Electric meter out of date?

brand68

Just when we are in the middle of deciding which way to jump EDF phoned today to say they will be coming to change the meter because it is out of date.
Very strange this because we were only speaking to them the other day to see what they would be offering and notrhing was mentioned then. We have been in residence over 12 years so it could be normal practice.
Anyone out there had a recent request

PDC

I can't recall off hand the supplier but we had ours changed last year. Is your meter particularly old fashioned?

Our old one was a solid chunk of a thing and over 30 years old. The new one is a little plastic box that from the looks of it I'll be surprised if its still working in three years.

brand68

Just had a look at the meter and it is just a black box as supplied and fitted by Norweb.

ic

They have an obligation to swap them every x years and test them for accuracy and safety. They replace with one that is either new or refurbed (i.e. already tested). The days of the spinning wheels are numbered. Norweb ceased to be in 1995, so that puts your meter at least 20 years old.

The people who are talking about tariff changes will be a completely different part of the company to the meter fitters, it'll just be coincidence they've called.

polymaff

You don't mention the type of meter fitted - dials and pointers, digits like an old car speedometer, lcd display like a recent car speedometer - but most of the older ones used to have a little sticker with two pairs of digits on it representing the year and month of manufacture. Two years ago they replaced our "10 over 87" meter so I guess that 25 years might be the interval.

BTW when that "dials and pointers" meter was replaced with quite an old one - and our space-age LCD display gas meter was replaced by one of the big old clanking meters - I asked both fitters why they were fitting such old technology. They both had the same reply: "Those xxxx smart meters are a disaster - we've had to scour scrap merchants to get back and refurbish old-fashioned ones"

[Deleted User]

polymaff wrote: »

You don't mention the type of meter fitted - dials and pointers, digits like an old car speedometer, lcd display like a recent car speedometer - but most of the older ones used to have a little sticker with two pairs of digits on it representing the year and month of manufacture. Two years ago they replaced our "10 over 87" meter so I guess that 25 years might be the interval.

BTW when that "dials and pointers" meter was replaced with quite an old one - and our space-age LCD display gas meter was replaced by one of the big old clanking meters - I asked both fitters why they were fitting such old technology. They both had the same reply: "Those xxxx smart meters are a disaster - we've had to scour scrap merchants to get back and refurbish old-fashioned ones"

Sounds like a load of old tosh what you r e saying about smart meters," scouring scrap yards " !!,At least be a little sensible in your biased anti smart balony.
To the OP, meters are always needing to be changed, at least every 25 years or less. the order for the change does nt come from the supplier , but National Grid and the Local Distributor are the instigators of this procedure. They would ve informed the supplier first.

polymaff

sacsquacco wrote: »

Meter reading monkey since 1999 .

Never doubted it :rotfl:

Buzby

My digital non smart Schlumberger meter was certified for 10 years only. I was given a choice of a semi-digital certified for 20 years or another non smart digital with a 10 year certification. I chose the former.

A friend in a different area was supplied with an EON smart meter, but just 4 years later was told it needed to be replaced, as the SM 'standard' was now different from the pre-standard meter originally installed.

Nobody is safe!

brand68

Thanks for the response, I think I would be happier with the old meter after reading some of the stories.

[Deleted User]

brand68 wrote: »

Thanks for the response, I think I would be happier with the old meter after reading some of the stories.

Sorry to inform you but the choice of whether you have a new meter is nt yours. The meter is nt your property and you have no say in deciding if you want it or not. Your only choice now, due to a few idiot M.P. s, is that you can refuse, for the time being, a smart meter. Refusniks on these excellent meters , which drag people into this century, will eventually be billed metering costs of approx £60 a year.
I suppose you can pull the drawbridge up and say thou shalt not pass, but the suppliers,via the local D.N.O can stop your supply if they deem the meter to be unsafe, or not reliable

batvink

About 2 weeks ago an engineer turned up on my door saying he was going to change the meter, right there and then. Needless to say this didn't happen. This is extreme cold-calling!

I've recently got a letter to "The Occupier". It's only good luck that I've opened it, if someone doesn't know who I am, then I generally assume it can't be important.