Smart meter incompatibility and chaos

[Deleted User]

I have had a smart meter with E.ON for a number of years and it works fine. When it was installed E.ON told me that, while the meter belongs to them, if I ever changed supplier, the major suppliers subscribe to an information interchange scheme and meter readings would be automatically passed to them.

Following lobbying from them, the Cheap Energy Club is pressing me to change supplier. The good news is that I can potentially save money by switching. The bad news is that many of the suppliers recommended by Cheap Energy Club don't do smart meters at all. Even those who do, eg Scottish Power, say their smart meter technology is different from mine and I may have to wait until 2020 before I could rejoin the 21st century. So it seems if I want to switch I'd have to step back into the Flintstones era and revert to the scourge of meter readers visiting and estimated bills.

What kind of nonsense is this where it seems every energy supplier has a different system and strategy for smart metering in a totally chaotic system of incompatible technology? Why doesn't Cheap Energy Club make any reference to the fact that switching customers possibly have to revert back to the Flintstones era?

System

Deleted_User wrote: »

I have had a smart meter with E.ON for a number of years and it works fine. When it was installed E.ON told me that, while the meter belongs to them, if I ever changed supplier, the major suppliers subscribe to an information interchange scheme and meter readings would be automatically passed to them.

Following lobbying from them, the Cheap Energy Club is pressing me to change supplier. The good news is that I can potentially save money by switching. The bad news is that many of the suppliers recommended by Cheap Energy Club don't do smart meters at all. Even those who do, eg Scottish Power, say their smart meter technology is different from mine and I may have to wait until 2020 before I could rejoin the 21st century. So it seems if I want to switch I'd have to step back into the Flintstones era and revert to the scourge of meter readers visiting and estimated bills.

What kind of nonsense is this where it seems every energy supplier has a different system and strategy for smart metering in a totally chaotic system of incompatible technology? Why doesn't Cheap Energy Club make any reference to the fact that switching customers possibly have to revert back to the Flintstones era?

Every supplier is required to state on its website that there is a possibility that foundation stage smart meters (SMETS1) will lose their communications capability on a switch of supplier. The next generation of smart meters (SMETS2) should start rolling out later this year: these will connect to a third-party - not the supplier - and will allow supplier switching without a loss of communication. All the suppliers were tasked late last year to come up with proposals to upgrade SMETS1 meters to SMETS2 compliance. This may require nothing more than a change of communications hub.

The_Hawk

Last year I moved from Eon to Places for People Energy. My Eon smart meter continues to work, in so much that I can still take the meter readings off the smart meter indoor unit. I then have to enter them online for Places for People Energy. I keep my indoor unit right next to my PC, so entering the readings is a less than 2 minute job.

So not ideal, but it could be worse (at least I don't have to go outside to read my electricity meter or struggle to read the gas meter, which is at the back of a storage room).

MSE_Dan_L

Hi picks

Thanks for opening up this thread.

Just thought I'd highlight a couple of useful links of where this is covered on the site.

- Cheap Energy Club FAQs - we explain what'll likely happen if you've a smart meter under 'Do smart meters affect swithching'
https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub/faq
- Cheap Energy Club Application Page - before you switch you'll be asked if you have a smart meter with a note to let you know about the potential loss of functionality.

Also our energy analyst MSE Andrew recently published a blog on this subject that you may find interesting.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2016/12/22/smart-meter-stopped-working-its-probably-because-you-switched/

I hope you find this information helpful. Do let me know if you think there's somewhere else it should be covered.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

The_Hawk wrote: »

Last year I moved from Eon to Places for People Energy. My Eon smart meter continues to work, in so much that I can still take the meter readings off the smart meter indoor unit. I then have to enter them online for Places for People Energy. I keep my indoor unit right next to my PC, so entering the readings is a less than 2 minute job.

So not ideal, but it could be worse (at least I don't have to go outside to read my electricity meter or struggle to read the gas meter, which is at the back of a storage room).

I too have an indoor unit linked to my E.ON smart meter, but I'm not aware that I can take meter readings from it. Can you please identify the precise model of your indoor unit and explain in detail where I can find the meter readings? Certainly E.ON appear to be unaware as I've spent several hours today speaking to E.ON about my problem.

The difficulty is that my gas meter is high up in the garage and pretty inaccessible to read the screen without risking injury by clambering up. The electricity meter is at the back of a cupboard almost at ground level and almost impossible to read. E.ON agree that to make reading accessible to me the meters would need to be moved to a more user-friendly place, but they refuse to do it saying I'll have to negotiate this with my next provider. If, as you say, the indoor unit provides meter readings why haven't E.ON suggested I use that?

