Does a newly installed meter always start at zero?

itchyfeet123

I recently had my meter replaced. Stupidly, I didn't check the start readings because I assumed it would start at 0.

The meter is a "dumb" meter with an electronic display, with a button to cycle through the total, day, and night usage. The display is five digits with no decimals. My supplier has just updated my account and the initial values are 999XXX and 999XXX.X -- six digits plus a decimal. If these initial values are correct, then I used 50% more electricity in the first two weeks after the meter was changed than in the following four weeks. (If the meter started at 0, then my usage has been pretty consistent.)

I think it's likely that the recorded initial values are incorrect. But as I don't know what the initial values actually were, I won't be able to prove it. Unless, of course, a brand new meter always starts at 0?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

there should've been a card/sticker left at the meter with old and new readings on it.

dogshome

As frugalmacdugal has posted, the meter change crew should have left a card showing the change date and meter reads of Old & New meters - If not actually tucked behind the meter, they usually put it somewhere around the meter houseing

YES - Old meters are still being recycled

notbritishgas

When my meter was changed a few years back it read something like 9998 (perhaps a few more 9's).
The installer put 0000 on the card and that was what he reported and said to me there is some free energy for you.

itchyfeet123

Thanks all. I had a look and couldn't find a card or sticker.

I did some calculations. Between the day the meter was installed and when I took a reading 10 days later, I would have used 18kWh/day if the rinitial value showing on my account is correct. Over the next month I used 4kWh/day. I live in a tiny one bed flat and can't think of anything to explain average consumption more than quadrupling.

AndyPK

I had a mechanical gas meter installed a couple of year ago.


That started at 9999x

House_Martin

dogshome wrote: »

As frugalmacdugal has posted, the meter change crew should have left a card showing the change date and meter reads of Old & New meters - If not actually tucked behind the meter, they usually put it somewhere around the meter houseing

YES - Old meters are still being recycled

I would say that approx a third of the time meter fitters can t be bothered to fill in the cards. Sloppy workers abound and another batch of fitters leave an illegible scribble done with a felt tip.
Its a waste of time complaining about it because it never reaches the miscreants to get a rollocking for sloppy work
Most gas meters will start at 99999, or 99998 to allow for a little bit of purging, with the supplier billing from 00000.
Electric meters for new builds will start at 00000 but by the time anyone moves in there could be quite a few units used by the builders. Exchanged electric meters are rare to start at anything other than 00000 and even rarer to use old meters
Gas metric meters can be recycled with virtually any amount of units . I ve seen even as many as 20,000 metric units as a start reading