The widespread adoption of smart meters to help people get cheap electricity could help deliver a net benefit of £7 billion to the UK's homes and businesses.
This is according to energy minister Charles Hendry, who said the devices will play a key role in bring energy management in the country into the 21st century, Click Green reports.
Mr Hendry said: "They will bring benefits for consumers, giving us more control over how we use our energy at home and at work, helping us to cut energy consumption, save money and reduce carbon emissions."
The roll-out of the gadgets is set to begin in 2014 and by 2019 28 million homes and two million small businesses across the country should have been issued with the items.
They will offer users more accurate information about their consumption and end the practice of estimated billing, as well as making it easier to switch energy provider, the minister continued.
However, executive director of Which? Richard Lloyd recently warned the government needs to keep a tight control over the costs of the programme to avoid forcing additional costs on to consumers.
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