MSE News: 'Smart Meter' energy roll-out plans unveiled

ZTD

KimYeovil wrote: »

This is excellent news and I do hope it is true.

Problem being that the electricity companies would have to be *absolutely* perfect in their administration of this.

Given the complaints about the utilities are the biggest source of consumer complaints, this perfection is a long way off.

You could be in the situation where you are sat in the dark because you can't afford the £8,000 per month the electricity company thinks you're running up. This *has* happened - more than once.

ZTD

And a few links for people...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/12/smart_grid_security_risks/

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2253546/energy-giant-faces-law-suit


I do find amusing the following statement:

"Both smart meters and energy monitors allow customers to become more aware of how much energy they use by simply translating the KHW consumption and unit rate into pounds and pennies, this is what will encourage them to cut down."

In my day, a device for translating KWh consumption into pounds and pence was called a "bill"...

Haarlem

Markee wrote: »

What it is about, and you won't find this publicised anywhere, is that these new smart meters allow the facility for remote disconnection if you don't pay your bill to allow the energy companies to have more control over their cashflow.....

I think its about a lot more than just remote meter reading and remote disconnection (there is some doubt at the moment that this will be allowed by Europe) Suppliers both for gas and electricity will offer a multitude of time of day tariffs, even down to a different rate every half hour, so deciding on the best tariff will be far more complecated than at present.

Add to this the WiFi router you will have in your house, and the collecting receiver at the end of your street then it is more than just changing the meter.

There is also the matter of privicy with all the information available as to when your property was occupied from the useage. Who and in what circumstances can this information be made available to others. eg law enforcement, local councils for checking on unoccupied properties etc

A_fiend_for_life

ZTD wrote: »

Problem being that the electricity companies would have to be *absolutely* perfect in their administration of this.

Given the complaints about the utilities are the biggest source of consumer complaints, this perfection is a long way off.

You could be in the situation where you are sat in the dark because you can't afford the £8,000 per month the electricity company thinks you're running up. This *has* happened - more than once.

Another way to look at it is many people are in the dark because they can't calculate their bill and get a nasty surprise in three months time.

Having the cumulative cost removes this surprise assuming the meter is accessible and is used to it's advantage.

Also if the meters are as smart, and addressable to appliances, as they are supposed to be it is a bit more difficult for energy companies to dispute when the meter became faulty.

When someone moves into a house that has been unoccupied the energy company knows pretty quickly that the house is occupied so people on years of free electricity should be fewer.

Haarlem

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

When someone moves into a house that has been unoccupied the energy company knows pretty quickly that the house is occupied so people on years of free electricity should be fewer.

That's an interesting point. The electricity industry knows there are a lot of premises with a supply, but not on their records. If the smart meters are installed only where there is an existing meter on record then many will continue not paying.

However the smart meters may be able to help with the aggregation of the total enery used for the area served by a sub-station, and compare it with the total supply to that area through the substation. Where there is a significant discrepancy each property in the area can be checked out.

Gosh the industry is going to have a field day.

Andy_WSM

penrhyn wrote: »

If you want to pre-empt this then you can log your weekly meter readings on iMeasure and track your consumption. Does require a bit of effort on your part mind:rolleyes:.

http://imeasure.org.uk/

I have been doing a similar thing using my I-Phone over the last year and have already made all the savings I can, so this latest initiative, which is likely to cost me £s, will save me nothing at all. The energy company will save £s though by not having to send someone out to read my meter.

Winners in this - Meter manufacturers. Meter Installers, Utility companies.
Losers - Me! Meter readers.

I don't think I'm important to the utility company though, after all, I'm just the customer.

hansi

If they're looking at 2020 as the year they install them, why worry now. Personally, I hope not be around then and ten years is a long time off, anything can happen!

globalds

Haarlem wrote: »

However the smart meters may be able to help with the aggregation of the total enery used for the area served by a sub-station, and compare it with the total supply to that area through the substation. Where there is a significant discrepancy each property in the area can be checked out.

Gosh the industry is going to have a field day.

Andy_WSM wrote: »

Losers - Me! Meter readers.

I don't think I'm important to the utility company though, after all, I'm just the customer.

You will be busier than ever ...Hunting down all those missing units

Markee

hansi wrote: »

If they're looking at 2020 as the year they install them, why worry now. Personally, I hope not be around then and ten years is a long time off, anything can happen!

I don't want to state the obvious, but if these smart meters are going to be installed in ALL homes in the UK, its going to take more than 1 year. So, if they are all going to be done by 2020, then I would guess they would need 3-5 years to do this.

On the other hand, this is a massive project and they will need to train and employ extra staff to carry out this work over and above their normal tasks, therefore they probably wont be in a position to start for another 2-3 years.

So I reckon they will start around 2014-2015 - but probably sooner as houses with meters at the end of their life will be fitted with a smart meter as a replacement.

Andy_WSM

hansi wrote: »

If they're looking at 2020 as the year they install them, why worry now. Personally, I hope not be around then and ten years is a long time off, anything can happen!

That's a good point. In 10 years time electricity will be something that only the very well off have in their houses. The rest of us will have gone back to living in caves.