Switching away from British Gas with Smartmeter

Roy1234

An elderly relative has both her Gas & Electricity with British Gas, as well as their Smartmeter which she likes. I would like her to switch to a substantially cheaper provider, but have read lots of stories that her Smartmeter might cease being 'Smart' and become just an ordinary meter.

I know this would make her very resistant to such an energy swap. Can anyone advise whether there are any compatible swapping options? She lives in the West Midlands region.

mac.d

If she switches, in the short term it is very likely that the smart meter will revert to a standard meter and she will have to provide meter readings to her supplier. I had previously contacted Sainsbury's Energy (when they were still partners with British Gas) about this, and they said they wouldn't be able to get readings from it, although the small display unit (IHD) would still show data from the meters.

It's only the latest SMETS2 meters that will continue to work as a smart meter with different suppliers, the older SMETS1 meters that have been fitted prior to now should be updated to enable them to communicate again, but I'm not sure when that's supposed to happen.

Have you put her details into an energy comparison website? British Gas currently have a couple of Energy Plus Protection Green tariffs that, while not the absolute cheapest, are fairly competitive.

Benight

Roy1234 wrote: »

An elderly relative has both her Gas & Electricity with British Gas, as well as their Smartmeter which she likes. I would like her to switch to a substantially cheaper provider, but have read lots of stories that her Smartmeter might cease being 'Smart' and become just an ordinary meter.

I know this would make her very resistant to such an energy swap. Can anyone advise whether there are any compatible swapping options? She lives in the West Midlands region.

Your elderly relatives won't go far wrong having their energy supplied by one of the Big 6.

If you check out this week's MSE email, you'll see MSE recommends considering the latest BG offering that would save £300 p/a - it says it is a no brainer for existing BG customers ... and they can get FREE Homecare cover for a year (unless they already have a BG 'Homecare' insurance product.) :money:

Roy1234

Thanks for the reply. How would I know if she has a SMETS2 meter or not? I don't have a Smartmeter myself, and am frankly astonished that incompatible designs that complicate switching have ever been allowed to be rolled out.

mac.d

I'm not sure you can identify a SMETS2 meter just by looking at it, though some of the more expert posters on here will maybe know? They have only started fitting them within the past year, so if your relative has had a smart meter for 2 years or more, I'd think it's pretty certain that its a SMETS1 meter.

I'd say try phoning British Gas to find out, but I'm not sure most frontline customer service staff at energy suppliers really have much of a clue about smart meters.

Benight

Roy1234 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. How would I know if she has a SMETS2 meter or not?...

It doesn't matter - it will still continue to work in just the same way by transferring to the alternative BG tariff
Same supplier, same meter, same operation, same customer service, same payment details, etc - only she will be paying less :money:

As stated - it's a no brainer

Roy1234

I have access to her online account, would that tell me anywhere?

I will look at those alternative BG tariffs, but instinctively would prefer she wasn't with one of the larger providers based on my experience of swapping around. The smaller ones always seem to come up cheaper.

If her meter is the latest type, would any new supplier be able to read it automatically, or is that a false assumption?

Benight

Roy1234 wrote: »

An elderly relative has both her Gas & Electricity with British Gas, as well as their Smartmeter which she likes.

...
I know this would make her very resistant to such an energy swap... .

Roy1234 wrote: »

I have access to her online account, would that tell me anywhere?

I will look at those alternative BG tariffs, but instinctively would prefer she wasn't with one of the larger providers based on my experience of swapping around. The smaller ones always seem to come up cheaper.

If her meter is the latest type, would any new supplier be able to read it automatically, or is that a false assumption?

Perhaps as she has given you the access, you should do what you want - that'll teach 'er!

Who were you thinking of switching to? Bulb Energy, Utility Point? Utility Warehouse? :cool:

Roy1234

She doesn't use computers at all so I can at least do some things which even by phone she might struggle with. I'm with Avro who have been OK and came out £234 annually cheaper than BG, though I note they've been threatened with a block on new customers by regulator due to their low installation rate of Smartmeters. But I'd consider anyone, just don't like to see an old lady on a bad value tariff.

Benight

Roy1234 wrote: »

She doesn't use computers at all so I can at least do some things which even by phone she might struggle with. I'm with Avro who have been OK and came out £234 annually cheaper than BG, though I note they've been threatened with a block on new customers by regulator due to their low installation rate of Smartmeters. But I'd consider anyone, just don't like to see an old lady on a bad value tariff.

As I indicated way back in post#3, there's a saving of £300 pa available (allegedly) from BG just by transferring tariff - but you won't find that cheaper tariff on their website. :money:

[Deleted User]

Roy1234 wrote: »

If her meter is the latest type, would any new supplier be able to read it automatically, or is that a false assumption?

I would suggest that it is a false assumption currently as lots of suppliers haven't started to work on the Smart Meter roll out yet.
There is no way to know 100% if swapping providers will maintain the smart functionality currently.

As suggested above, BG have a good tariff currently "Energy Plus Protection Green May 2020" which is the second cheapest big company tariff listed in the Cheap Energy Club (for my use and region).