LESS than half of registered gas engineers in Lancashire feel prepared to deal with the roll-out of smart metering, according to new research.

Just 40 per cent of registered engineers questioned said they felt ready to deal with the impact the smart metering roll-out will have on their business, research by Blackburn-based Nutech Training has shown.

Neil Turner, managing director of Nutech Training, said: “It should be a real worry to the industry that so few registered gas engineers feel equipped to handle the extra demand.”