asked Her Majesty's Government:

What data will be transmitted to an energy supplier from a smart meter; who will own the information; and what rules will govern its use by the energy supplier. [HL3351]

The Government recently published their response to the metering and billing consultation. In it, the Government set out their next steps on smart metering, including the need to undertake further impact assessment work and to take into account the initial results from the Energy Demand Research Project before confirming decisions on the way forward for smart metering as soon as possible after November 2008. As part of their further phase of work, the Government intend to investigate the rules and governance arrangements for smart metering, including the issue of data ownership and access. Amendments made to the Energy Bill would provide the Government with a power to require licence holders to introduce smart metering. These amendments include the power to make provisions in respect of the communication of, and access to, information from smart meters.