ENERGY firms will have to power to turn off household central heating under new smart meter proposals.
The plans would allow providers to turn off a household’s heating supply whenever it felt usage was getting too high.
Smart meters could be used by providers to switch off households central heating supply
Normally, customers are entitled to compensation if their energy supply is cut off but if the new plans are passed it would see these rights waived.
The proposals have been put forward by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and are currently being considered by the watchdog, Ofgem.
The firm blames the rise in green energy products like electric cars and heat pumps for putting pressure on the national grid.
It argues that it would only switch off supplies when the grid was in a state of “emergency” and that it would be managed through smart meters.
The power cuts would be temporary and no longer than two hours a day.
Suppliers would need to get permission from households to sign up to the initiative but it wouldn’t need to alert them every time it is was going to cut off supply.
It leaves households at risk of being without energy when they need it but unable to claim compensation for the inconvenience.
But SSEN stressed that the measures would only apply to homes with an electric heat pump and not gas central heating.
Customers would also have the right at any time to ask to be removed from the scheme.
An SSEN spokesman said: “The proposed modification has been tabled to provide a last-resort contingency measure, protecting the security of customer supplies during an emergency scenario.”
They added: “Our preference for managing peaks in electric vehicle demand would always be a market-based solution such as a time-of-use tariff, provided by energy suppliers.
“This proposal provides an additional safeguard in exceptional circumstances.”
But critics believe that it could hand too much power to suppliers and leave homeowners vulnerable.
Energy expert Peter Earl, from comparison site Compare the Market, said: “I would have considerable concern about the impact of these measures.