The change in oversight ends a 13-year tenure by Capita subsidiary Smart DCC, which was barred from rebidding after severe project delays left three in 10 households without devices. Government spending watchdogs estimate that finalizing the national installation effort could demand an extra £1.7 billion. Citizens Advice also raised major operational concerns after reporting in 2024 that nearly a third of active meters were failing to function correctly. The incoming non-profit operator is now tasked with resolving these technical deficits and completing the delayed rollout.
Key points
The national smart meter network is shifting from a commercial model to a non-profit stru…: The national smart meter network is shifting from a commercial model to a non-profit structure run by a SECCo subsidiary.
Persistent delays and technical billing issues prevented Capita from participating in the…: Persistent delays and technical billing issues prevented Capita from participating in the tender for a renewed operational licence.
Despite handing over control, Capita maintained that its system achieved 99.6% availabili…: Despite handing over control, Capita maintained that its system achieved 99.6% availability across more than 39 million connected devices.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Control over Great Britain’s 39m smart meters has passed to a non-profit startup after its former owner presided over more than a decade of spiralling costs and delays in the troubled network.
The company owned by crisis-hit outsourcing firm Capita has promised a “seamless transition” to its not-for-profit successor, which will take over running the data network connecting the smart meters from this week.
The handover marks the end of a 13-year licence granted to Smart DCC, a subsidiary of Capita, to set up the country’s first smart meter data network, a process that has been dogged by costly delays while millions of households faced billing issues.
Industry sources said Capita’s subsidiary was effectively blocked from tendering for a new licence to manage the smart meter network after Whitehall officials decided to replace the commercial framework established in 2013 with a not-for-profit public-interest model governed by an independent board.
Instead, the network underpinning Britain’s smart meters will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Smart Energy Code Company (SECCo) with “a greater focus on cost, transparency and customer and consumer…
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