Smart meters are both familiar and novel devices. On the one hand, measuring your energy consumption is nothing new (whether using an analogue or a digital smart meter). From the consumer’s perspective, all smart meters do - at least now - is record household energy consumption automatically in 30 mins intervals rather than by consumers making manual records themselves. 

 On the other hand, smart meters have already altered the operations of the energy sector. Data scientists working for energy suppliers now have billions of data points which allow them to better forecast energy demand depending on the consumer demographics, weather, or time of the day. Improved forecasting allows energy companies to purchase energy in more optimal amounts and times, bringing efficiencies to both company operations and customers’ bills. It also allows for a better understanding of weather-related risks, so that suppliers can create contingency for cold snaps in winters (e.g. through buying cold weather insurance).   

 As the UK Smart Meters Implementation Programme continues, the benefits of smart meters will become tangible to everyone. They are foundational for smart and sustainable infrastructure since they allow balancing between energy consumption and generation, peer-to-peer trading and time of use tariffs. 

Finally, while the role of smart meters evolves, so are the concerns around ethical data usage. Although the data from smart meters could be used to create novel third-party services in the future (e.g. automatic switching of suppliers or monitoring consumption in assisted living homes), they need to come with the appropriate regulations preventing violations of privacy or surveillance.