Smart meters: what's recorded and who sees it

Last checked: 23 Oct 2026

A smart meter can record how much gas and electricity your home uses in each half hour. Your supplier needs some readings to bill you, but in England, Scotland and Wales you have a say in how often it takes them and what it uses them for. Here are the rules, and how to change your choice with Octopus, British Gas, EDF, E.ON Next, OVO and ScottishPower.

What a smart meter records

The government's guide for households says smart meters can record half-hourly consumption and price data and send readings to your supplier automatically. It says your name and address aren't stored on the meter. Smart Energy GB says the meter measures the total energy your home uses and doesn't know when you switch individual appliances on or off.

The in-home display that comes with the meter shows your use as it happens: Smart Energy GB says electricity updates about every 10 seconds and gas every half hour. It says meters send readings over their own secure wireless network, not the internet.

Who can see it

You, on the in-home display, and in apps you choose to give access to.
Your energy supplier, at the intervals set out below. It can only use the data for marketing if you've said yes (see marketing).
A company collecting readings for your supplier. Smart Energy GB says it can't use your data for anything else, and your supplier will tell you if it uses one.
Network operators, who Smart Energy GB says get some anonymised data to manage the network.

How often your supplier can take readings

The rules are in the conditions of every supplier's licence, set by the regulator, Ofgem (electricity condition 47, gas condition 41). The starting point is that a supplier can't take readings for periods of less than a month. Then:

Monthly: no permission needed. A supplier can also take a one-off reading to send you a bill or a final bill, or to look into a complaint you've made.
Daily: the supplier must first tell you what it wants the data for and that you can object. If you don't object within seven days, it can go ahead. Marketing can't be one of those purposes.
Half-hourly, for the supplier's own purposes: only if you've clearly agreed, and you can withdraw that at any time.

For electricity there's a second, separate use: settlement, the industry process that matches the electricity your supplier bought with what its customers actually used. Since 3 November 2022 the rules for this depend on when your meter was fitted, or when you last made a new deal (Ofgem's decision):

Your electricity meter	Default for settlement	What you can choose instead
Smart meter fitted, or you switched supplier or agreed a new contract, on or after 3 Nov 2022	Half-hourly	Daily
Fitted before 3 Nov 2022, with no new contract since	Daily	Half-hourly, or monthly
You're on a tariff priced by the half hour (a "time-of-use" tariff that needs half-hourly readings)	Half-hourly	No opt-out while you're on that tariff

Ofgem says what moves you onto the newer rules is an active choice, such as agreeing a new contract; OVO says rolling onto its standard tariff when a fixed deal ends doesn't count. Ofgem also says two-rate tariffs such as Economy 7 that don't need half-hourly readings keep the choice. Before taking half-hourly data, your supplier has to tell you your choices and wait seven days, unless you agree sooner.

Ofgem's 2019 decision says data taken for settlement can't be used to market to you, or to decide your tariffs or prices, unless you've opted in to that. Settlement data can also be used for forecasting, but Ofgem says it must then be made anonymous and combined with other homes' data as early as practical.

The move to half-hourly settlement is happening meter by meter. Elexon, which runs the settlement system, said in June 2026 that about a third of meters had moved and that it expects the change to be complete in May 2027.

Gas works differently. Gas isn't part of the settlement change, so the monthly, daily and half-hourly rules above are the only ones. Citizens Advice (its advice for England) says a new gas smart meter is set to send readings monthly, and you can choose daily or half-hourly.

Several suppliers below offer "monthly" readings. ScottishPower says its monthly, daily or half-hourly choice is for billing, and that settlement permission is separate. OVO shows the two on the same screen. The others don't say how they fit together. Under the licence, if you're on the newer rules your settlement data can go no lower than daily.

Change it with your supplier

Octopus Energy

Octopus says you can choose half-hourly, daily or monthly readings and change this at any time in your online account. Tariffs priced by the half hour, such as Agile Octopus, need half-hourly readings.

How the settlement choice works: not described on the Octopus pages we opened. Its terms (version 3.9, June 2026) say it takes half-hourly readings if you've agreed, otherwise daily readings after telling you, or monthly.

