Smart meter roll out workshop takes place in London
On 1st August 2017 NUS-UK organised a meeting of organisations responsible for smart meter roll out in SAVES2 countries. The meeting took place in London, with representatives of Great Britain (Smart Energy GB), Ireland (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)), Lithuania (Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius (ESO)), Romania (Energy Policy Group (EPG)) and Greece (Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO)) attending.
The meeting was an opportunity for the organisations to meet each other, in most cases for the first time, and exchange experiences on the progress of smart meter roll out in their respective countries. Great Britain is currently at the most advanced stage of mass roll out of meters, with pilots having taken place in Ireland and Lithuania. In Romania and Greece smart meter installation has started, however it is not at the mass roll out stage yet. Discussions were held in relation to the stakeholders involved in ensuring the smooth roll out of smart meters, and also how to engage 'hard to reach' audiences, with a particular focus on students and the younger generation. Finally, a discussion was held in relation to the definition of fuel/energy poverty (if any) in the UK, Ireland, Greece, Romania and Lithuania.
For NUS-UK it was important to identify the key messages that SAVES2 organisations should be passing to students in their respective countries; what advise they should be giving to students in relation to smart meters, as part of the Student Switch Off+ (SSO+) campaign in the private rented sector, in addition to any other country specific messages around energy efficiency.
Moving forward, Smart Energy GB, SEAI, EPG, HEDNO and ESO will form the Communications and Networking Advisory Group of the SAVES2 project, which will meet bi-annually, to discuss the SSO+ campaign as part of the SAVES 2 steering group meetings. In addition to this SAVES2 partners in the UK, Ireland, Greece, Romania and Lithuania will work together with their respective smart meter roll out organisation to ensure key messages are passed to students.
Currently, no relevant smart meter rollout organisation has been identified in Cyprus and Bulgaria, however once they have been appointed/found, they will be invited to be part of the Communications and Networking Advisory Group.
