Should I get a smart meter?

GingerBob_3

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

We need smart - its the best or only bet to get rid of 'sticky's'


Ginger bob

What's a "sticky"?

Interesting article, but I wonder about the author. He goes on about smart water meters and lots of other stuff that's pie in the sky at the moment. Also, he takes a very one-sided view, with no mention of disadvantages. He's really viewing it from the supplier perspective (as he would, of course).

On the whole issue of smart meters, as I said previously they may be alright for meter train spotters but the vast majority of people are just not interested, and that includes me. I switch off lights in empty rooms and use appliances during the night (on E7) but I haven't the interest or inclination to start analysing consumption trends and so on. What I pay for energy is probably about right and I don't lose any sleep over it.

To me, the whole thing is a "solution" looking for a problem.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

GingerBob wrote: »

I think we really are now seeing you in your true colours.

And what's wrong with people who don't pay their debts being cut off?

GingerBob_3

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

And what's wrong with people who don't pay their debts being cut off?

1) Mistakes can be made.

2) It's anti-social and primitive to do so, which is why we now don't cut off water charge defaulters any more.

Richie-from-the-Boro

GingerBob wrote: »

What's a "sticky"?

Interesting article, but I wonder about the author. He goes on about smart water meters and lots of other stuff that's pie in the sky at the moment. Also, he takes a very one-sided view, with no mention of disadvantages. He's really viewing it from the supplier perspective (as he would, of course).

On the whole issue of smart meters, as I said previously they may be alright for meter train spotters but the vast majority of people are just not interested, and that includes me. I switch off lights in empty rooms and use appliances during the night (on E7) but I haven't the interest or inclination to start analysing consumption trends and so on. What I pay for energy is probably about right and I don't lose any sleep over it.

To me, the whole thing is a "solution" looking for a problem.

A sticky is the 40-60% of the population that form an unmoveable, huge incumbent market share of energy, these individuals are sleep walking into subsidising the rest of us by the amount of much higher margins these sticky customers give to the big 6. They generally do not and never have swapped supplier since the old regional leccy boards were abolished, they are incapable or unwilling to enter the complexities of swapping and do not engage with the market. This huge group continues to weaken the competition in the energy retail markets, the example I have given means all the sticky's are in the big 6 giving a megga market share advantage over all other suppliers who don't have a sticky customer base.
______________

A sticky is : Someone who chooses not to switch, cannot switch due to their circumstances, or are put off switching due to other features of the market such as tariff complexity. The estimate is that around 40-60% of customers in the energy sector are currently sticky [although they may have switched in the past] and my particular interest [RFTB] is in that vulnerable group of customers who are very likely to be disproportionately represented in this group and have most financial harm done to them.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

GingerBob wrote: »

1) Mistakes can be made.

2) It's anti-social and primitive to do so, which is why we now don't cut off water charge defaulters any more.

1) Mistakes can be corrected. Mistakes are rare.

2) Water is necessary to sustain life. Gas and electricity most certainly aren't.

GingerBob_3

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

2) Water is necessary to sustain life. Gas and electricity most certainly aren't.

Tell that to the pensioner literally freezing to death because he can't afford the gas bill.

Gas and electricity disconnections - the idea is so 19th century.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

GingerBob wrote: »

Tell that to the pensioner literally freezing to death because he can't afford the gas bill.

Gas and electricity disconnections - the idea is so 19th century.

Funny, we're only 2 generations away (in my family at least) from people who grew up without central heating.

I hear a lot of rhetoric about old people "freezing to death" but have only ever heard of one case - and that seems to be a failing by social services more than anything.

I have no problem with the idea that people should pay for what they consume - Waitrose don't give their food away because people need to eat, and I don't see that energy companies should have to do so.

At the moment we need to install a PPM at great cost when the !!!!less who won't pay - when Smart Meters get rolled out we can just change it with the click of a mouse - great.

:T

Andy_WSM

sacsquacco wrote: »

The gas smart is fitted with a "sender " to send the reading wirelessly to the electric meter which has a sim card in it and sends the reading via, ( I think initially a Vodofone satellite and thence locks onto whichever other satrllites is a better signal.)

It's using the mobile phone (GSM) network (I don't think Vodafone got the contract for this?), which is absolutely terrible in many areas of the West Country, South Wales, Scotland, etc. This whole thing is going to be a technological nightmare.

Recently, more than one Mobile provider, including Vodafone, have had faults that require a users handset to be switched off & on, to reset the SIM registration on the network - that's going to be a monumental !!!! up on a smart meter!

Also, the energy companies are completely incompetent, as we all know, so how will they cope with people that have their gas & electricity from different companies? - they probably won't is the answer at the moment. They can't even agree on a "standard" to use so that if you move suppliers you don't lose the "smart" capabilities of the meter.

GingerBob_3

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

At the moment we need to install a PPM at great cost when the !!!!less who won't pay - when Smart Meters get rolled out we can just change it with the click of a mouse - great.

:T

Ah, another good reason for not getting one. Thanks for that. Have you not read the large number of threads on this board concerning mistakes by the supplier? I shudder to think how the likes of NPower would abuse the ability to remotely disconnect or move to pre-pay mode.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

GingerBob wrote: »

Ah, another good reason for not getting one. Thanks for that. Have you not read the large number of threads on this board concerning mistakes by the supplier? I shudder to think how the likes of NPower would abuse the ability to remotely disconnect or move to pre-pay mode.

Yes, I have, and npower should have had their license revoked a long time ago. Still, with smart meters if people end up on pre-payment due to a mistake, it can be corrected a hell of a lot quicker with smart metering than it would if it had to be physically changed.

If it encourages the thousand upon thousands of people who choose not to pay their bills (and in turn make mine higher) to become more honest, I'm all for it.