Is spending a billion on electric smart metres a really dumb idea?

From the BBC: Smart electricity meters will be rolled out in Northern Ireland from 2028, according to the Department for the Economy. Smart meters are widely used in the rest of the UK and in Ireland, providing real-time information to energy suppliers while giving households information on their electricity usage and costs. The rollout is set to cost more than £500m, with the regulator expecting IT costs expected to increase that total to the “late hundreds of millions”. Economy...