SSE - Mandatory smart meter

MDMD

After avoiding having one for ages (I think it’s a bit of a con as I am sure any electricity saved is outweighed by the cost and resources - plastic, precious metals etc - to produce the new meter), SSE have now written to me to say that they are replacing my (non smart) meter with a smart one as “the radio network it uses will be phased out across the UK”.

Is this correct? I didn’t think old-style meters used a radio network, or do even non smart ones have something they connect to?

Is this just a load of made up rubbish to prompt me into action? What happens if I just ignore the letter - presumably the meter won’t just stop working?

I can get £25 from Quidco for changing over so might do it anyway.

MWT

Sounds like you have a radio teleswitch which changes between time based rates using a signal broadcast alongside BBC long-wave signals.

BBC are phasing out the LW service by March 2022 so that part is real.

MDMD

MWT said:

Sounds like you have a radio teleswitch which changes between time based rates using a signal broadcast alongside BBC long-wave signals.

BBC are phasing out the LW service by March 2022 so that part is real.

Yes, that sounds plausible. I should have added that I have an economy 7 meter, so that must be what it uses to tell what time it is.

I think I’ll go for the cash while it’s on offer!

Gerry1

Presumably you have an Economy 7 meter with a Radio Teleswitch to tell it when to switch over?  This uses a one-way control signal embedded in the Radio 4 Long Wave signal on 198kHz.  The contract for this expires in 2022.

However, seeing what a fiasco the smart meter project has been, I wouldn't bet the farm on the service closing on that date.  Just like the smart meter rollout, that date has already been extended and this will probably happen again.

In the unlikely event that the contract is not renewed but teleswitches are still in service, the meter will continue working in E7 mode.  The switching times may drift by a minute or two, just like a digital watch that the owner has left in a drawer rather than being corrected when necessary via the Greenwich Time Signal.

In normal use the switching times can vary by +/- 15 minutes to accommodate network requirements, so that facility would be lost, but otherwise you won't notice any difference.  Some E7 timeswitches are just mechanical with no electronics, so the radio signal is not essential.

If you don't want to be browbeaten into having a smart meter, just ignore it for the time being.  Presumably SSE might just switch you to a single rate tariff if you continued to refuse, but that's probably years away. And of course, you are shielding from coronavirus, aren't you?

MDMD

Gerry1 said:

Presumably you have an Economy 7 meter with a Radio Teleswitch to tell it when to switch over?  This uses a one-way control signal embedded in the Radio 4 Long Wave signal on 198kHz.  The contract for this expires in 2022.

However, seeing what a fiasco the smart meter project has been, I wouldn't bet the farm on the service closing on that date.  Just like the smart meter rollout, that date has already been extended and this will probably happen again.

In the unlikely event that the contract is not renewed but teleswitches are still in service, the meter will continue working in E7 mode.  The switching times may drift by a minute or two, just like a digital watch that the owner has left in a drawer rather than being corrected when necessary via the Greenwich Time Signal.

In normal use the switching times can vary by +/- 15 minutes to accommodate network requirements, so that facility would be lost, but otherwise you won't notice any difference.  Some E7 timeswitches are just mechanical with no electronics, so the radio signal is not essential.

If you don't want to be browbeaten into having a smart meter, just ignore it for the time being.  Presumably SSE might just switch you to a single rate tariff if you continued to refuse, but that's probably years away. And of course, you are shielding from coronavirus, aren't you?

Yes, it appears they have already extended it twice, presumably if a large number of the c1.4m Radioteleswiches are still in use they would have to do it again....