Dr. Paul McGowan:

As discussed previously, the real enabler for the so-called prosumer, that is, those who generate electricity from micro-wind or micro-solar, is the smart metering programme which will allow them to identify when they might want to sell power. It will also allow for the measuring of the level of export and enable a settlement to be agreed between the prosumer and the buyer, which could be an energy retailer. The two are intrinsically linked. The delivery of smart metering will deliver the ability of microgenerators to sell to the grid on a national scale.