He continued,

“The report suggests that the delay is in part due to technical problems with multiple occupancy and tall buildings however our members have developed solutions to this and these have been available for many months now.

The shortage of skilled meter installers is also nothing new, without firm start dates industry is understandably reluctant to invest large amounts of money training staff only to find that the delays persist. There is also a very real danger that once the programme finally commences staff will simply be poached from company to company driving up costs to the consumer.

Industry has repeatedly met the expectations of Government and jumped through hoop after hoop, however this must stop. A firm start date needs to be identified allowing companies to gear up and start the roll out. Moving the completion date back from 2020 is far from ideal however it is important to recognise if the project starts late it cannot be delivered in less time without cutting corners. Moving back the completion date maybe the least worse option in this case”

The House Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee report can be viewed at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmenergy/665/66502.htm