Energy have told us that E.ON NEXT is responsible for providing smart meters on their behalf. Therefore we will connect you with E.ON NEXT who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for The Leccy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas are responsible for Together Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Scottish Power is now responsible for Tonik Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Scottish Power who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that EDF Energy are responsible for Toto Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with EDF Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Octopus Energy are responsible for UKEIH customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Octopus Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that Shell Energy Retail is now responsible for Usio Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Shell Energy Retail who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that EDF Energy is now responsible for Utility Point customers. Therefore we will connect you with EDF Energy who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON are responsible for Wasp Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with E.ON who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for White Rose Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that E.ON are responsible for Wigan Warriors Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with E.ON who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We beleive that Scottish Power is now responsible for Yorkshire Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with Scottish Power who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Your Energy Sussex customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that British Gas is now responsible for Zebra Power customers. Therefore we are connecting you with British Gas who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

We believe that EDF is now responsible for Zog Energy customers. Therefore we are connecting you with EDF who will be responsible for taking your request forward.

Energy security definition: what is energy security?

Energy security is about having uninterrupted access to a readily available and affordable supply of energy. This means having a continuous and sustainable supply of energy, and being able to react to external factors that might impact energy supply and cost. It also refers to being able to react to short-term changes in the balance of supply and demand.

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How much do we rely on imported gas?

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK imported £19.6 billion worth of natural gas in 2021, and exported £3.4 billion worth. Imported gas makes up around 50% of the UK’s natural gas supply.2

The import of natural gas is currently important for energy security in Britain, because natural gas is used to fuel both heating and electricity. Most of the homes in Great Britain are heated by mains gas supply – 81% of homes in Scotland, 79% in England and 78% in Wales. Gas is also used to fuel about a third of the UK’s electricity generation.3

How can Britain improve long-term energy security?

Using more homegrown energy can help improve long-term energy security in Britain. The Government’s April 2022 Energy Security Strategy outlines a plan to do this by making the most of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas reserves and using more renewable energy, such as wind power.

The IEA Energy Security Report also recommends reducing overall energy demand as a way to help reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.4 In this way, energy efficiency has a role to play in helping Britain become more energy independent and energy secure.

Managing when energy is used can help to reduce fossil fuel use, including what we buy from abroad. If energy use is spread more evenly throughout the day, this reduces the demand at peak times, when fossil fuels, like gas, are often used more. It can also help prevent home-grown renewable energy generation being limited.

In the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan 2021, the Government says that flexible energy usage is essential for renewable energy integration. The Plan also states that flexibility results in better utilisation of low-carbon energy.

We've teamed up with Cornwall Insight to help explain how smart meters help Great Britain’s energy system get smarter and more secure. Click the button below to download a copy of the report for yourself:

Smart meters and energy security

Watch the video below to see Einstein explain how smart meters could help Britain build a future where we’re less reliant on imported gas:

What role could smart meters play in supporting Britain's long-term energy security?

Smart meters help us to manage our energy use throughout the day. A smart meter display shows you how much energy you’re using and what it’s costing you daily, weekly, or monthly. By helping people to easily track their energy usage, smart meters help people to take steps to reduce their energy use. 

Being able to manage and track energy usage also helps to improve the balance of supply and demand. Smart meters will enable suppliers to offer a greater range of time-of-use tariffs, and similar services, in the future. Time-of-use tariffs can promote a more even spread of energy use throughout the day. This could help to reduce demand at peak times, and make more use of home-grown renewable energy at other times.

This winter, the National Grid ESO is working with energy suppliers to offer a new Demand Flexibility Service. This would allow people with smart meters to benefit from reducing their energy use at peak times. The service will run between November 2022 and March 2023.

At the moment, we often increase our use of fossil fuels when there is more demand for energy, to ensure we can all use energy when we need it. This means more reliance on imported gas. If we can reduce demand during peak times, and move demand to when there's lots of renewable energy, we could use more home-grown, renewable energy.

This means that the data from smart meters could help to efficiently integrate more renewable energy into our energy system. In doing so, smart meters could support Britain’s long-term energy security.

Watch Dr. Jeffrey Hardy of Imperial College London explain how we can become more energy independent and carbon zero:

Do your part for energy security in Britain: Get a smart meter

If you haven’t already, join the millions of households who’ve already made the smart choice – get a smart meter:

Request your smart meter

You may also be interested in…

1. ONS, Trends in imports and exports of fuel, (June 2022)
2. ONS, Trends in imports and exports of fuel, (June 2022)
3. ONS, Energy efficiency of Housing, England and Wales, country and region, (November 2021)
4. IEA, Energy Security Report, (2019)

Personality rights of ALBERT EINSTEIN are used with permission of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Represented exclusively by BEN Group, INC.

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