System

Deleted_User wrote: »

I too have an indoor unit linked to my E.ON smart meter, but I'm not aware that I can take meter readings from it. Can you please identify the precise model of your indoor unit and explain in detail where I can find the meter readings? Certainly E.ON appear to be unaware as I've spent several hours today speaking to E.ON about my problem.

The difficulty is that my gas meter is high up in the garage and pretty inaccessible to read the screen without risking injury by clambering up. The electricity meter is at the back of a cupboard almost at ground level and almost impossible to read. E.ON agree that to make reading accessible to me the meters would need to be moved to a more user-friendly place, but they refuse to do it saying I'll have to negotiate this with my next provider. If, as you say, the indoor unit provides meter readings why haven't E.ON suggested I use that?

Malc from E.oN has said before that they are using a number of different smart meter types. I will him to comment on your specific problem.

As far as moving your meters is concerned, I think that you will find that the cost to do so sits with you unless you are registered as a priority customer.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/move-your-gas-or-electricity-meter/

[Deleted User]

Hengus wrote: »

Every supplier is required to state on its website that there is a possibility that foundation stage smart meters (SMETS1) will lose their communications capability on a switch of supplier. The next generation of smart meters (SMETS2) should start rolling out later this year: these will connect to a third-party - not the supplier - and will allow supplier switching without a loss of communication. All the suppliers were tasked late last year to come up with proposals to upgrade SMETS1 meters to SMETS2 compliance. This may require nothing more than a change of communications hub.

Thanks for the information although I can't locate it on E.ONs website. I raised this with E.ON but their front-line staff had never heard of SMETS1/2 either. Only after a lengthy discussion and several telephone calls did they finally came back confirming what you have have said. They certainly couldn't give me any estimated date for commencement of roll out. So there's a lot of staff education is still required at E.ON.

[Deleted User]

Hengus wrote: »

As far as moving your meters is concerned, I think that you will find that the cost to do so sits with you unless you are registered as a priority customer./

Yes, I have been registered with E.ON as priority customer for many years. However, as my smart meter will only be nullified after a move to another provider they insist I must discuss this with the new provider. It's a bit of a chicken and egg problem.

The whole thing is becoming a pantomime: on my TV I'm being bombarded with advertisements suggesting I go to the Post Office to pick up a leaflet about switching to a smart meter. It totally fails to mention that those of us who already have a smart meter may effectively be consigned back to the Flintstone age upon switching to a new supplier. While I take an earlier point from MSE Dan L that there is some mention in the small print of Cheap Energy Club about this problem, I feel it is not given nearly enough prominence. I regularly see Martin Lewis on TV whipping up the public to change energy suppliers but I've never seen him mention the possible loss of smart metering.

System

The_Hawk wrote: »

Last year I moved from Eon to Places for People Energy. My Eon smart meter continues to work, in so much that I can still take the meter readings off the smart meter indoor unit. I then have to enter them online for Places for People Energy. I keep my indoor unit right next to my PC, so entering the readings is a less than 2 minute job.

So not ideal, but it could be worse (at least I don't have to go outside to read my electricity meter or struggle to read the gas meter, which is at the back of a storage room).

You're lucky. As soon as I switched away from British Gas the smart meter communication with my in-home display was switched off. I really don't see why that was necessary and it means I have to use a step-ladder and perch precariously at the top to access the button on my smart meter to read it. I have arranged with both my gas and electricity suppliers to have the meters replaces with easier-to-read dumb meters. Better Energy (gas) happily did it for free, but Places for People are charging me nearly £80 for the swap.

Raxiel

Irritatingly, E.ON replaced my E7 meter with a dual rate smart meter, but the IHD only shows the total kWh, so I'll still need to squat in the stair cupboard and read the values off the display once my switch goes through.

[Deleted User]

MSE_Dan_L wrote: »

I hope you find this information helpful. Do let me know if you think there's somewhere else it should be covered.
Thanks

Thanks for pointing out the small print. As I mentioned in an earlier post I think this information should not be hidden away in small print. Martin Lewis appears regularly on TV strongly encouraging the public to look into changing energy suppliers saying that it will only take a few minutes and they might save themselves hundreds of pounds a year.What I've never heard him say is that those of us already on smart meters may well find ourselves consigned back to the Flintstone era.

I'm in the situation now if I change suppliers I will lose all the benefits of my smart meter. I will be forced to accept estimated bills because I am unable to manually take a reading from my smart meters because of their user unfriendly location and tiny screens. I would have been a lot better off with my old fashioned (non-smart) meters because they were much easier to read. I've spent hours on the phone today to my current supplier to resolve the issue. It's a nightmare and much much worse than the quick changeover Martin keeps promoting on TV. Maybe Martin, when he appears on TV, would like to alert the audience to the fact that for people with an existing smart meter they may have a serious problem in changing supplier.