10,000kWh electricity in a month?

bargainhunterss

Have you checked your meter again recently, is it still going up at the same rate or has it returned to normal readings again?

danielv9

Since I took the last reading, it's been running at normal speed. Which makes me think that the "extra" kWh occurred all at once, rather than going up steadily while I wasn't looking only to revert to normal pace once I started looking!

davehsug

Has the local distributor been doing any work locally? I've come across instances where this has caused a surge in the main & caused meters to go haywire temporarily.
Even so, no reputable supplier should attempt to charge you for that usage.

danielv9

Crikey there's a thought. There have been power cuts in our area in the last couple of months and we came home one day last month to find the power had been off (oven clock was flashing).

Might try and have a word with the distributor on Monday...

bargainhunterss

Any news on what had happened with your meter?

danielv9

I got in touch with the distributor about the 'incident' in our area which occurred during the period in question. While the (very helpful) chap I spoke to was keen to stress that a surge couldn't in and of itself cause a problem with the meter, an interruption to the supply could potentially have caused a temporary fault. Like everyone else I spoke to, he said that there was no way domestic usage could account for that level of reading and that it was a bit cheeky of the supplier to suppose otherwise.

Sent a fairly detailed email to supplier pointing this out along with a few other choice points (all very politely), and a few days later they got in touch saying that a check meter test would indeed be pointless, that they'd calculate the bill on the basis of estimated usage and that they'd replace the meter.

:beer:

The moral of the story seems to be get good advice from a range of sources and keep your cool!

Thanks all,

danielv9

Terrylw1

That's good news!

Just a word of warning so you are prepared. If the call centre told you this, it may still, end up on your bill because the back office experts know that they hould test the meter. One possible trigger may be that the final reading on that meter will be passed to the data collector and after discussions with the supplier, may enter it into settlement so the supplier pays it to the distributor which may shove it back on your bill until you complain.

The final reading is a problem for you and you need to sort it out. I would advise you take readings and monitor consumption up to the final reading. What should happen, is this:

- supplier books meter operator to send engineer
- engineer changes meter and puts reads in his handheld
- meter operator office staff pass reading via the network to the data collector
- data collector fails the reading as its far too high for the period and passes it to the supplier via the network
- supplier hasn't got a clue what to do and investigates it. They may phone you to check the readings so this all starts again
- the data collector has to action this meter change to enable the distributor to bill the supplier in the same way your supplier bills you. So, the Deem a final reading based on previous consumption they hold from readings they have taken off you meter plus any you gave your supplier that were then passed on to the data collector.
- supplier does the meter change on your account to the Deemed reading.

It may not run this smooth and could delay your bills.

Most importantly, that Deemed reading may not be accurate so you need to agree with the supplier how to calculate the final reading.