Citizens Advice published its response to the government's consultation package on new standards for energy smart appliances and load control organisations on 21 June 20241. The charity said it supported extending consumer protections to the load control sector and set out its views across three separate consultations1.
The consultations sit under the Smart Secure Electricity Systems (SSES) Programme, which Citizens Advice describes as designed to create the technical and regulatory frameworks to enable the untapped flexibility from small scale devices, such as domestic electric vehicle charge points and heat pumps1. The three papers cover how government will ensure the appropriate regulation of energy smart appliances, proposals for a load control licence, and the scope and delivery approach for making tariff data accessible1.
"At Citizens Advice, we are supportive of expanding consumer protections for energy consumers to the load control sector."
The response does not set out the government's decisions, and no outcome or timetable for the consultations has been reported1. The three consultation documents and Citizens Advice's responses to each are published alongside the response page1.
Why it matters for households
Load control covers arrangements where a third party can adjust when a home's appliances draw power, for example shifting an electric vehicle charge or a heat pump cycle to times when electricity is cheaper or the grid is less strained. The SSES Programme is intended to build the technical and regulatory framework for that flexibility, drawing on devices already appearing in homes1.
For a household, the practical question is who is accountable when a device is controlled remotely, and what happens if something goes wrong. Citizens Advice's position is that the consumer protections that apply to energy consumers should also apply to the load control sector1. Tariff data accessibility, one of the three consultation topics, bears on whether households and the services acting for them can see and compare the prices that automated control decisions are based on1.
Energy smart appliances and automated load control are covered in more detail in the site's guide to energy smart appliances and automated load control. The wider rules governing home energy are set out in the guide to UK home energy regulation and policy, and the role of bodies such as Citizens Advice is covered in the guide to energy consumer bodies. How proposals of this kind move from consultation to decision is explained in the guide to energy consultations.
What happens next
No next steps, decision dates or implementation timetable for the three consultations have been reported1.