Citizens Advice published a policy paper, Fully Operational: Maximising Consumer Protection and Transparency in Smart Metering, on 27 August 2026. It sets out two recommendations on smart meter rules and supplier obligations, covering automatic compensation and the definition of an operating meter used in public reporting.
The paper reports that consumer satisfaction with smart meters has decreased and that more people are regularly having to give manual readings. It says that despite a continued increase in smart meters officially operating in "smart mode", households feel let down by meters that are not working as expected. It adds that at a time of rising bills people are likely to place higher value on a working meter so they can track their usage and avoid catch-up bills, and that growing numbers of consumers need a functional smart meter to access energy tariffs with the best value.
The first recommendation is that Ofgem presses ahead with new Guaranteed Standards for smart meters, which would require suppliers to make automatic compensation payments to consumers whose smart meter is not operating in smart mode. Citizens Advice says Ofgem should stick to the plan of including scenarios where other organisations are involved, and should publicly report on suppliers' compliance with the standards.
The second recommendation is that the government updates the definition of an "operating" smart meter in public reporting. Citizens Advice proposes a meter should count as operating if the supplier is receiving automatic (remote) meter readings, and the customer receives an accurate bill as a result; or, for smart prepayment customers, the customer has not experienced any failures when topping up in the last 30 days.
| Proposed condition | Test |
|---|---|
| Automatic readings | Supplier is receiving automatic (remote) meter readings |
| Accurate billing | Customer receives an accurate bill as a result |
| Smart prepayment | No top-up failures in the last 30 days |
The paper follows the organisation's "State of the Smart" report of February 2026, whose proposals it says it is adding to. The publication does not give figures for the fall in satisfaction, the number of households giving manual readings, or the number of meters affected. No date has been reported for a government response or for Ofgem's decision on the standards.
Why it matters for households
A smart meter that has stopped sending readings in the background leaves a household reading the display and submitting figures itself, and can lead to estimated bills followed by a catch-up bill once accurate readings arrive. The paper's concern is that official counts of meters in "smart mode" can rise while the experience of individual households worsens, because the reporting definition does not capture meters that are nominally smart but not delivering automatic readings or accurate bills. A definition based on automatic readings, accurate billing and successful prepayment top-ups would measure the function a household actually depends on. The compensation proposal would attach a payment to a meter that is not in smart mode, rather than leaving the household to pursue the supplier. Both matter to a home's energy independence because time of use tariffs and access to the best value tariffs increasingly assume a meter that reports by itself, and because consumer access devices and consent arrangements for sharing meter data rest on the same working meter.
What happens next
The paper asks Ofgem to proceed with the Guaranteed Standards and to report publicly on supplier compliance, and asks the government to change the reporting definition. Neither body has set out a timetable in the paper.