At The Monarch Partnership, we’re changing the way in which our customers’ smart meters report and share data. Why? Because smart meters are only “smart” if you’re really able to make sense of - and act upon - what they are telling you.

1. 11 August 2015
SMART METERS ARE ONLY SMART IF YOU
MAKE SENSE OF THEM
At The Monarch Partnership, we’re changing the way in which our
customers’ smart meters report and share data. Why? Because
smart meters are only “smart” if you’re really able to make sense
of what they are telling you.
We now work with an energy data supplier called Stark
(stark.co.uk), with the result that we can access 500+ reports on our customers’
energy use.
It’s worth taking a step back and providing a bit of context about why we’ve done
this, in particular because the switch to smart meters isn’t without controversy.
The Monarch Partnership
T - 020 8835 3535
E - enquiries@monarchpartnership.co.uk 1
Homes and small
businesses are meant
to be on ‘smart’ meters
by 2020

2. 11 August 2015
The roll-out of Smart Meters - a “costly failure”?
So-called dumb meters are ones where you, or a representative of your energy
supplier, takes a reading and sends it in.
Normally this has been done every few weeks at best. In fact, energy suppliers
legally only *have* to visit a meter once every two years: and not even to read the
meter, but to make sure it is fitted/ working correctly and not dangerous. Most small
businesses and homes still have these.
With ‘smart meters’, data can be collected as often as every half hour, meaning bills
are no longer estimates but based on actual realtime usage. It also means the
potential to save money is there by crunching the data
and monitoring energy ‘peaks.’
The UK Govt wants all homes and small businesses in
England, Scotland and Wales to switch over to smart
meters by 2020.
As with many large scale Government projects, that
target is unlikely to be met. For one thing, it requires
10,000 engineers to be found to install a whopping 53
million meters in the next five years.
As a result, the House of Commons Energy Select
Committee has warned that due to delays and technical
difficulties it could end up becoming a “costly failure.”
One personal finance blogger, Paul Lewis, has written a fairly scathing critique of the
smart meter roll-out.
The essence of his argument is that it is good news for the utility companies but less
so for the end user.
Paul Lewis says that energy companies could (for example) introduce peak electricity
charges, say between 7am-9am, in the same way that public transport in London and
other major cities costs more at peak times.
The Monarch Partnership
T - 020 8835 3535
E - enquiries@monarchpartnership.co.uk 2
The House of
Commons Energy
Select Committee has
warned that due to
delays and technical
difficulties it could
end up becoming a
“costly failure.”

3. 11 August 2015
The importance of P272
The Government’s smart meter roll-out will primarily affect small businesses. Larger
non domestic sites will be affected by another related proposal called ‘P272’. This
requires certain meter types (profile class 05 to 08) to be moved to half hourly
reporting.
Control the data, control the savings
Paul Lewis makes an important point - he
who controls the data controls the savings.
Which brings us back to why we are using
Stark to make sense of the information
being reported back by our customers’ half
hourly meters.
First of all, the data collected is
independent from suppliers, and if a
business changes supplier there is
continuity.
Stark also offers a reporting platform called
Stark SavenergyOnline.
This has a number of benefits. A
programme of continuous performance
monitoring can be implemented across whole
organisations.
Multi-site comparison reports can rank the energy performance of each building in an
organisation’s portfolio. Because we can see the energy use of all our customers, we
have a better understanding of the bigger picture by building customer benchmarks
against given times of the day / week.
The Monarch Partnership
T - 020 8835 3535
E - enquiries@monarchpartnership.co.uk 3
Control the data, control the savings

4. 11 August 2015
Extensive reporting features help customers cut out energy waste. Positive change
and potential savings can be realised right from within the dashboard.
Stark even integrates the weather with your energy data. Half hourly temperature
and daily degree day data is matched with the information coming from customers’
smart meters, allowing us to forecast your energy usage with greater accuracy.
We’re believers that the more you know, the more you can save, and half hourly
reporting can benefit organisations if implemented correctly.
Better knowledge helps when it comes to devising and implementing energy use
strategies – eg around the reduction of avoidable energy use (switching computers
and building lights off at night) and implementation of sustainable sources to reach
green energy targets.
It also provides you with advanced warning if your energy use and so costs, are
spiking, meaning no more unpleasant surprises down the line.
However, organisations need to take control of this information, rather than leave it to
the energy companies who will almost certainly be using it to look at ways in which
they can increase revenue.
As energy consultants, we can help you make sense of all this data and get you
saving money sooner rather than later. Contact us to make it happen.
Arjan Dosanjh, Director, The Monarch Partnership
The Monarch Partnership
T - 020 8835 3535
E - enquiries@monarchpartnership.co.uk 4