20 September 2005
Sophisticated new gas and electricity meters should be installed in people's homes, energy watchdog energywatch has said.
The innovative new technology would help people to keep track of their spending and cut their bills by automatically calculating consumption costs, and energywatch believes that gas and electricity companies should fit them as standard.
Adam Scorer, energywatch campaigns director, said: "energywatch is certain that switched-on consumers would take advantage of new smart meter technology to see just how much the energy they use is costing them and take a hands-on approach to managing their consumption and cutting their bills."
"The paucity of information given to consumers makes it difficult for them to monitor and manage their energy consumption and costs. Smart meters, giving half-hourly readings, would change this dramatically.
"Consumers will be able to check at a glance and see how much they are spending. What more incentive would you need to leave bad habits behind if you had to sit and watch your energy bill go up every 30 minutes?"
Gas and electricity prices have been raised by almost all suppliers since the start of August.
Find the cheapest gas and electricity suppliers and save up to £170 a year at uSwitch.com.
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