(no) POWER TO THE (Texan) PEOPLE!

[Captain Nemesis]

The fuss about water meters will die down once everybody has them.

Its a historical thing - if wed always had them nobody would be arguing that they should be taken away. Ive never heard that when gas and electricity supplies started people said they should be unmetered.

They forced one on us recently - for the next 2 years we get to see what the bills would be, but theres sodall we can do about it.

 

[noseall]

Fancy the utility companies wanting customers to pay for what they use. Bloody cheek!

 

[sxturbo]

I'm not on a water meter, it's ruddy great with a little one.

The rate we pay is about the same price as where we lived previously with a meter. But we definitely use more water now as the garden is much bigger for a start

 

[sxturbo]

Surely you, with a meter, must be paying a lot less than they are.

Nope.

Water rates without a meter are based on council tax rates.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Water rates without a meter are based on council tax rates.

Yes, exactly - and with a meter dependent on how much you use.

Don't forget Filly is in Cornwall and South West Water are (or used to be) the dearest in the country - verging on the extortionate.

 

[EFLImpudence]

If it is not cheaper with a meter, why would anyone choose to have one?

My parents in Devon chose to have a meter (before 2006) and their bill went down from £600 per year to about a third of that.

Perhaps it has changed because, obviously, SWW would not want that to happen to all their customers.

 

[JohnD]

it's a trick to get everybody onto a meter. When everbody has a meter, and there is no-one left to overcharge, metered prices will go up.

the costs of water and sewerage are mostly in building and maintaining the infrastructure, pipes, reservoirs, treatment works and so on. The cost of the pipe to your house does not increase every time you turn on the tap.

Consider also that (like the American Heathcare Business) there is a huge extra workload and cost in installing, maintaining and reading many millions of meters, and calculating and issuing the bills. So metering increases the costs and the bills paid by the consumer.

This is why there is a good business case for unmetered supplies to typical households that do not have swimming pools, allotments, fountains etc.

However, the idea that somebody else might be getting a good bargain and a low price is offensive to Thatcherite economics; so domestic meters can be described in a way that makes that seem fair, even though it is economically a bad move.

The funny thing is, that since most of the costs of the service are fixed, and not usage-dependent, if metered water prices were so high that everybody halved their usage, prices would have to double so that the fixed costs would still be met from a reduced amount of water.

Thatcherite economics are notorious for their stupidity and lack of understanding.

 

[bernardgreen]

If memory serves me right some people's water bills dropped significantly when they were switched from rateable value costing to water metering costing.

The water company's income dropped so much that they stopped insisting on people switching to water metering

 

[noseall]

I'm a massive fan of those who use the most water pay the most money.

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I continue to be flabbergasted that UK water companies charge you for water delivered, and for taking it away again!
They also charge you for rainfall!

 

[JohnD]

I'm a massive fan of those who use the most water pay the most money.

fair for those with swimming pools or horticultural use.

but for typical domestic houses using average amounts, the cost of metering and billing exceeds the cost of water. So it doesn't make sense.

 

[JohnD]

If memory serves me right some people's water bills dropped significantly when they were switched from rateable value costing to water metering costing.

yes, this is common. It demonstrates that the pricing policy is not correct or fair.

 

[sxturbo]

If it is not cheaper with a meter, why would anyone choose to have one?

My parents in Devon chose to have a meter (before 2006) and their bill went down from £600 per year to about a third of that.

Perhaps it has changed because, obviously, SWW would not want that to happen to all their customers.

I think it depends,

If it was a single person living on there own in a 2 bed house, then a meter would be cheaper,

My parents had a meter put in when us kids moved out and they saved a small amount.

However before we grew up it was more worthwhile sticking to no meter.

Unfortunately once you go to a meter you can't go back

 

[Captain Nemesis]

If it is not cheaper with a meter, why would anyone choose to have one?

https://www.bing.com/search?q=thames+water+compulsory+meters