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British Gas

British Gas says it asks whether you want readings every 30 minutes, once a day or once a month, that you can change this whenever you like (online or on 0800 980 6121), and that it confirms your choice in writing. It says the more readings it gets, the more accurate your bills, but readings aren't sent to it more than once a day. It won't use smart meter data for marketing unless you've said it can.

How the settlement choice works: not described. The British Gas guide gives the web address, not the on-screen labels, and is undated.

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EDF

You can also change it on EDF's 24-hour automated line, 0333 009 7088.

EDF's terms (October 2026) say that if you stay on, or move to, a tariff that isn't priced by time of day, EDF treats that as you withdrawing consent to use your half-hourly data for settlement. Ask EDF what this means for your account.

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E.ON Next

E.ON Next says that if you agreed a new tariff with it, or had a smart meter fitted, after November 2022, you're on half-hourly by default and can opt out to daily. If your meter is older and you haven't agreed a new tariff since, it's daily by default and you can opt in to half-hourly or out to monthly.

The path is from E.ON Next's guide to time-of-use tariffs. On a time-of-use tariff you can't opt out. Export meters on a Smart Export Guarantee tariff are set to half-hourly. You can also contact E.ON Next to change it.

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OVO

OVO says its meters can send readings once a month, once a day or every half hour, and the same screen asks how often it can use your data for settlement.

OVO says joining it, a new contract or tariff, a smart meter install or moving to Pay Monthly switches you to half-hourly by default, with an option to opt out to daily. It says moving to Pay As You Go also switches you to half-hourly, with no opt-out. Rolling onto its standard tariff at the end of a fix doesn't.

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ScottishPower

ScottishPower says you can choose half-hourly, daily or monthly readings for billing. For settlement, it says it will write to ask your permission to use your half-hourly data.

The address is where ScottishPower's help page links to; the on-screen labels aren't given. Whether you can then choose daily: not described. Switching from monthly doesn't fill in more detail for earlier days.

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The paths are as each supplier's own help page gives them. If yours looks different, look for "smart meter preferences" in your account, or ask your supplier.

Marketing

Under the licence, a supplier needs your clear agreement before using your daily or half-hourly readings for marketing, and Smart Energy GB says suppliers can't use your data for sales or marketing without your permission. The installers' code of practice also means an installer can only talk to you about the supplier's other products if you gave permission before the visit.

Can you refuse a smart meter?

Citizens Advice (its advice for England) says you don't have to accept one, and that if your supplier says you must have one, you can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline. It also says:

you may find it harder to get every tariff without one;
you can ask for a smart meter with the extra features switched off, so it works like an ordinary meter and sends nothing to your supplier, but you'll need to check your supplier can do this;
an electricity meter with an MID mark (a "CE" followed by an "M" and two numbers in a box) doesn't expire, and if your supplier says your meter has expired, it's worth checking before you agree;
if your old meter has to be replaced because it's unsafe, you might not be able to refuse a smart one.

Octopus says that because of the New and Replacement Obligation (an Ofgem rule on new and replacement meters), if your standard meter breaks, your only option for a replacement is a smart meter. EDF's terms say that if you decline a smart meter you may not be eligible for some discounts, services or tariffs. We didn't find a page from Ofgem or the government that sets out a right to refuse: Unverified from those sources.

Northern Ireland

The rules above come from licences for Great Britain, and the government's rights guide applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own plan. The Department for the Economy's fact sheet (April 2026) says no smart electricity meters had been installed in homes there as of early 2026, and that the first installations are expected in early 2028, by NIE Networks. It says the data will be used for billing and for anonymous analysis to run the grid, and shared with others only if you choose. The Utility Regulator says NIE Networks will buy and install the meters, and that the rules for this are still to be developed. How often readings will be taken in Northern Ireland, and what choices you'll have, is not set out in anything we found.

If your supplier doesn't respect your choice

Complain to your supplier first. The government's guide says it has 8 weeks to sort it out; after that you can go to the Energy Ombudsman.

Sources

This page describes your options and how organisations say they handle requests. It isn't legal advice. See About & sourcing, or report a correction.