Unsafe Elec and Gas Meter Location

Robin9

!!!!!! wrote: »

If the gaining company find a smart meter that they do not support then they will not accept you. It is not just a case of it being used as a standard meter, there is the problem that if there is a fault (and smart meter technology is not yet up to a standard where that is rare) then they have no way of repairing it. Yes, they can swap it out but they then have a pile of scrap rather than a meter that is possibly repairable.

Any faulty digital meter will bb scrapped- no matter who the supplier.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

sampa99978 wrote: »

Am with EON, someone came out to read the meters a few weeks ago and he pointed out that they're currently located quite unsafely - under the sink in the downstairs bathroom. I know - pretty obvious when you think about it, but they were there when I moved in a few years ago and it never occurred to me.

He arranged a callout from Western Power within half an hr to look at it. They turned up but didn't seem that interested to be honest. They said it wasn't ideal, but not to worry, although they would mention it to their manager. I've heard nothing from them since.

I've now had an email from EON saying that they want to install a smart meter. I'm worried that I'm going to be forced to pay for a meter location change, and that it's going to be very expensive. Does anyone have any advice, or knowledge about how much it would cost? The meters are located adjacent to an external wall and the fuse box is on the other side of the internal wall in the understairs cupboard.

Again, common sense tells me meters shouldn't be under sinks, but I don't want to have to pay for something I didn't cause in the first place!

Morning sampa99978

As CashStrapped says, this is two different things. The meter location will probably have been determined when the property was built/renovated. If the electricity distributor (Western Power) says it isn't safe where it is, they'll arrange for it to be moved at their cost.

The offer of a Smart Meter, though, is a different kettle of fish. We've been rolling them out across the UK for quite a time now. They're not available everywhere yet. It depends on things like the region, strength of the mobile phone signal and the current metering set up. They're free and ours come with an energy display to help keep track of usage. They talk to us electronically and send us your meter readings so, like sacsquacco points out, saves you crawling about under your sink. Also as CashStrapped says, you can refuse one if you wish. To help, there's more information on our website.

Hope this helps sampa99978. Let me know if you need any more information as happy to help further.

Malc

[Deleted User]

Hi Malc, do you have any idea which make of smart meters Eon are fitting. Are they fitting the Secure Liberty meters like Ovo and Utilita do ? I ve seen many of the Landys and Gyr smart meters around at Eon supplied properties as fitted by BG and First Utility. BG say they cannot accept the Secure Liberty meters in prepayment mode.

sampa99978

Thanks everyone, that was really useful. I wasn't sure if the two issues were connected as a roundabout way to get the meter moved at my cost, but that doesn't seem to be the case so that's great.

Wrt the meter reader, the Western Power men that came certainly gave the impression that they felt he was being over the top in the circumstances.

Thanks again!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

footyguy wrote: »

It presumably costs more in rental costs for the supplier for a smart meter than a dumb meter.

Most small suppliers (and increasingly the big 6) no longer send meter readers regularly, and the best tariffs usually require the customer to submit their own regular readings.

I know both suppliers I'm with expect the customer to supply the readings ... or they will charge extra if they are forced to send a meter reader due to no customer reading provided.

Meters are only required to be read by a meter reader once every 2 years. For electricity this can easily be ignored, but for gas the supplier should send a meter reader ... even if you have a smart meter.

Hi footyguy

Can't speak for the other suppliers but, whilst it's always good to have meter readings, it's not a condition of any of our tariffs. There's certainly no extra charges for not giving us readings. All that happens is the bill is estimated.

If a customer doesn't have a Smart Meter, we usually try to read their meters twice a year. If they do, this will be reduced to about once every couple of years. This is to make sure the meter is accurate and safe. We're happy, though, to accept customer readings at any time regardless of the meter type. They can send them through our website, by phone, text or by using our phone app.

Hope this is of interest.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

!!!!!! wrote: »

Because smart meters are not (yet) universal. You can find that you will not be able to switch to a seller of your choice because they do not support that make/type of smart meter

CashStrapped wrote: »

I thought it just becomes a normal meter that you read. It is only the "smart" services that some companies do not support. So there are no downsides.

!!!!!! wrote: »

If the gaining company find a smart meter that they do not support then they will not accept you. It is not just a case of it being used as a standard meter, there is the problem that if there is a fault (and smart meter technology is not yet up to a standard where that is rare) then they have no way of repairing it. Yes, they can swap it out but they then have a pile of scrap rather than a meter that is possibly repairable.

Hi both

Again, can't speak for the other suppliers, but our Smart Meter customers can change supplier whenever they wish. Whilst there's no need to change their Smart Meter, they could see some changes to how their meter and display work once they've switched. This is a temporary thing until all suppliers use a centralised data communications company to look after the Smart network. This is coming but I've no specific date yet.

At the moment, with us, changing supplier now means it's likely the Smart Meter will revert to a traditional type and will need to be read manually. Also, the energy display will no longer show usage in pounds and pence. Once a switch is done, we'll remove our prices from the meter ready for the new supplier to takeover. It will, though, still show what's being used in kWh. Neither will the meter be able to report any alarms or alerts.

As I say, this is the situation from our side only but hope it's of interest.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

sacsquacco wrote: »

Hi Malc, do you have any idea which make of smart meters Eon are fitting. Are they fitting the Secure Liberty meters like Ovo and Utilita do ? I ve seen many of the Landys and Gyr smart meters around at Eon supplied properties as fitted by BG and First Utility. BG say they cannot accept the Secure Liberty meters in prepayment mode.

Hi sacsquacco

To be honest, I'm not sure entirely sure but I've just spoken to one of our Smart specialists and our current contract is with Landis & Gyr. I've come across quite a few of their meters over the years.

Hope this helps.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

sampa99978 wrote: »

Thanks everyone, that was really useful. I wasn't sure if the two issues were connected as a roundabout way to get the meter moved at my cost, but that doesn't seem to be the case so that's great.

Wrt the meter reader, the Western Power men that came certainly gave the impression that they felt he was being over the top in the circumstances.

Thanks again!

Glad it helped sampa99978. Just to confirm, the two issues are definitely separate. Western Power, as the regional distributor, will look after any meter move whilst we, as your supplier, offer Smart Meters.

Malc

System

Robin9 wrote: »

Any faulty digital meter will bb scrapped- no matter who the supplier.

Fair enough. Not being privy to their business model and repair policy as you seem to be, I was not aware of that.

[Deleted User]

!!!!!! wrote: »

Fair enough. Not being privy to their business model and repair policy as you seem to be, I was not aware of that.

There are probably hundreds of different electric meters around, including digital smart meters. All suppliers will support them all if they work properly. A smart meter not connected to a server is still an accurate digital meter and so will be supported. My smarts have had a few trips to different suppliers over the years and the question of whether it is a smart or not does nt even crop up.