The survey of 10,000 British adults by the Smart Meter Central Delivery Body (SMCDB), the government organisation created to encourage the roll out of the devices, found that more than half (51 per cent) did not trust any energy supplier and more than a third (36 per cent) said they do not understand their energy bill.

In addition, two fifths (43 per cent) do not believe they have the information needed to choose the right energy tariff, while nearly as many (39 per cent) were not confident they had enough information to select the right supplier.

Despite this, fewer than half of households (44 per cent) have expressed an interest in energy ‘smart meters’, which enable consumers to see their energy usage in real-time in pounds and pence.

The government is leading a programme to install smart meters in more than 25 million households across Great Britain.

Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of the Smart Meter Central Delivery Body, said:
“Our research shows that more than half of the population feel they cannot trust any energy supplier. In an era when we are able to compare, record and track our household spending more easily than ever before, two in five of us have no idea whether we’re paying too much for our energy. Antiquated systems for recording energy use and managing billing are no longer fit for purpose.

“Households need to be able to take control of their energy use and bills. For this to happen, the national smart meter roll-out is the essential transformation of the technology we use to buy energy. It will create newly empowered consumers, and increase trust in those who sell us gas and electricity – and our research bears this out.”