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The £11 billion Government plan to put smart meters into every British home will be launched this week despite fears they may not work and could open the national grid up to cyber-terrorists.
The meters, which are being introduced to meet EU green targets, will cost households £200 each in an effort to cut down energy consumption and reduce bills.
However official documents have shown that the meters save less energy than predicted and five other countries who had been considering the plan have ditched it after deciding it could cost more money than it saves.
Due to complex technology the meters will also not work in a third of British homes including rural houses, high-rise flats and basements.
Energy companies will begin the installation of smart meters next year at a cost of at least £200 per home, and have admitted the expense will be passed on to customers.
Sir Bob Geldof is launching the publicity drive and will be paid for his role in the campaign.
Smart meters work by recording gas and electricity consumption every 30 minutes. The metres are linked up to monitors called In-Home Displays, which show customers how much power they are consuming at any one time and how much it is costing them.
The Government hopes that having access to this real time information will encourage families to alter their energy use accordingly.
Another weird one. Multi millionaire Bob won't need to worry too much about watching the shillings in the meter. Interesting that some countries have already rejected the idea.
You would think that Geldof would make himself aware of any potential flaws in this system before giving it his backing. I though he was concerned for the 'old and lonely in their tower bloxes' to quote from My Hippy Angel. Seems not to worried if they are getting accurate mater readings.
I would argue that the technology is not up to the job and Bob should be made aware of this, rather than seeing to back the government just to be seen 'on the Green side'.
Lagging the loft, installing double glazing, using low-energy bulbs and all sorts of other ways of saving energy incur an upfront cost can more than outweigh any saving.
As people become more efficient in saving energy, the cost rises to maintain the profits of the energy companies.
This scheme is even more crackpot as there isn't just the upfront cost there is the ongoing cost to power the damn "smart" meter.
Anyway, It would have naff all effect in our house. Whenever the temperature drops below 20C, Mrs. ArrGee has the heating on full blast and the kids are forever leaving the TV and lights on all over the place. I can't imagine any of them bothering with a "smart" meter to monitor their consumption. They certainly take no notice of me nagging them about it. They don't pay the bills so what do they care.
