BT believes energy suppliers should use its communications
network to connect thenational network of smart energy metersannounced
this morning.
A BT spokesman said the teleco was looking at the detail of the
consultation issued today by the Department of Energy and Climate
Change.
"We believe there are real opportunities to explore how the UK's
broadband infrastructure can help deliver smart metering quickly
across the UK," he said.
Network issues for the smart grid network make up the first
question in the
consultation paper. The government is suggesting three broad
options. These range from a single national network supplier (the
government's preferred option) to a distributed network owned and
run either by energy suppliers directly or by a regional network
operator.
The government is also preparing the final
report on Digital Britain, which has at its centre the
government's stated commitment to a universal 2Mbps broadband
service.
James Forrest, vice president of Capgemini UK's utilities
consultancy, said he believed there was possibly scope to combine
Digital Britain and the smart metering project. This was especially
true if the result was a "smart grid" that allowed the energy
suppliers to manage demand in real time.
According to Ofcom, in 2007 there were 33.7 million fixed lines
in the UK, and 123 active mobile connections per 100 consumers.
There were also 30 internet connections per 100 head of population
and 26 broadband connections per 100 people.
"Using the existing broadband infrastructure could accelerate
rollout and reduce associated costs whilst also increasing the
number of homes with active broadband connections," the spokesman
said.
"We have been considering the role broadband might play and will
respond to the consultation in due course."