To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of (a) the average life of an electricity meter, (b) the number of electricity meters in the UK, (c) the number of electricity meters changed each year and (d) the time it would take to replace all existing electricity meters with new electricity monitors; and if he will make a statement. (136754)

There are 28.5 million electricity meters in Great Britain. The average life of an electricity meter is 20 years, and around 5 per cent. are changed each year. Electricity meters could not be replaced by any device that did not meet the legal requirement that, where electricity is used, it must be measured by an appropriate meter. The Government will set out their views on electricity and gas metering in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.