Can electricity meters incorrectly report the amount of electricity used?

bk1973

We are with EON and this week they came to remove the digital meter and install a old school mechanical one. Apparently there was a fault with the digital one and they now only install mechanica ones.

My electricty bill over the summer months was much hgher than it has ever been, despite much less use. Eg husband works from an office, no use of dryer, or lighting etc. We go to great lengths to minimise unnecessary wastage in gas and electricity, turning lights off etc,etc.

The bill came to £150.

Can the faulty meter report an incorrect amount of used electricity?

[Deleted User]

Thats good to hear, the little white digital one in my area ( landys Gyr,Ampy etc ) has been a disaster. I find at least one a week has lost the screen and gone blank.It causes a lot of problems because the suppliers dont seem overly bothered about changing them and they stay blank for years unless the customer makes a fuss.Bring back the old super reliable dial meters, I have only found one faulty in 13 years

Wywth

bk1973 wrote: »

We are with EON and this week they came to remove the digital meter and install a old school mechanical one. Apparently there was a fault with the digital one and they now only install mechanica ones.

My electricty bill over the summer months was much hgher than it has ever been, despite much less use. Eg husband works from an office, no use of dryer, or lighting etc. We go to great lengths to minimise unnecessary wastage in gas and electricity, turning lights off etc,etc.

The bill came to £150.

Can the faulty meter report an incorrect amount of used electricity?

Yes it could be possible.

Unfortunately it's now been replaced. If you had queried this beforehand, the supplier could have offered to put a check meter alongside the existing one to verify whether or not it was accuarate.

macman

You say your usage may have been higher, but on what evidence? The bill is not what matters, it's the kWh consumption on which the bill is calculated. How much did that increase?

wakeupalarm

On the same sort of theme. I've heard of the old spinning dial meters sometimes running slower so recording lower usage over time. Is it possible that they can be calibrated to run faster than actual usage?

I have an ACE1000 meter, can these run faster than actual usage?

Terrylw1

wakeupalarm wrote: »

On the same sort of theme. I've heard of the old spinning dial meters sometimes running slower so recording lower usage over time. Is it possible that they can be calibrated to run faster than actual usage?

I have an ACE1000 meter, can these run faster than actual usage?

Yes, they are configured to run at a speed...which could be any speed someone wants to set it to.

However, there are set parameters that meters have to be configured to. These same tolerances are used in testing for such a fault.

Any meter, mechanical or digital, can start to record slower or speed. The recertification process is based on the National Measurement Office (NMO) schedule which states how long each meter should be onsite for and after this life its possible for accuracy errors to occur.

Mechanicals have the longest life of 30+ years.

Terrylw1

bk1973 wrote: »

We are with EON and this week they came to remove the digital meter and install a old school mechanical one. Apparently there was a fault with the digital one and they now only install mechanica ones.

My electricty bill over the summer months was much hgher than it has ever been, despite much less use. Eg husband works from an office, no use of dryer, or lighting etc. We go to great lengths to minimise unnecessary wastage in gas and electricity, turning lights off etc,etc.

The bill came to £150.

Can the faulty meter report an incorrect amount of used electricity?

Perhaps the Eon reps will correct me here but I doubt suppliers would go back to older metering which is less diverse than the digitals.

They can all run slow or speed. Prior to removal, the supplier should perform a Standard Load Test (SLT) to check the speed or fit a check meter.

Once its removed, your only option is a bench test or manufacturer report but the supplier needs to get that meter tracked down which is difficult and requiring contract level people most likely supporting the complaints staff.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

bk1973 wrote: »

We are with EON and this week they came to remove the digital meter and install a old school mechanical one. Apparently there was a fault with the digital one and they now only install mechanica ones.

My electricty bill over the summer months was much hgher than it has ever been, despite much less use. Eg husband works from an office, no use of dryer, or lighting etc. We go to great lengths to minimise unnecessary wastage in gas and electricity, turning lights off etc,etc.

The bill came to £150.

Can the faulty meter report an incorrect amount of used electricity?

Hi bk1973

Have to say, this is new one on me. I've heard no mention of installing the old mechanical meters.

Just the opposite. We're currently installing the new digital Smart Meters at many properties up and down the country.

With faulty meters, we've a specialist team who look after this type of issue. Has anyone been in contact with you about the implications involved? If so, what have they said?

Sorry this is a bit vague but if you let me have a bit more info, I'll try to help more. Drop an email to the address in my Profile if you prefer.

Malc

bk1973

Wywth wrote: »

Yes it could be possible.

Unfortunately it's now been replaced. If you had queried this beforehand, the supplier could have offered to put a check meter alongside the existing one to verify whether or not it was accuarate.

Im curious, what is a check meter?

utility_csa

bk1973 wrote: »

Im curious, what is a check meter?

Its an additional meter that is wired in series next to the current meter.

Traditionally this should be a different make of meter as the check meter however no one ever bothers and just slaps the same meter next to it.

rogerblack

Terrylw1 wrote: »

Once its removed, your only option is a bench test or manufacturer report but the supplier needs to get that meter tracked down which is difficult and requiring contract level people most likely supporting the complaints staff.

Do they actually keep them?
I would have thought that removed meters, unless there is a complaint would be disposed of promptly.