Edf want to replace my electricity meter

littlerock
littlerock Posts: 1,774
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I previously asked about this but would appreciate further clarification.

My electricity meter is in my cellar. It is a Wylex meter and was installed around 15 years ago by the installer when I had a new kitchen installed,(needed new meter due to extra sockets.) Installer was not electricity company by my contractor who was fully qualified and registered electrician. I bought and paid for meter and installation. Water authority wss notified and inspected it and approved and started it up for new readings.

Fast forward three years ago and I contacted EDF about having a Smart meter. They came and surveyed location and said there was not a good enough Signal to install one. Shortly after this they started contacting me to say I needed a smart meter. So kept ringing to say they said my house was not suitable and they would promise to note this on my account .Then along comes the next bill and we go round the houses again.

Recently I got a letter from EDF - my electricity supplier - saying government has said everyone has to have smart meter by 2020 and so they need to replace mine. This is followed week or so later by an email saying my meter needs replacing and they need to make an appointment.

Actually the meter was state of the art at the time and seems to work pretty well. At the slightest sign of trouble even if a light bulb goes it trips the circuit. But I would have a smart meter if I could use one here. If it worked . I doubt it will as we have no phone or WiFi signal in our cellar or back of the house.

Also since read here somewhere that the new smart boards EDF is installing are about to become obsolete and will have to be replaced shortly. is this true? Is it compulsory to have my current meter replaced with a smart beacons.

If I let EDF come and install a smart meter and it does not work, what then, do I just carry on sending them readings? Also I read here EDF is installing mark I smart meters which will shortly have to be replaced by Mark

Suggestions?
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  • oldfella
    oldfella Posts: 1,534
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    to be precise everybody has to be offered a smart meter by 2020. Whether you have it is up to you
  • ic
    ic Posts: 3,291
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    You sound confused about what is a meter and what is the consumer unit (or "fuse board").

    The meter will have a digital or analogue display showing how much electricity you've used. This will be wired to the consumer unit. This splits off to lots of different circuits in your house - sockets, lights, kitchen, cooker, shower, etc.

    EDF want to replace the meter, and will not touch the consumer unit. An electrician on the other hand (should) never touch the meter, but will happily work on your consumer unit. There might be an isolation switch between the two (typically marked as 100A), which allows the electricity to the consumer unit to be turned off.

    A consumer unit looks like this. They might have less switches, for smaller houses with less circuits.

    A meter on the other hand might look like any of these.
  • House_Martin
    House_Martin Posts: 1,462 Forumite
    littlerock wrote: »
    I previously asked about this but would appreciate further clarification.

    My electricity meter is in my cellar. It is a Wylex meter and was installed around 15 years ago by the installer when I had a new kitchen installed,(needed new meter due to extra sockets.) Installer was not electricity company by my contractor who was fully qualified and registered electrician. I bought and paid for meter and installation. Water authority wss notified and inspected it and approved and started it up for new readings.

    Fast forward three years ago and I contacted EDF about having a Smart meter. They came and surveyed location and said there was not a good enough Signal to install one. Shortly after this they started contacting me to say I needed a smart meter. So kept ringing to say they said my house was not suitable and they would promise to note this on my account .Then along comes the next bill and we go round the houses again.

    Recently I got a letter from EDF - my electricity supplier - saying government has said everyone has to have smart meter by 2020 and so they need to replace mine. This is followed week or so later by an email saying my meter needs replacing and they need to make an appointment.

    Actually the meter was state of the art at the time and seems to work pretty well. At the slightest sign of trouble even if a light bulb goes it trips the circuit. But I would have a smart meter if I could use one here. If it worked . I doubt it will as we have no phone or WiFi signal in our cellar or back of the house.

    Also since read here somewhere that the new smart boards EDF is installing are about to become obsolete and will have to be replaced shortly. is this true? Is it compulsory to have my current meter replaced with a smart beacons.

    If I let EDF come and install a smart meter and it does not work, what then, do I just carry on sending them readings? Also I read here EDF is installing mark I smart meters which will shortly have to be replaced by Mark

    Suggestions?
    I have a thick walled old cellar and my smart meters work fine.they do not use your wifi so how do you know if it wont work. It may well work.
    Yes EDF will most likely be installing old style SMETS1 meters even tho meters are available which work in SMETS1 and SMETS 2..which I find ridiculous and wasteful
    i wonder if the government have lifted their instructions to suppliers not to force a smart meter on occupiers..Ed Miliband was the Energy Minister when the labour party introduced them in , I think it was 2008 , and they made them mandatory to everyone..If you had a letter from EDF which did nt offer you an opt out maybe the government have withdrawn it ..Sound like it
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239
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    ...i wonder if the government have lifted their instructions to suppliers not to force a smart meter on occupiers..Ed Miliband was the Energy Minister when the labour party introduced them in , I think it was 2008 , and they made them mandatory to everyone..If you had a letter from EDF which did nt offer you an opt out maybe the government have withdrawn it ..Sound like it

    I think it more likely the OP has misunderstood the letter, or has been taken in by clever use of wording which implied smart meters are mandatory in order to trick consumers into having one.

    If some of the marketing messages and techniques I've seen were flogging any other product, then by now there would be multiple regulators jumping up and down telling the suppliers they are misleading customers.

    Seems you can get away with misleading consumers if the government wants you to. :(
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,583
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    It really doesn't make any difference what meter you've got. If it's smart and works then it will send readings back to the supplier, if it doesn't work as a smart one then it will stilll have to be read manually.

