Smart meters and how Installations work

Devizes2008

Hi



I have been with E-ON for about 12 months and am free now to start looking for someone who can offer a better deal. Having said this I'd like to go for a supplier who can also offer a smart meter now and not by end of 2020 when we all should have these.



E-ON cannot install smart meters at my post code yet and don't give me any further information.



A friend living in the same town but at a different post code had theirs installed recently by SSE.



This gave me some ammo to investigate for the reason why some suppliers install these new meters and others don't.



E-ON however, I think, gave me a hint by saying that they weren’t installing in my area.



I called British Gas to try to find out if THEY would install the smart meters in my area.



What I found out is that any of the energy suppliers (I contacted) and their sales teams are useless in terms of giving me the information I am after. All they could say is, what I already knew, that by 2020 we all will have them.



To me this is almost the same thing as searching for a broadband supplier and going on their website showing me that they can supply up to 70mbps but won’t give me the possibility to check if my property is in an area where that speed is actually possible.



Most energy suppliers advertise the new meters, but give no information what-so-ever about being able to supply these or not.



But still with British Gas, I continued asking to speak to someone who had the information I was after. So I was put through to a very nice chap who gave me some (what I think was) useful information….



After giving him my home address he told me that the pipeline owner is SSE. Any other supplier will not be able to remove my current meter and replace it with a new smart meter. SSE will need to authorise that move. The reason for that, he said, was that the supplier installing the new meter would have exclusive access to the meter readings and if I wanted to change supplier in the future this would be a big problem.

This particular zone with the pipelines not owned by the National Grid makes it an area that falls into an IGT category. To confirm this I should check my meter. Its serial number should start with 74 – 77.

I checked, but it doesn’t.



So…. I’m very confused with all this information that I have.



Someone I called from the National Grid said that the meter is of the responsibility of the current gas supplier and not who maintains or owns the pipelines.



Who can help me in understanding what I see as a BIG confusion?

Rubidium

Continue with your research into smart meters and you will find that you will be better off NOT getting a smart meter installed until they are fitting the later SMETS2 standard meters.

The roll-out program has been farcical and they will still be fitting the old switch incompatible meters in a years time.

Wait until they have sorted themselves out and are fitting the latest generation meters that will allow easy, hassle free switching between suppliers.

System

We are still in Phase 1 of the smart meter rollout programme which is supplier dependent. The meter is often unique to them and connects to the supplier's own systems. To keep supplier costs down, they have historically targeted areas rather than go for one off installations.

Phase 2 is about to go live with all meters connecting to the Data Communications Company. This is clearly a case of going slowly slowly as the Big 6 only have to install 1500 meters each in the next 12 months. From late 2017, the real push to install will start.

Yes it a mess but this is how the Government wanted it to be. Phase 1 was designed to allow suppliers time to develop internal IT/billing procedures. The early part of Phase 2 is to the test how the DCC will perform.

Most sensible people are sitting back until Phase 2 with the next generation of meters is well proven in use.

brewerdave

Anybody else noticed how many times that insanely stupid (and annoying) advert for smart meters is now appearing on the various commercial channels ? They really are getting desperate to shift the old phase 1 meters:mad::mad:

[Deleted User]

I have an EON smart meter,!it was installed into our new build last year.!It's a SMETS1 meter but as we didn't go with EON when we moved in (we didn't even know it was Smart when we started our contract with Sainsburys, the cheapest at the time), and the housebuilder had ended their contract with EON, apparently it cannot be made!smart again yet. I was under the impression that the DCC!allowed previously working SMETS1 meters to be reregistered, but it seems EON aren't sure what to do!now, though the chap on the phone there today was really good and tried his best to find out. If we'd know we were getting a smart meter we would have perhaps considered EON's less favourable pricing given the fact that I'd like a Smart!meter for my own various reasons.

What's more, EON also say they cannot provide me with a new energy monitor, even though there should have been one with the!meter when we moved in.

Does anybody!from EON still monitor these forums?

System

swaledale wrote: »

I have an EON smart meter,!it was installed into our new build last year.!It's a SMETS1 meter but as we didn't go with EON when we moved in (we didn't even know it was Smart when we started our contract with Sainsburys, the cheapest at the time), and the housebuilder had ended their contract with EON, apparently it cannot be made!smart again yet. I was under the impression that the DCC!allowed previously working SMETS1 meters to be reregistered, but it seems EON aren't sure what to do!now, though the chap on the phone there today was really good and tried his best to find out. If we'd know we were getting a smart meter we would have perhaps considered EON's less favourable pricing given the fact that I'd like a Smart!meter for my own various reasons.

What's more, EON also say they cannot provide me with a new energy monitor, even though there should have been one with the!meter when we moved in.

Does anybody!from EON still monitor these forums?

Not all SMETS1 meters are suitable for upgrading. It is not as simple as re-registering as you put it. At the very least, SMETS1 meters will need a new communications hub. The SMETS2 compliance document runs to over 800 pages!

Suppliers are under no obligation to provide another In House Display after 12 months has elapsed. The Government has sensibly ditched any requirement to do so because of concerns about ongoing costs (which we will all end up paying in the longer term).

