Electric Meter

[Bosswhite]

I have received a message from my Electric Supply to say the my present Electric meter is now outdated and requires REPLACEMENT , at a guess I think they want to install a " Smart Meter" I am in a rural area and unable to receive mobile phone calls and am concerned that a "Smart Meter" reading could be incorrect thus creating errors on the Electric Account , The Electric Company have said they have a legal right to EXCHANGE the original meter, is this correct ,
I get the feeling this is incorrect as the Company have now done away with the yearly meter reading ( By their Meter reader) due to cut backs .
Whats your opinion .

 

[noseall]

I have received a message from my Electric Supply to say the my present Electric meter is now outdated and requires REPLACEMENT , at a guess I think they want to install a " Smart Meter" I am in a rural area and unable to receive mobile phone calls and am concerned that a "Smart Meter" reading could be incorrect thus creating errors on the Electric Account , The Electric Company have said they have a legal right to EXCHANGE the original meter, is this correct ,
I get the feeling this is incorrect as the Company have now done away with the yearly meter reading ( By their Meter reader) due to cut backs .
Whats your opinion .

Just get on with it and ignore the conspiracy idiots. They are just meters, is all.

 

[motorbiking]

They do not have a legal right to force you to have a smart meter. Funnily enough, I've been trying to get one for months now.

They are not just meters, they can be disconnected remotely and converted to pre-pay without a court order. If you have Solar or a power wall, they make sense.

 

[gas112]

some meters wont work right after next year so if you are on economy 7 tariff then it could result on you having a higher bill .
But you also have the right to refuse a smart meter and ask for a standard meter

 

[noseall]

They are not just meters, they can be disconnected remotely

Still just a meter. All electric supplies can be disconnected.

 

[motorbiking]

which bit didn't you get?

Smart meter = disconnection or conversion to pre-pay without a court order. Can be done remotely and there are plenty of cases where this has been done without proper process.
Standard meter = Court order required, giving you the chance to plead your case to somebody who will listen and be independent (hopefully).

These are not conspiracy idiots, the concerns are valid. Of course it doesn't matter if you pay your bills.

 

[bernardgreen]

Still just a meter. All electric supplies can be disconnected.

With an ordinary meter disconnection requires a person to visit the house and remove the fuse. Or even cut and cap the supply cable to ensure no DIY reconnection can happen.

With a smart meter a pen pusher in an office ( or a hacker ) can press a few buttons and disconnect the supply.

Why do almost all smart meters have a relay contact in series with the Live

from a bigclive.com video

 

[Brigadier]

UK smart meter rollout: Skills shortage & supplier disagreements

National Audit Office's new report finds a shortage of engineers and supplier disagreements will delay the UK's smart meter rollout.

www.smart-energy.com

I've got smart meters.

I still have to submit readings as, if I don't, the billed readings are marked as "estimated" (and are wildly inaccurate).

Which sort of defeats the purpose of it all.

At the moment, not a biggie.

However, if/when their operating properly becomes essential, it will cause a lot of inconvenience, stress, headaches, and probably worse.

 

[denso13]

Whats your opinion .

Smart meters are in the majority across the country and there have been no reports about mass disconnections. Just go for it.

 

[gas112]

Smart meters are in the majority across the country and there have been no reports about mass disconnections. Just go for it.

Mass problems with them though which is why cadent approached ofgem and were given permission to refuse to work on them due to the costs involved

 

[nwgs]

Mass problems with them though which is why cadent approached ofgem and were given permission to refuse to work on them due to the costs involved

I’ve been out to loads of the little calculator types and they would keep locking out with plenty of credit on.

Admittedly they were the gas smart meters.

 

[jeds]

You read a lot of crap about smart meters, most of it about the old versions which did cause issues in some circumstances. The new ones work ok.

I've just had a 6 month bill on the 13th June - £154 in credit and they've put my monthly down by fifty quid.

 

[motorbiking]

Smart meters are in the majority across the country and there have been no reports about mass disconnections. Just go for it.

the regulator doesn’t seem to agree with you.

Lots of guidance and consultations from them on the problem. Some of it quite old. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/defa...ion-and-ppm-guidance---open-letter-160810.pdf

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2011/02/disconnection-methods-report-fds_0.pdf#page9

Obviously some of it paranoia. But a lot of it justified.

 

[denso13]

the regulator doesn’t seem to agree with you

In what way? I only wrote that there have been no reports of mass disconnections?

 

[motorbiking]

Yep - you are wrong 60,000 in 3 months

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/11/smart-meter-prepayment-switched-remotely-rights/#:~:text=Despite%20earlier%20calls%20from%20MoneySavingExpert,60%2C000%20of%20these%20switches%20in