Households in the UK are currently reeling from the worst impacts of the global fossil fuel energy crisis that has sent energy bills skyrocketing. As a result, many have installed a smart meter in their home in the hopes that they would pay either the same or less in energy bills. However, some Britons now claim that their smart meter is showing an increase in energy bills.
Richard Evans tweeted: “Hi, my smart meter for electricity seems to have gone mad! How can the cost be £4.13 – based on flexible tariff plus standing charge, I reckon cost should be around £1.13.”
Meanwhile, customers of British Gas have been flooding online forums with complaints about smart meters that date back to February, according to a NorthWales Live report.
Sharon Backhouse said: “How the hell can BG charge me £13 in 45 minutes when I have no heating on?”
Amy Evans warned: “Keep a close eye on your accounts.
“After querying what the cost says on my smart meter I was then told this was correct. £80 electricity in 4 days!
“Again queried this suddenly it went down and after further query went down again. Something fishy going on!”
It is unclear whether the price increases that the customers are seeing on their smart meters are a result of Ofgem’s price cap increase in April, when bills rose by 54 percent to £1,971 a year.
Meanwhile, Ofgem announced recently that the price cap for household energy bills is set to rise to around £2,800 by October, with some experts putting the figure at £3,000.
Last month Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee that he expects around 12 million people to be thrown into fuel poverty, where energy bills eat up a significant share of their income.
READ MORE: Energy crisis: Spain slashes EU VAT on bills as Boris STILL refuses
“They will be responsible for contacting the energy supplier and sorting out the issue.”
NorthWalesLive has reached out to British Gas for a response to these claims.
From their help page they found the following: “If your pay-as-you-go meter is damaged, we can send someone out to make sure you and your property are safe. Just call us on our as-you-go enquiries line.”