Smart Meters

carl.waring

Fossil fuels are dirty and not good for the planet. But other people can comment on the rest of your post if they like.

 'Smart Meters' exist to make energy companies more money

And how do they do that, then? 

Just in case you weren't aware, a smart meter works in exactly the same way as a standard meter other than the fact that they can be read remotely. So I am not sure how they can "make more money" over a regular meter.
🤔🤷‍♂️

[Deleted User]

I had a neighbour some years back who got very, very angry when the Government announced that they were turning off analogue TV. ‘No way’ she said, was she going to buy a new TV or a set top box. Her anger come to the fore in the days just before the plug was pulled; letters were sent to local newspapers and to our MP. A week after the switch off, my wife happened to call on her and noticed that her TV was on. She had quietly given in to the inevitable and bought a secondhand set top box from a local charity shop. 

As more smart meters are rolled out along with more smart tariffs, then I would expect that the majority of consumers will just fall into line despite what they might say today. This is why Ofgem is encouraging suppliers to keep in contact with those who have said ‘No’.

carl.waring

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

waamo

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

carl.waring

waamo said:

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

So, again, not an actual problem to do with the smart meter itself then. Plus, that could be an issue for any type of meter. Further, the rest of your post also describes human error; and a ridiculous one at that, to be fair.

If it is a SMETS2 meter - and it probably will be - then you should be okay switching providers. 

waamo

carl.waring said:

waamo said:

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

So, again, not an actual problem to do with the smart meter itself then. Plus, that could be an issue for any type of meter. Further, the rest of your post also describes human error; and a ridiculous one at that, to be fair.

If it is a SMETS2 meter - and it probably will be - then you should be okay switching providers. 

Indeed human error is entirely to blame, however it does show that even with a smart meter fitted untoward billing situations can occur. I do get your point though about it being a human error though.

It was installed in November and is indeed a SMETS2. As I said I will give them a bit longer and then try switching. I'm expecting that to be painful as I can imagine an unregistered meter will cause a bit of head scratching.

[Deleted User]

waamo said:

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

The 'idiot' as you put it notes down nothing on paper. The installation process is carried out using a phone or PDA. As this blog indicates, it is a complicated process:
https://octopus.energy/blog/solving-smart-meter-issues-octopus-energy/
I suspect that many suppliers lack smart meter teams with the detailed knowledge to deal with problems.

This is one of the key sentences in the Blog:

" If we cannot apply our Octopus certificates to the meter (this is a security measure that ensures that only we can read your meter), we will not be allowed to complete the commissioning process."

waamo

[Deleted User] said:

waamo said:

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

The 'idiot' as you put it notes down nothing on paper. The installation process is carried out using a phone or PDA. As this blog indicates, it is a complicated process:
https://octopus.energy/blog/solving-smart-meter-issues-octopus-energy/
I suspect that many suppliers lack smart meter teams with the detailed knowledge to deal with problems.

By "note" I didn't necessarily mean pen and paper. Interestingly that blog you link to is my current supplier who appear to have no clue how to fix the issue.

[Deleted User]

waamo said:

[Deleted User] said:

waamo said:

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

The 'idiot' as you put it notes down nothing on paper. The installation process is carried out using a phone or PDA. As this blog indicates, it is a complicated process:
https://octopus.energy/blog/solving-smart-meter-issues-octopus-energy/
I suspect that many suppliers lack smart meter teams with the detailed knowledge to deal with problems.

By "note" I didn't necessarily mean pen and paper. Interestingly that blog you link to is my current supplier who appear to have no clue how to fix the issue.

I must disagree. Octopus has just changed both my SMETS2 meters. My gas meter failed to commission (the process times out after 59 minutes). I contacted the ‘smart’ team and I was talked through the commissioning process. The meter commissioned properly within minutes.

waamo

[Deleted User] said:

waamo said:

[Deleted User] said:

waamo said:

carl.waring said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227960/help-needed-on-extremely-high-electricity-bill/p1
This could not happen with a Smart Meter. The poster admits to never giving reads.

Oh yes it could. If the idiot installer forgets to note down the details of the meter he's fitted it becomes a pain in the neck.

I am in the position where the energy company think I have two electric meters and an old gas meter. I've sent pictures of all the codes and information on the meters yet they seem incapable of associating the new meters with my account and disassociating the old meters. They can read the smart meters but nobody seems able to load the new readings onto the system.

I can't get a bill generated which is frustrating to say the least. I will give them another week then try switching away and see if another provider has more luck.

I wish I had never bothered it's been more trouble than it's worth.

The 'idiot' as you put it notes down nothing on paper. The installation process is carried out using a phone or PDA. As this blog indicates, it is a complicated process:
https://octopus.energy/blog/solving-smart-meter-issues-octopus-energy/
I suspect that many suppliers lack smart meter teams with the detailed knowledge to deal with problems.

By "note" I didn't necessarily mean pen and paper. Interestingly that blog you link to is my current supplier who appear to have no clue how to fix the issue.

I must disagree. Octopus has just changed both my SMETS2 meters. My gas meter failed to commission (the process times out after 59 minutes). I contacted the ‘smart’ team and I was talked through the commissioning process. The meter commissioned properly within minutes.

You may disagree but it is a fact that having smart meters installed in early November mine still do not function correctly.