Installation of smart meters dropped 15% for the first quarter of 2020, according to statistics posted by the United Kingdom’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The agency, which brings together responsibility for science, business, climate change and energy, said this drop in activity was due to COVID-19.
According to statistics, smart meter installations started dropping about March 12. Utility companies shifted to emergency metering work only after the UK government’s stay-at-home order March 23.
The number of smart meter installs was up for the last quarter of 2019, perhaps showing that installations would have kept climbing if not for the response to COVID-19.
