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Warm.co.uk have called for tighter regulations on the heating industry when it comes
to smart devices, arguing that they’re open to being manipulated by unscrupulous
energy companies or even hackers.

It’s a popular conspiracy theory, but one that’s gaining a lot of ground, as
customers begin to complain that their smart meters are using more gas and
electricity than they think they should be.

Studies have shown that the energy savings smart meters promise can actually
decrease over time, in a move some customers are calling a deliberate move to
present higher bills.

A spokesperson from Warm.co.uk said: “Smart meters are notoriously insecure,
leaving them open to potential hackers off all kinds.

Warm.co.uk has heard from a customer who had their smart meter hacked during a
house party. After being paired with a party-goers phone, the heating was controlled
without the homeowners permission leading to a huge increase in bills, and head
scratching.

“In theory, anyone who hacked into your smart meter could see what you were using,
change your bill one way or the other, and change settings if they know what
they’re doing.

“And that’s without even thinking about what the energy companies could do with
your energy consumption if they wanted to.”

And it doesn’t just work one way round either. Sometimes energy companies
themselves can be the victims, with Warm.co.uk citing one particular example in
Puerto Rico during 2009.

Smart meters there were hacked en masse by former employees from a power company in
what officials called ‘power theft’. Smart meter users were charged an
extortionate amount if they wanted to find out how to alter their own energy
readings, costing the energy company concerned almost $400million per year.