A SENIOR engineer in the billion-pound national roll out of smart meters will discuss the challenges of the project in a lecture in Barrow at 7.30pm on Thursday, April 18.

The lecture will take place at The Forum with industry expert and guest speaker John Cowburn talking about cybersecurity, safety and the future of the smart meter roll out.

Mike Kittley, secretary of Barrow & District Association of Engineers, said the energy saving devices polarised opinion with many saying they had cheaper bills while others had experienced the opposite.

Mr Kittley said: “Many people enjoy real-time understanding of how their energy is used in the home and use it to cut back on bills.

“Others have just not seen the benefits in the way it was advertised and many are not keen to adopt this device into their lives.”

The talk is the BDAE’s final talk of the season.