Alt HAN devices are the market-wide solution to extend the communication range of smart meters within buildings. Affecting a small proportion of buildings but impacting hundreds of thousands of energy customers. The devices are provided by the Alt HAN Company, a not-for-profit organisation owned and governed by energy suppliers collectively.
Alt HAN’s goal is to provide range-extending products and services that integrate seamlessly into the smart meter rollout plans of all energy suppliers enabling more consumers to benefit from a Smart Meter. In June 2023 we took a big step towards this goal with the first phase of smart meter installs using the Alt HAN devices being successfully completed. Over 100 customers and counting are now benefiting from Alt HAN devices in their homes. The first phase is known as Safe Launch, and is a stepping stone to mass rollout which is set to start from July 2023.
During the Safe Launch period Alt HAN devices were installed in premises across a wide variety of property types in England, Scotland, and Wales. All three of our Participating Energy Suppliers (PES); Octopus Energy, OVO Energy and EDF installed successfully, with positive customer feedback and excellent post installation performance. Early indications also show that the additional time to install have been quick. With the progress made and feedback received so far, we are confident of starting Mass Rollout as planned from July 2023.
The successful completion of Safe Launch represents the culmination of many years of work to develop the Alt HAN technology and stand-up Alt HAN Co as a fully operational entity. This has only been made possible by the collective efforts of our energy supplier members and delivery partners. But more importantly, it signals the start of the journey to deliver the benefits of Smart metering to the hundreds of thousands who are unable to access smart metering without Alt HAN’s solutions.
Paul Cooper Managing Director Alt HAN Co:
“The installation of Alt HAN solutions is already making a real difference in over 100 homes of customers who have previously been unable to access the full smart customer experience. I am pleased with the very positive feedback on customers experience, technical performance and operational delivery. Alt HAN’s Safe Launch provided an opportunity to test our end-to-end operational processes and we are pleased with the good progress, valuable learnings, and key successes.
This supports our operational readiness as we shape up for deployment at volume in Summer 2023 where we look forward to more energy suppliers starting their installation of our technology.”
