Smart Meters - Ask me anything!
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I told him if he could knock a chunk off my tariff then I'd have one, no luck though.
:rotfl:
Thats brilliant! I like your style!!
You've taken the right approach anyways, don't want a smart meter? Don't get one. Simple.
If you get a better deal with a smart meter in future you can always get one fitted for free
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fredandwilma wrote: »Surely this can't be right? Are you talking about different tariffs provided by BG or tariffs provided by other energy suppliers? It shouldn't matter which tariff you are on as long as you're with the same supplier who fitted your smart meter?
Indeed that should be the case
As a rule of thumb that is true for 99% of cases, if you are switching tariff with the same supplier your meter should stay smart.
The only unknown here is what is going on behind BG's (or any other suppliers) closed doors. Maybe there is a technical issue? Maybe it is a business decision? Only BG would know the answer to this.0 -
C_Mababejive wrote: »Are National Grid gearing up to fit smart meters?
There is a very good chance that they will be. Can't say for sure though!0 -
What does NETWORK COMMISSION mean on the smart meter handset, had it installed by British gas but this is all the hand set says:beer:0
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I read my own meters, then I send the results to my supplier by email. What could be simpler? Why do I need one of these meters?
The last government "estimate" I read for the cost of rolling out the things, was £11 Billion. And counting, probably. The suppliers are supposedly paying for this, after which they will pass on the cost in consumer prices. How can anyone possibly say that there may not be any increase in energy prices, as a result? Everything has to be paid for, usually by the poor suffering British public.
What could be simpler? Not reading the meters yourself at all
The question of cost is always a contentious one quite rightly. But don't worry, we'll be saving 11 Billion in only 31 days according to the Leave campaign!:rotfl:
New national infrastructure costs big money, there's no denying that, but the parts that are left out of the headlines (understandably, as it wouldn't be much of a sensational story) make for a much more balanced view. Even though ultimately energy suppliers pay for the smart meter system which they may pass the cost to consumers, things that are never mentioned include:
- Suppliers are not paying up front for the meter equipment, they pay monthly through a MAP company in a monthly rental, meaning they do not have a hefty loss to cover. Similar to the use of the comms network, its a pay as you use system.
- Suppliers are saving vast sums in labour costs by not having to send someone to your house twice a year
- Suppliers are saving vast sums on energy theft (one of the forum users pointed out some big numbers around this)
- A percentage yet to be determined will be saved through customer engagement and direct energy saving. Studies have been done around the world and given values between 0-12% saving per year, but there is no use trying to guess how us Brits will engage.
- Our current power grid is not fit for purpose in future when there is a much greater proportion of distributed (home/micro) generation and intermittent (wind) generation, along with greater use of electric vehicles. Smart meters are the first step in managing this grid as they can react to grid shortfalls (for example) by switching off non-critical loads.
One system which has proven beneficial to both customer, supplier and network is called 'Critical Peak Pricing' where you would be offered an extremely cheap tariff in return for the supplier being able to set for a maximum of 30 (im making up numbers here) 1 hour blocks each year where the price could jump up to something huge. In future, you can then perhaps use an app and your smart home to switch all useless things off for this period.
This is because as the demand in the network gets higher, the price of generation gets exponentially higher to cover the costs of running these (often Open Cycle Gas Turbine) plants a few times a year.
- The energy market is getting more and more competitive as smaller suppliers can easily come on board and take chunks out of the big 6's huge profits. The market is getting more and more competitive so prices will continue to fall for the short-medium term, but don't take my word for it, just keep switching and see!
Hope this helped!
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sacsquacco wrote: »That is only for customers with difficult internet connections, nothing to do with meters tucked away under kitchen units where the occupiers have made the meters very hard to get at with their new kitchens. Its definitely up to the householders to pull apart their units. Its an age old problem which is still a big hold up in getting any new meters installed, smart or dumb.
So far I have not heard of National Grid waving a big stick but they do have the rights of the "final solution " if push comes to shove.That is, disconnection on grounds of safety.Each supplier is fitting smart meters now so that will apply to each supplier also. Its not their problem.Smart meters are not mandatory but updating new meters is and always has been and if the occupiers have made the meters hard to get at, they have to comply and make them easy to get at.
Thats exactly right.
There will be sites out there that just won't be able to talk to the central system (the DCC). There is line on the plan in future to address this but its beyond anyone's horizons at the minute.
Difficult installations like that will be dealt with differently by each supplier and each one will have it's own strategy. Most likely it will be identify a tricky/unsafe install site and immediately leave site, make a note of it and carry on with the easy sites to make sure they cover their installation obligations as quickly as possible.
It is indeed the consumer's obligation to make sure the meter is accessible for example what if the main gas shutoff valve needed to be operated in a leak? Its located by the meter...
The supplier should contact and work with the consumer to work through the issue.0 -
What does NETWORK COMMISSION mean on the smart meter handset, had it installed by British gas but this is all the hand set says
If that is all that you see on the In Home Display (i'm assuming this is not what it says on the meter itself?) then the display has either lost signal (try moving it closer to the meter) or that it has broken it's pairing with the meter.
If moving it closer to he meter and switching it off/on doesn't fix, call your energy supplier. They should be able to guide you through fixing it (if their system is any good!!!)0 -
If that is all that you see on the In Home Display (i'm assuming this is not what it says on the meter itself?) then the display has either lost signal (try moving it closer to the meter) or that it has broken it's pairing with the meter.
If moving it closer to he meter and switching it off/on doesn't fix, call your energy supplier. They should be able to guide you through fixing it (if their system is any good!!!)
Thanks, thats what it says on the Home Display, which is 2 Ft from the meter, he mentioned something about pairing and at the bottom of the checklist it says Home Display not paired, thought this would happen automatically but its been 3 weeks now:beer:0 -
hi
I have economy 7 heating. I had an old electric meter with a time switch, in july I had a smart meter fitted. The old meter and time switch were removed and I now have no automatic switch on/off offpeak supply to my storage heaters. Eon carried out the meter swap but I have since switched supplier to Bristol energy neither will help my problem.0 -
This week we had someone post a question about a supplier getting warrant of entry for a 2k debt because of years of estimates. It was a mistake because the debt was only £950. I do work in the industry and can confirm that sitting back and relying on estimates, particularly a low direct debit can result in the customer easily falling behind to that sort of amount. There are hundreds of thousands of these and they all cost money to sort out and a good proportion of these large debts never get paid. Smart meters will at least ensure that consumers know exactly what they owe and that suppliers do not allow debts to get above a much lower amount without action, I d guess at something like £300 would be their cut off. All these wasted debts get added to the good payers bills in the form of slightly higher tariffs0
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