Eon want to change my electricity meter - can I refuse?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

FreddieFrugal wrote: »

You sure it says you have to be there? Our meter was changed by Eon a year ago. Same sort of circumstances as you. But it did say on the letter that you did not need to be at home for the installation so long as your meter was accessible. Ours is on outside of house, so just left garden gate unlocked on that day. Was done by time I got home from work.

Obviously if you're mid terrace and the meter is inside the garage or whatever that's a different matter.

Hi Freddie

Each situation is different but there may be certain circumstances with outside electric meters where they can be changed without someone being there. Electricity meter changes usually take about 30 minutes and the power needs to be off for part of this time. Personally, I advise customers that someone should be present as there may be implications for appliances etc inside the property. Totally understand, it's not always convenient but we do have various time slots available to try to suit particular needs. Best to be safe.

Hope this is of interest Freddie.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Cardew wrote: »

Rest assured you were both accurate and perfectly clear in your previous post; it wasn't you talking rubbish!!

Thanks Cardew.

Malc

[Deleted User]

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi Freddie

Each situation is different but there may be certain circumstances with outside electric meters where they can be changed without someone being there. Electricity meter changes usually take about 30 minutes and the power needs to be off for part of this time. Personally, I advise customers that someone should be present as there may be implications for appliances etc inside the property. Totally understand, it's not always convenient but we do have various time slots available to try to suit particular needs. Best to be safe.

Hope this is of interest Freddie.

Malc

I would have thought its not really advisable to just shut down the power to a property without the customer being present .Many elderly and infirm can not get to the door at all and I ve seen enough people over the years relying on an electric powered oxygen machines or they could even be heading up to the toilet on a stairlift. Shutting the power off without permission for an non important thing like a routine electric meter exchange seems to be a bit of a liberty.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi Freddie

Each situation is different but there may be certain circumstances with outside electric meters where they can be changed without someone being there. Electricity meter changes usually take about 30 minutes and the power needs to be off for part of this time. Personally, I advise customers that someone should be present as there may be implications for appliances etc inside the property. Totally understand, it's not always convenient but we do have various time slots available to try to suit particular needs. Best to be safe.

Hope this is of interest Freddie.

Malc

sacsquacco wrote: »

I would have thought its not really advisable to just shut down the power to a property without the customer being present .Many elderly and infirm can not get to the door at all and I ve seen enough people over the years relying on an electric powered oxygen machines or they could even be heading up to the toilet on a stairlift. Shutting the power off without permission for an non important thing like a routine electric meter exchange seems to be a bit of a liberty.

I agree sacsquacco. That's why I mentioned above, I always recommend customers are present. We'll only look to shut the power off without anyone being there if circumstances allow. To be honest, it's fairly rare. Customers will also be given advance notice in writing so they can let us know if there's a potential problem. Even then, our technicians will check if anyone's home before starting work or if there's an obvious sign of vulnerability like a wheelchair ramp.

Vulnerable customers like the elderly or those reliant on particular medical equipment such as powered oxygen machines or stair lifts will be on the Priority Services Register. Their power certainly won't be cut off without someone being at the property. We also give these customers advance notice of regional supply interruptions whilst maintenance is done by the distributor. It's important customers let us know their particular circumstances so we can make sure they're offered the right support.

Hope this explains that, during routine meter changes, we won't interrupt the power of people dependant on electricity like those you mention without someone being present.

Malc

Stompa

Hmm, just received a similar letter from E.On myself, which says:

"Your current electricity and gas meters are old models that we're phasing out. We'd like to come and replace them for free with new smart meters designed to help you save energy and money."

Whilst the letter doesn't give any details, I assume they mean this:

https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/smart-meters

Are there any downsides?

[Deleted User]

Stompa wrote: »

Hmm, just received a similar letter from E.On myself, which says:

"Your current electricity and gas meters are old models that we're phasing out. We'd like to come and replace them for free with new smart meters designed to help you save energy and money."

Whilst the letter doesn't give any details, I assume they mean this:

https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/smart-meters

Are there any downsides?

No downsides to normal rational people..just have a look at Stop smart Meters UK for how the rest view may view them.The French, Italians and Spanish all made smart meters obligatory..Our MPs gave the people with vested interests a chance to avoid them by not making the fitting of them obligatory
I m surprised that Eon did nt mention you can refuse one though, they re supposed to do warn you if you dont want one.

brewerdave

Stompa wrote: »

Hmm, just received a similar letter from E.On myself, which says:

"Your current electricity and gas meters are old models that we're phasing out. We'd like to come and replace them for free with new smart meters designed to help you save energy and money."

Whilst the letter doesn't give any details, I assume they mean this:

https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/smart-meters

Are there any downsides?

As had been said before, the main downside with "smart" meters is that ,currently, they aren't interchangeable between utility suppliers -so,if you are a serial switcher like me, a move away from EON will convert your meter back to being "dumb".:)

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Stompa wrote: »

Hmm, just received a similar letter from E.On myself, which says:

"Your current electricity and gas meters are old models that we're phasing out. We'd like to come and replace them for free with new smart meters designed to help you save energy and money."

Whilst the letter doesn't give any details, I assume they mean this:

https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/smart-meters

Are there any downsides?

Morning Stompa

Hope my other posts in this thread help shed a bit of light on some of the aspects of our meter upgrades. Sounds like you're in an area and have a metering set up suitable for our Smart Meters. This is isn't the case everywhere yet. You can, though, turn down a Smart Meter if you don't want one. If this is what you prefer, please phone the number on the letter and let us know. Instead, we'll fit a conventional meter similar to the one you have.

There are certain advantages of going 'smart' from both our and your point of view. This includes accurate bills and a means of keeping an eye on your energy usage through the display that comes with them. Also, no need to send us readings as the meter does this for you via electronic messages. A downside is, as brewerdave says, at the moment changing supplier will mean the meter stops being smart and reverts to a conventional set up. The link you've posted to our website has a lot of useful information but, if unsure, have a chat with our Smart Meter specialists. They'll be happy to talk you through what's involved.

Hope this is of interest Stompa. Let me know if you need any more details as happy to help.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

sacsquacco wrote: »

No downsides to normal rational people..just have a look at Stop smart Meters UK for how the rest view may view them.The French, Italians and Spanish all made smart meters obligatory..Our MPs gave the people with vested interests a chance to avoid them by not making the fitting of them obligatory
I m surprised that Eon did nt mention you can refuse one though, they re supposed to do warn you if you dont want one.

Morning sacsquacco

You're right. Smart Meters are optional and this should've been pointed out. I'll look into this and give feedback to the relevant areas where necessary.

Thanks.

Malc

[Deleted User]

@Stompa

Also as the smart meters use mobile signals to transmit the meter readings, if you live in an area of bad mobile reception then the meter may not work. It does happens and then you will have to make arrangements to have a normal meter fitted instead most likely at a later date.