Are smart meters a good idea? Both the Government and energy suppliers are making vague statements about these meters "helping promote efficiency," meaning that they will enable the suppliers to match consumption with generation. An electricity supplier, for example, knows how much total power is being used on a particular network at any given time, but it can only analyse individual customers" consumption once monthly or quarterly meter readings arrive . So more electricity has to be generated than is actually used, and there is no way of storing the surplus. Real-time metering will allow suppliers to adjust output from power stations to match demand more accurately. Sadly, the efficiencies seem likely to benefit only the suppliers, not their customers. The Government is allowing the industry to pass the installation costs (estimated at £11bn) on to customers through higher bills, but there is no regulatory requirement for the suppliers to share any efficiency savings. The only advantage I can see for customers is for those who rarely get their meters read, and are on monthly "budget" direct-debit payment plans. These plans often seem to overestimate usage, so that customers can end up hundreds of pounds in credit - effectively lending money interest-free to their energy suppliers. Smart metering should theoretically put a stop to this dubious practice. Some people have expressed fears that the data collected by smart meters will compromise customer privacy - for example anyone with access to the monitoring room would easily be able to see when a property was empty. And meter readers will all lose their jobs, of course. The Consumers" Association, or Which?, has called for the roll-out of the smart metering programme to be halted pending a review. All energy suppliers will be able to make use of the data, and having a smart meter will not prevent you from switching supplier.