The British Gas scheme mentioned in the article does not necessarily guarantee it will be copied by all others - in fact that is unlikely. However, it is probable that every supplier will continue to look for ways to make more money, as they do and have done already and somebody has to pay for the new meters (although normal replacement of old meters must be taken into account - smart or old fashioned makes little difference).
Everything depends on regulatory controls and there the government's record in this area is not good: They led to the near total disappearance of tariffs which are based only on what you consume (gas or electricity) - this greatly inconveniences those who consume little energy.
On the privacy side, in addition to a full spending record via the use of cards, people happily put practically their every move and emotion on the internet via Facebook, etc. so there is not a lot in addition to discover through Smart Meters.