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Energy Bill

moved Amendment No. 74A: 74A: After Clause 83, insert the following new Clause— ““Smart meters: installation (1) The Secretary of State shall make regulations requiring the installation of smart meters for the supply of gas and electricity in all domestic hereditaments subject to the following provisions— (a) that within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament a timetable for the introduction of smart meters; (b) that within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament, a draft of the proposal for regulations for the introduction of smart meters. (2) In this section, a ““smart meter”” means a gas or electricity meter with two way communication capabilities including a communication capability to display— (a) household usage on a daily basis; (b) total cost within a billing period of units concerned; and (c) the cost per unit.”” The noble Lord said: This is a transparency amendment, providing the citizen with the necessary information to enable them make more informed choices and decisions. I have read the Committee and Report stages on these matters in the Commons in their entirety. I am conscious of the detail and compromise introduced by the Minister, Mr Malcolm Wicks, set out in the House of Commons Hansard for 30 April, starting at col. 333. I mention that because it is important that people who study this debate read that speech and the debate that followed it on Report in the Commons, so that they understand fully what undertakings the Government have given, and what they have not. The Government set out the benefits as they saw them, as alluded to by the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley. I accept the divisions that they have drawn between medium-sized and small-sized businesses and domestic, but will quote the Energy Minister and take the debate on a little further: "““A roll-out of smart meters to the domestic sector is, of course, a far larger and much more complex project””," as my noble friend alluded to today. "““It would involve replacing some 47 million electricity and gas meters””—" that could now be as few as 23.5 million if meters measuring both electricity and gas are deployed— "““in every home in Great Britain. Current estimated costs to the economy are potentially between £8 billion and £14 billion over 20 years””.—[Official Report, Commons, 30/4/08; col. 334.]" I emphasise the point, which I think was made by the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, about the need for us to graft the policy of introducing the meters on the back of the replacement programme, which is an eminently sensible way to proceed. However, Ministers have stated that their intention is to report on the potential for domestic rollout by the end of the year and my noble friend has said that it might be a little later than that. The question then is, ““What happens then?””. My amendment is a very mild shift in the Government’s position, reflecting the views of the Members of the Committee in the House of Commons and expressed both in Committee and on Report. They were concerned at that time about the absence of a timetable. My noble friend set out in great detail why he believes that a timetable should not be introduced, but my amendment is quite mild, in the sense that it asks the Government to introduce, "““within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act … a timetable for the introduction of smart meters””," and, "““within 12 months of coming into force of this Act, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament, a draft of the proposal for regulations for the introduction of smart meters””." It is only a slight shift in the position taken by the Minister in Committee. In so far as I would hope to be able to table a very similar amendment on Report, it might be that we can negotiate on the question of the number of months. When I talked to Members of the Committee in the other place about what they thought, a view was expressed to me that it should be 18 months. The 12 months is just a try-on. There was a general view among Members of the Committee that some attempt should be made to set a timetable. This is not a hugely significant amendment, but it tries to take the debate forward by laying down some framework which, in my view, would be very helpful to those outside who are looking to Parliament. The debate has moved on since the debate in Committee. First, we have had a huge increase in energy prices, which must influence the judgment of the Government. Secondly, we have had developments in the climate change debate, which is now on the tongue of almost every politician worldwide. There have been major developments in the past three months in the climate change debate. We have had the Prime Minister’s statement last week on renewables, which indicates the personal priority that he gives to this matter. Thirdly, I understand that a statement was made by the Prime Minister in November 2007. I do not know the source, and it might well be that someone can identify it. He said: "““For every household over the next decade there will be the offer of a smart meter that will allow two-way communication between the supplier and customer, giving more accurate bills of course and making it easier for people to generate their own energy through microgeneration and sell it on to the grid””." If that statement is well sourced, one would have thought that must now influence the Government’s judgment when they are considering the whole question of a timetable. The Energy Retail Association’s advice is: "““If the ambition to have all homes in Britain fitted with smart meters is to be achieved, the process of planning needs to begin sooner rather than later. In order to achieve the Government’s stated expectation that smart meters will be rolled out to every British home within 10 years, the industry needs a mandate. It must commit now to a clear timetable and ensure that a decision is made quickly to grant the mandate””." I listened very carefully to the comments of my noble friend Lord O’Neill, who seemed to be suggesting that there was some dispute or argument going on in the Energy Retail Association’s advice. I presume that the association is represented here today. It would be very interesting to know what its advice is now. Has it amended that advice? Is what my noble friend said accurate? The association should communicate to us and let us know precisely where it stands on these matters. My amendment is minor but it deals precisely with the concern being expressed by those Members of the Committee in the Commons across the political divide who, almost to a person, wanted some kind of timetable. I am offering my noble friend a way forward. As I said, we could easily compromise on the number of months before Report. I beg to move.