Gas Meter Exchange Programme

sarahshopping

Yes - I live in a place with 6 supplies. It has one original supply and 5 new ones for the new flats. They only changed one of the new supply meters, presumably so that they could claim that another address has been updated/made safe. The old meter was left and the other 4 meters that were the same age as the one changed but they were left.
Someone needs to contact Watchdog about this. National Grid was fined by OFgem or something like that for dishonest practices not so long ago.
Can someone please ask the BBC watchdog programme to investigate how they pick on meters as Martin doesnt seem to be doing anything about it.
Shame on you Martin

espresso

sarahshopping wrote: »

Yes - I live in a place with 6 supplies. It has one original supply and 5 new ones for the new flats. They only changed one of the new supply meters, presumably so that they could claim that another address has been updated/made safe. The old meter was left and the other 4 meters that were the same age as the one changed but they were left.
Someone needs to contact Watchdog about this. National Grid was fined by OFgem or something like that for dishonest practices not so long ago.
Can someone please ask the BBC watchdog programme to investigate how they pick on meters as Martin doesnt seem to be doing anything about it.
Shame on you Martin

If you feel so strongly about this, why don't you inform Watchdog here. Why do you think that it's Martins responsibility?

:rolleyes:

sarahshopping

Martin is always on the telly championing the consumer and partly makes his living from it. That is why he should do it. Do you work for Transco or Nation Grid expresso? if you don;t I can't understand why you dont wnat something doen about this , or maybe someone else pays the gas bills in your place. your parents? Even so, you should still be interested in this.

jblackmore

Just agreeing this is a national grid scam.

Our gas meter was changed in March under this 'modernisation' programme, they took out a modern digital metric meter, and replaced it with a mechanical meter ! I queried why they were doing this, and was told they replace imperial meter (it was metric !), when I pointed this out and asked why when National Grid are supposed to be rolling out smart meters which can be read wirelessly they are fitting mechanical meters ? I was told smart meters are only being piloted at the moment, so presumably in a year or two they will come and replace the mechanical meter with another digital one !!

Icing on the cake was when the fitter replaced the meter, he didn't properly check our gas appliances were working as he should of, our boiler had gone out and wouldn't re-light, my OH phoned me in a panic, so I had to drive home from work during the day to sort this out rather than end up home in the evening with no heating or hot water ! National grid couldn't give a toss when I phoned to complain about this - they don't employ the fitters so couldn't care less if they are incompetent !

Gman0365

Just to clarify this meter exchange programme a little.

National Grid have a policy to replace all digital metric E6 credit meters where operationally possible. This has been the case for several years now. These meters can be identified as being smaller than a standard gas meter and they have a small digital display on the front. The digital display is powered by a lithium battery located inside the meter casing. The battery is designed to last 10 years. As National Grid is a Meter Asset Manager (MAM) they are responsible for the maintainance of the gas meter. As you can imagine if the battery in this type of meter goes flat then the reading (index) will be lost. This has happened in the past and when it does the gas supplier is expected to estimate a reading in the customers favour. This is the reason National Grid is having to replace these meters.

Now you will be thinking surely it is more sensible to replace the battery than the entire meter. Well its certainly cheaper to change a battery than a whole meter. The meters being used to replace the digital meter a standard G4 credit meters. They are larger than the digital meter, and yes, are sometimes refurbished. It really doesnt take much longer to replace the whole meter than it does to repalce the battery. If the battery is replaced then it means the MAM will have to arrange for another engineer visit within 10 years to replace the battery again so the idea is to exchange the digital meter for one that doesn't work using a battery.

Some memebers have stated that its crazy because everyone is supposed to be having smart meters installed soon. Although the government talks a good game regarding this I'm pretty sceptical. There are millions of gas meters installed in homes all over the UK. It is a collosal task to change all of these meters.

To put it in perspective I've been changing these digital E6 gas meters for the past 5 years. They are installed in a tiny proportion of UK homes and yet National Grid still has stacks of this work to be done. It will take decades for everyone to be being supplied through a smart meter. I still see gas meters on a daily basis that were manufactured in the early 80s and are still in use today.

I do not work for National Grid, I work for one of the 8 distribution networks created following the selling off of the Transco network. Although the company I work for is contracted to do meterwork for National Grid within the boundary of its network we also deal with all the gas escapes aswell. As you can imagine the gas leaks must take priorty and this can sometimes impact on the ability to keep appointments for meterwork.

Should anyone have a problem with the work carried out by the engineer they should contact National Grid. I would also contact National Grid for compensation if the appointment given on the letter is not kept. They fine the companies contracted to carry-out the meterwork if these appointments are broken so its only fair the customer gets something for wasting a day at home!

molerat

I wondered why they they replaced my nice digital display meter with this huge old fashioned looking thing. I would have thought some type of piezo-electric device could be fitted to them

sarahshopping

I thought about the remote reading meters, so that makes this work doubly unnecessary. It is pointless changing these standard meters and the fact that the battery isn't changed in those other meters that GMAN mentioned, just CONFIRMS how this is just a complete waste of money that is charged onto the gas suppliers and then on to us. Sorry GMAN but you would probably get a much higher paid and more enjoyable job doing something else.....you seem to have a good brain.
I don't want the personal highlight put on me otherwise I would ask the BBC watchdog or Panorama programme to thorougly investigate this work. Please please would someone else do it. ..or find a way of getting Martin interested in it.

Gman0365

Lets not make this personal, I was simply trying to clarify the reasons behind changing this particular type of gas meter following the post by jblackmore. I'm not sure what wage you think I receive for changing gas meters but I'm a higher rate tax payer so it's certainly worth my while staying where I am.

espresso

sarahshopping wrote: »

Martin is always on the telly championing the consumer and partly makes his living from it. That is why he should do it. Do you work for Transco or Nation Grid expresso? if you don;t I can't understand why you dont wnat something doen about this , or maybe someone else pays the gas bills in your place. your parents? Even so, you should still be interested in this.

I do not work for Transco or National Grid and I pay my own bills. You have been given an explanation why these meters are being replaced and I can't see why you are getting so worked up about it.

"I don't want the personal highlight put on me otherwise I would ask the BBC watchdog or Panorama programme to thorougly investigate this work"

Surely if you are that bothered by the meter replacement program, you would report it yourself.