If you switch back to E.oN, I cannot see why it wouldn't work again with their systems. SMETS1 meters will be around for some time yet.

rtho782

I have a British Gas smart meter. If I want to switch it just becomes a dumb meter, and while the smart function is nice it would not stop me switching. I don't really see that future new meters is a reason not to have one now.

[Deleted User]

I'm not sure all SMETS1 meters need a new comms hub, depending where you are in the country and what type it is. Mine's an Elster meter and comms hub with GSM, and am in the Telefonica region, not guaranteed of course but I'd hope that the hardware would support SMETS2 as well, though admittedly I've not!compared the!spec docs for 1 and 2 side by side!

I just don't see why E.on can't at least reactivate it as a SMETS1 meter.

As far as the in home display goes, I don't see why they can't send a new one, I'm a new customer to them. Or at least allow me to purchase one. They can't not have a!system for replacing them after 12 months, plenty will get broken or stop working after then, as well as the!new customer scenarios.

donny-gal

I have a smart meter fitted by BG. Best thing I did, know exactly where I am.
DG

System

swaledale wrote: »

As far as the in home display goes, I don't see why they can't send a new one, I'm a new customer to them. Or at least allow me to purchase one. They can't not have a!system for replacing them after 12 months, plenty will get broken or stop working after then, as well as the!new customer scenarios.

You should be able to buy a new IHD from the supplier or a third-party. With roll out costs rising (by £56M last year alone), the Govt has decided not to force suppliers down this particular road.

PS there is more to the GSM hub than just the SIM card. GCHQ imposed new encryption protocols in the Spring of 2016 which have been incorporated in the SMETS2 specification.

To save you digging it out, this was the Government's direction in November 2016

The problem of interoperability of some early smart meters has still not been resolved, despite having been raised previously. This undermines efforts to encourage consumers to switch suppliers to get the best tariff deals and requires timely action.

29.The Government is taking action on interoperability. Our objective is for smart meters installed in the Foundation stage to be made fully interoperable and has required the Data and Communications Company to prepare and consult on the feasibility of moving SMETS1 meters into the new national smart metering data and communications infrastructure. This consultation was published on 11 November19 and contains an assessment of technical options to deliver market-wide interoperability.

30.More broadly the Government always recognised that energy suppliers would begin by installing smart meters that gave a range of benefits but were not immediately interoperable. That is why the Programme’s strategy was to establish the Data and Communications Company to provide interoperability for the second generation of smart meters, and to provide a route to making early smart meters interoperable. The advantages of this approach were that it gave consumers the choice of accessing the benefits of smart meters early and helped energy suppliers pilot approaches and build capability for the main phase of the Programme, when most consumers would be receiving their smart meters. Eight in ten people with smart meters would recommend one and the same proportion say they have taken steps to save energy, such as turning off their lights, turning the heating down or changing the way household appliances are used.20

31.The Government put protections in place in November 2012 to ensure consumers are appropriately informed that they may lose smart services, both at the point a SMETS1 meter is installed and prior to switching supplier. Domestic suppliers’ licence conditions include the following requirements which are enforced by Ofgem:

Before a smart meter is installed, the installing supplier must inform the customer that they may not be able to retain their smart services if they subsequently chose to switch supplier.
Before any switch is concluded, the gaining supplier must determine if the meter to be inherited is smart and what functionality it includes. The gaining supplier must inform the customer before they switch about any services that they may lose on switching.
32.Consumers with smart meters installed during the Foundation stage are still able to switch supplier. If the new supplier is not able to operate the meter in ‘smart’ mode, the meter should accurately record energy consumption and can be used in ‘traditional’ mode, with meter readings taken manually. The meter will normally not need to be replaced. Suppliers are required in licence conditions to inform consumers of the impact that switching could have on their smart services.

[Deleted User]

Hengus wrote: »

You should be able to buy a new IHD from the supplier or a third-party. With roll out costs rising (by £56M last year alone), the Govt has decided not to force suppliers down this particular road.

PS there is more to the GSM hub than just the SIM card. GCHQ imposed new encryption protocols in the Spring of 2016 which have been incorporated in the SMETS2 specification.

To save you digging it out, this was the Government's direction in November 2016

The problem of interoperability of some early smart meters has still not been resolved, despite having been raised previously. This undermines efforts to encourage consumers to switch suppliers to get the best tariff deals and requires timely action.

29.The Government is taking action on interoperability. Our objective is for smart meters installed in the Foundation stage to be made fully interoperable and has required the Data and Communications Company to prepare and consult on the feasibility of moving SMETS1 meters into the new national smart metering data and communications infrastructure. This consultation was published on 11 November19 and contains an assessment of technical options to deliver market-wide interoperability.....

Thanks. I was just reading the feasibility report actually. Looks like the consultation period closes 20th Jan, so after then they can start to!design the system.!Their newsletter presentation in December outlined a 2017/18 plan for implementation IIRC.

The whole thing may not have been a problem had the housebuilder 'helpfully' not!warned me about it having a smart meter, there should be a big sticker on your front door saying warning,!if you want smart functionality then stay with E.on!

I!still don't see why!E.on can't reconnect my SMETS1 meter to the same service it was on a year or so ago though. Surely that's possible. How do!I get an E.on rep on these forums to notice this post?