Smart meters and fixed contracts

Confirmed government decision, implemented through supply licence conditions.

On 1 September 2026 the government confirmed that from 1 September 2027, any new fixed-term energy contract at a designated site must include a term under which the customer has, or agrees to have, a smart or advanced meter. The meter does not need to be fitted before signing; the customer needs to agree to it. Suppliers must start telling customers about the change from 1 January 2027.

The government intends to review the definition of designated premises because market-wide half-hourly settlement makes profile classes obsolete.

• Agreeing is enough to sign. Installation can follow after the contract starts.
• The supplier chooses a smart or an advanced meter, and an existing one already satisfies the term.
• It applies to contracts entered into from 1 September 2027. The date the contract is made matters, not the supply start date.
• Contracts placed through a broker are covered. Suppliers must take reasonable steps to put the same term in intermediary contracts.
• Out-of-contract rates are not caught, but a site with no fixed deal usually pays more.

Suppliers already using these terms either move the customer onto out-of-contract rates or pass on their losses. A new consumer protection code, binding on suppliers from 1 September 2027, requires the terms to be clear before signing and says a customer should not be penalised where the delay is outside their control. The detail still sits in each supplier’s own terms, so read them before signing.

Landlord consent, remedial works at the meter position, and access or signal problems in basements and shared meter rooms are where installations fail. The government has published template letters for tenants and landlords. These are the questions to raise well before a renewal date, not on it.

We check meter type and profile class on every supply we manage, flag in-scope sites without a smart or advanced meter, and raise landlord, access and works questions ahead of renewal. At renewal we read each supplier’s smart meter terms, including what happens if installation is delayed, and put them in front of you before you sign. Where a site is already smart, half-hourly or a large gas user, we will tell you nothing changes.