British Gas want to change gas meter

[sherbie28]

I've had a letter from British Gas this morning saying they need to replace the Gas meter. It's in the porch, will they need access into the house? Also the letter states they need to change it periodically, a neighbour said they change it every few months? That can't be right, surely?

[penrhyn]

I think they change them after about 10-15 years. Next door had theirs changed yesterday.

[Cardew]

Just a point, assuming you have an old meter, it will probably be an Imperial meter which measures in Cubic Feet. On that meter 1 unit is 100 cubic feet and is approx 31kWh.

The new meter will be metric and 1 unit is 1 cubic metre and is appox 11kWh

So don't have a fit if you find you are using 3 times as many units!(2.83 actually)

However keep an eye on your next bill as it is not uknown for the Utility company not to be informed and carry on billing you for an Imperial meter.

[notbritishgas]

Sherbie, Yes they will need access to the house, even if the meter is outside.
The reason being that they have to cut the gas off, so when they have finished they must check that everything works OK and that pilot lights have been reignited etc. Only about a 20 min job in total.

[Terrylw1]

Don't worry about them changing them. Meter recertification is set down by industry watchdogs and it's for your safety.

Meters are changed near the end of the certified life, not every few months.