Alt HAN technology, which extends the range of the home area network that connects a smart meter to its in-home display and to the wider network, is being piloted by some suppliers and is due to be rolled out from July 2023, subject to the outcome of that pilot1. The position is set out in the National Audit Office report Update on the rollout of smart meters, published on 14 June 20231.
The report states that the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) expects a technical solution that would allow smart meters to function in more than 99% of homes to be available from July 2023, against a current figure of 96.5% of homes where it expects smart meters can now technically function1. Alt HAN is the technology intended to reach homes where the standard home area network does not carry far enough, such as flats and some older properties1.
The wider rollout figures in the same report give the context. As at the end of March 2023, 57% of all electricity and gas meters were smart, 32.4 million out of 57.1 million1. Of those 32.4 million installed smart meters, 9%, around three million, were not operating in smart mode and were effectively indistinguishable from a traditional meter, meaning they had technical issues, did not send energy use information to suppliers and might not display it to consumers1.
"Alt HAN technology is being piloted by some suppliers and, subject to the outcome of the pilot, is due to be rolled out from July 2023."
The report also records that in September 2022 the central platform service provider told DESNZ that device technical limitations meant it might not be possible to migrate more than 500,000 smart meters1. Smart DCC's licence is due to expire in 20251. The report does not give a date for completion of the Alt HAN rollout beyond the July 2023 start, and no figure has been reported for how many homes are expected to need it.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Smart meters as share of all electricity and gas meters, end March 2023 | 57% (32.4 million of 57.1 million)1 |
| Installed smart meters not operating in smart mode, end March 2023 | 9% (around three million)1 |
| Homes where DESNZ expects smart meters can now technically function | 96.5%1 |
| Homes where DESNZ expects smart meters to function once the technical solution is available | more than 99%, from July 20231 |
| Indicative annual saving for a typical dual fuel household with a smart meter, as at March 2023 | £561 |
Why it matters for households
A smart meter that cannot hold its connection to the home area network behaves, for practical purposes, like the meter it replaced. It does not send readings to the supplier, so bills rest on estimated use or manual readings, and the in-home display may not show what the home is using1. Alt HAN is the fix aimed at the properties where the signal does not reach, and the July 2023 date is when that fix is due to begin reaching homes rather than a date by which every affected property will have it1.
For a household, the difference is between a meter that only measures and one that reports. Automatic readings, half-hourly consumption data and the display that shows cost as energy is used all depend on the meter staying connected1. The report puts the indicative annual saving for a typical dual fuel household with a smart meter at £56 as at March 2023, based on DESNZ's estimated reductions in gas and electricity consumption and assuming the Energy Price Guarantee is in place1. That figure is an estimate of behaviour change, not a payment, and it does not apply to a meter that is not operating in smart mode.
The report also notes that flexibility services and time-of-use tariffs are likely to become more widespread after April 2025, when Ofgem expects industry to have commenced migration to new half-hourly settlement arrangements across the retail electricity market1. Tariffs that charge different rates at different times depend on a meter that can record when energy was used, which is the same connection the Alt HAN work is intended to secure. Households wanting to understand what a working smart meter can and cannot do can read our guide to how much a smart meter can save on energy bills and our comparison of a smart meter and a standalone energy monitor.
What happens next
The rollout of Alt HAN technology is due from July 2023, subject to the pilot outcome1. The report gives no further dated milestones for that work. Separately, the report records that in 2023 government consulted with energy suppliers and other stakeholders on achieving 80% minimum domestic smart meter coverage and 73% minimum coverage in small businesses by the end of 20251, and that in April 2023 Ofgem told suppliers they should have the capacity and flexibility of resource to meet their smart meter installation targets1.
Sources1 cited
- Update on the rollout of smart meters, nao.org.uk