Recommendation 12

The Committee noted that some suburban areas, including the constituency of Richmond Park situated to the south-west of London, can have low coverage but have neither the characteristics of inner London nor rural or remote areas. The Department acknowledged that at 40% installation coverage, Richmond Park was below average (although it did not offer an explanation as to why this was the case).40 The Department said that in London more generally there is a much higher proportion of people in privately rented housing than in the rest of Great Britain. Tenants can be hesitant about having a smart meter installed because they are not sure they are allowed to. The Department’s understanding is that landlords are in support of having smart meters installed because accurate timely bills are less likely to lead to future problems.41