    If they send a bloke round to fit one and there's no signal, then he's unlikely to install it anyway.

    I really cant understand what all the fuss is about and why so many are against them.

    I'll agree that the whole thing is a shambles but it doesn't make a lot of difference as to which sort of meter you've got except that you should benefit from having accurate electricity bills rather than estimates.

    In the end it's up to you to decide if you want one or not but there's a loads of rubbish spouted on this forum about them so I'd be inclined to make up my own mind.

    BTW I've got one and it sends consumption info back to my supplier and my bills are spot on. I still read the meter monthly so I can keep my own records - just in case summat goes wrong
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
  • House_Martin
    House_Martin Posts: 1,462 Forumite
    edited 20 July 2017 at 9:01AM
    EachPenny wrote: »
    I think it more likely the OP has misunderstood the letter, or has been taken in by clever use of wording which implied smart meters are mandatory in order to trick consumers into having one.

    If some of the marketing messages and techniques I've seen were flogging any other product, then by now there would be multiple regulators jumping up and down telling the suppliers they are misleading customers.

    Seems you can get away with misleading consumers if the government wants you to. :(
    I agree in that the wording may be misleading..Other suppliers, including BG have tried that a few years ago and were quickly jumped on and had to retract any instructions that they are obligatory..They were obligatory in 2008 and I have just looked at an EU roll out table which shows the UK now as obligatory, no opt outs as in Germany, Sweden and I think the Netherlands..the instruction not to push people into accepting one was just a Ministers decision to curry favour with the electorate, it was nt through a Commons vote to amend the original smart meter program ..Legally then, they are obligatory and EDFs letter may have to be accepted. Npowers electric smart meters did offer three different levels , once a month reads, once a week(or daily ) and half hourly.. I can t understand anyone objecting to a once a month smart meter automatic reading.The whole industry would operate better..
    We see a smattering of them on here every day who haven`t been submitting monthly reads getting into financial debts and some ending up with force fitted expensive prepays with a £15 a week debt.. I would say on average people just submit reads once or twice a year.I don t know anyone who even does that..once every two years is the norm for them and they are well educated , all three were on standard/variable until I took over their accounts..I even submit reads online for them all now I am retired and have the time.They are typical IMO
  • EDF have done a survey and said that a smart meter won't work, but they still keep sending letters insisting you have one? So just ignore the letters then.
  • Hedgehog99
    Hedgehog99 Posts: 1,425 Forumite
    Ignore the letters.

    If, once SMETS-2 are being installed and you want one then, then you can look into it and find out whether you can have one.
  • miserable_ol_so_n_so
    miserable_ol_so_n_so Posts: 496
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    edited 20 July 2017 at 11:04AM
    ic wrote: »
    .................

    EDF want to replace the meter, and will not touch the consumer unit. An electrician on the other hand (should) never touch the meter, but will happily work on your consumer unit. There might be an isolation switch between the two (typically marked as 100A), which allows the electricity to the consumer unit to be turned off.
    ................................
    Thanks for this excellent clarification. You seem to be well versed in this area, perhaps an Electrical Engineer. I too am an Electrical engineer though not experienced in mains electricity. I know my query is not about this particular post. In my installation, there is not an isolation switch but a 100 amp fuse. I have tried to pull this out but being elderly could not do so. Can you please clarify the procedure for isolating my consumer unit from the meter so that some modifications can be made to the circuits. I presume I need to call the supplier of electricity to come and isolate it then return to reinsert it, no doubt at a great cost!
    ....Illegitimi non carborundum

    ...don't let the illegitimate ones grind you down....
  • SummerFun
    SummerFun Posts: 103 Forumite
    littlerock wrote: »
    I previously asked about this but would appreciate further clarification.

    My electricity meter is in my cellar. It is a Wylex meter and was installed around 15 years ago by the installer when I had a new kitchen installed,(needed new meter due to extra sockets.) Installer was not electricity company by my contractor who was fully qualified and registered electrician. I bought and paid for meter and installation. Water authority wss notified and inspected it and approved and started it up for new readings.

    Fast forward three years ago and I contacted EDF about having a Smart meter. They came and surveyed location and said there was not a good enough Signal to install one. Shortly after this they started contacting me to say I needed a smart meter. So kept ringing to say they said my house was not suitable and they would promise to note this on my account .Then along comes the next bill and we go round the houses again.

    Recently I got a letter from EDF - my electricity supplier - saying government has said everyone has to have smart meter by 2020 and so they need to replace mine. This is followed week or so later by an email saying my meter needs replacing and they need to make an appointment.

    Actually the meter was state of the art at the time and seems to work pretty well. At the slightest sign of trouble even if a light bulb goes it trips the circuit. But I would have a smart meter if I could use one here. If it worked . I doubt it will as we have no phone or WiFi signal in our cellar or back of the house.

    Also since read here somewhere that the new smart boards EDF is installing are about to become obsolete and will have to be replaced shortly. is this true? Is it compulsory to have my current meter replaced with a smart beacons.

    If I let EDF come and install a smart meter and it does not work, what then, do I just carry on sending them readings? Also I read here EDF is installing mark I smart meters which will shortly have to be replaced by Mark

    Suggestions?

    If you allow EDF to come and replace the meter as they wish, it will work! ... but perhaps not in smart mode.

    When you switch supplier, it won't work in smart mode anyway, so don't worry.

    There is no requirement to accept a smart meter - any suggestion by the supplier to the contrary is a downright lie
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