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Smart meters threaten to interfere with nuclear missile warning system
Ministers stop the roll out of new smart meters to some homes near RAF Fylingdales
By Ben Woods
16 February 2022 ? 7:00pm
RAF Fylingdales
RAF Fylingdales detects ballistic missiles across a 3,000-mile radius Nuclear missile early warning systems are at risk of interference from the roll out of smart meters, forcing energy bosses to halt installations across parts of Yorkshire, The Telegraph can reveal.
People living near RAF Fylingdales have been refused the upgrade because smart meter signals may clash with its ballistic missiles radar equipment.
Crewed by Royal Air Force staff on the North York Moors, Fylingdales scours the skies for ballistic missiles across a 3,000-mile radius, providing data to the US government to warn of an impending strike on America.
It is understood that the radio frequencies smart meters use to send data usage to suppliers has proven problematic because it is too close to those used by Fylingdales, formerly home to famous ?golf ball? radar domes. They were demolished after the end of the cold war and replaced with pyramid structures.
Ministers have stopped the roll out to some homes within the North York Moors National Park until they can be kitted out with a new type of smart meter that can operate on the 454MHz frequency instead of the standard 422-424MHz band used by most smart meters.
A letter from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, sent to some households late last year and seen by The Telegraph said: ?Some premises within the vicinity of RAF Fylingdales will require new technology that industry has been developing ? a special type of communications hub ? for smart meters at those properties to connect to the national smart metering network.?
The Telegraph revealed this month how new powers for the energy regulator will allow smart meters to send information about usage to suppliers every 30 minutes by default. The plans are part of preparations for so-called surge pricing, whereby electricity prices vary according to demand. Ministers are pursuing the technology to help manage the load on the grid as Britain increasingly depends on variable renewable power and electric vehicles.
Such changes prepare the ground for households to potentially pay more during the busiest periods, raising the prospect of being penalised for using the washing machine or charging gadgets in the mornings or evenings.
While in most parts of the country smart meters are being heavily marketed, in the area around Fylingdales those who do want one are being refused.
One consumer living close to the RAF Fylingdales base posted on a forum hosted by the Money Saving Expert website: ?SMETS2 smart meters are simply not available to me because they operate at a radio frequency which will cause interference with an RAF airbase, RAF Fylingdales.
"All the potential energy suppliers just say ?No; you are ineligible for a SMETS2 smart meter? and leave it at that.?
The government said alternative smart meter technology compatible with RAF Fylingdales is being rolled out to nearby households, with a test deployment to 300 homes currently under way.
Mike Hewitt, the chief technology officer of Smart DCC, the Capita-owned company which runs the smart meter radio network, added: ?This work around RAF Fylingdales is a good example of the kind of technical problem-solving needed to connect every home and small business to the nationwide secure smart metering network.
"I?m pleased that by working with the local community and our partners, we?ve built a solution that works for consumers in the area and the RAF.?
"Hundreds of premises near Fylingdales have already been connected? with the new smart meter tech," he added.
Nick