E-on are trying to force a Smart Meter on me....and they're making threats.

[Deleted User]

oliverbrown said:

I've heard some suppliers will install smart meters with the communications module disabled. Perhaps this is enough to comply with the T&C for people who are hesitant. 

Having posed the question in another forum to a DCC Registered third party (ie; not a supplier), I was told that there is no such thing as a dumb smart meter. All parts of the smart metering system have to be powered up and linked to commission the meters. The charge state of the gas battery has to be monitored and meter firmware updates have to be deployed to the meters as needed. When a supplier says that a meter is dumb, it just means that it will not be pulling data from the meter and manual meter readings will have to be provided.

oliverbrown

That's interesting info, thanks. I was told at one point that if a dumb meter was end of life and dumb meters were no longer available, then a smart meter with comms disabled was an option for consumers. 

Clearly I was given misinformation. 

[Deleted User]

Astria said:

That said, my neighbor asked for one to be fitted and they refused saying his installation was unsafe - the part after the meter, although why they are interested in that I've no idea. If they can install the meter safely, why are they interested in what is after it?

Part of the installation process is that the installers are trained to notice and report unsafe wiring; boilers etc. Just imagine how you would feel at an inquest if the installer said that he/she could see that the house wiring or boiler was unsafe but didn't feel that he/she had to report it.

Your electricity and gas will be turned off for minutes not hours: where is all this misinformation coming from? Installers will not install smart meters if they suspect that they are going to run into installation issues. The bit of the commissioning process that takes the longest is the gas meter which can take up to 59 minutes to commission. During this time your gas will be on and safety checks will have been carried out.

My neighbour had his smart meters installed a month ago. The installer was here for just under an hour and that included tea and biscuits.

Astria

[Deleted User] said:

Your electricity and gas will be turned off for minutes not hours: where is all this misinformation coming from?

Well, the last email I got just said "The installation will last approximately 2 hours to update both meters", so people assume their supply will be cut off for those 2 hours as it's not stated that it won't be.

[Deleted User]

Astria said:

[Deleted User] said:

Your electricity and gas will be turned off for minutes not hours: where is all this misinformation coming from?

Well, the last email I got just said "The installation will last approximately 2 hours to update both meters", so people assume their supply will be cut off for those 2 hours as it's not stated that it won't be.

The 2 hours takes into account the fact that the gas meter commissioning process can up to 59 minutes before it times out and has to be re-started. My installer was with me for 5 hours in July 2019 waiting for the gas meter to commission. The process has, I am told, got a lot better. 

I think my electricity was off for about 15 minutes and gas for about 10 minutes. Electricity takes a shade longer as they have to fit a comms hub first which the electricity meter plugs in to.

Londoner_1

Just  ignore them, i get hundreds of texts saying they need to install smart meters but i just ignoringthem since jan 2020.

BobT36

Ultrasonic said:

[Deleted User] said:

Dahliaa said:

Both EOn next and Sainsbury tariffs loads of people from here were recently switching to had it written that you agree to have smart meter installed. That’s why I didn’t switch to them.t.

If TOU tariffs help us manage a finite resource more effectively, and in a way that is likely better from a climate change perspective, them personally I find it hard to argue strongly against them.

Heh, you don't really think that monitoring & charging you based on your usage is just the benefit "the climate", do you? This isn't how companies work. Whatever they will do will be for the benefit of their shareholders, not you, not the climate. That's their purpose in life.

Now monitoring your usage down to the minute (or 30 mins or whatever) will clearly be used to charge YOU more, when you need to use it. Now unless you have very erratic usage times, you're going to be the one smacked in the pocket. "Oh soz m8, your tarrif has a high cost at 6pm just as you arrive home from work and switch the cooker / computer on. Fancy that! Shame though, it's nice and cheap at 1pm while you're out at work all day! oh well..this is all to help the environment after all!"

milgo

jimjames said:

I saw this on a previous switch with a supplier and it clearly said the tariff required smart meter. At that point I cancelled the switch as I didn't want one installed.

Everyone has a price! I wonder what yours is?! 20...40...80 pounds MORE per month than someone who has a smart meter. 

Dahliaa

[Deleted User] said:

Dahliaa said:

Both EOn next and Sainsbury tariffs loads of people from here were recently switching to had it written that you agree to have smart meter installed. That’s why I didn’t switch to them.

Why? A prediction. Increasingly, we are going to see suppliers introducing time-of -use tariffs. Many countries already have them; for example, Ontario which has a 2 season 3 tier pricing model. A further prediction. Suppliers already have the legal right to fit smart meters when your present meters are deemed to be end-of-life. You don’t get to say yes or no to a smart meter. Suppliers are constantly pressing BEIS to make smart meters mandatory. For the moment, BEIS is resisting as other ‘marketing’ methods are proving to be successful. Smart meters will, as is the case in most European countries, become mandatory. 

If you want to get the cheapest time-of-use tariff, then you need much more data than just kWhs/year. A smart meter stores this data in 48 by 30 minute blocks each day. This data can be pulled from the meter by your nominated supplier or another DCC User (with your approval). 

Price comparison websites are going to have to change. I mentioned the BEIS tool in my post above yours. Even without this tool, I am able to compare all the Octopus tariffs using my actual usage.

This screenshot compares the billing period cost of the tariff that I am on with Octopus’ Agile tariff:

I have economy 7 wiring and heard that many times smart meters are installed incorrectly in economy 7.
Currently it works for me as I’m able to use wast majority of my consumption on night rate and honestly don’t want any other complicated time of use tariffs.

works great so far so I have no need to change what works.

[Deleted User]

Dahliaa said:

Dolor said:

Dahliaa said:

Both EOn next and Sainsbury tariffs loads of people from here were recently switching to had it written that you agree to have smart meter installed. That’s why I didn’t switch to them.

Why? A prediction. Increasingly, we are going to see suppliers introducing time-of -use tariffs. Many countries already have them; for example, Ontario which has a 2 season 3 tier pricing model. A further prediction. Suppliers already have the legal right to fit smart meters when your present meters are deemed to be end-of-life. You don’t get to say yes or no to a smart meter. Suppliers are constantly pressing BEIS to make smart meters mandatory. For the moment, BEIS is resisting as other ‘marketing’ methods are proving to be successful. Smart meters will, as is the case in most European countries, become mandatory. 

If you want to get the cheapest time-of-use tariff, then you need much more data than just kWhs/year. A smart meter stores this data in 48 by 30 minute blocks each day. This data can be pulled from the meter by your nominated supplier or another DCC User (with your approval). 

Price comparison websites are going to have to change. I mentioned the BEIS tool in my post above yours. Even without this tool, I am able to compare all the Octopus tariffs using my actual usage.

This screenshot compares the billing period cost of the tariff that I am on with Octopus’ Agile tariff:

I have economy 7 wiring and heard that many times smart meters are installed incorrectly in economy 7.
Currently it works for me as I’m able to use wast majority of my consumption on night rate and honestly don’t want any other complicated time of use tariffs.

works great so far so I have no need to change what works.

There is the little matter of your Teleswitch. The service is due to be turned off.

Up to a million homes may have “no alternative” but to install smart meters in the next two years as the radio network that operates their current meters is turned off.

Some electricity meters, such as Economy 7 and Economy 10 devices, move customers on to cheaper rates at off-peak times. While newer versions of these meters operate digitally or run on internal clocks, older models are controlled by a radio signal.

This is known as the Radio Teleswitch Service and broadcasts alongside the BBC’s long wave transmission. This service, which serves up to a million premises according to trade body Energy UK, is due to switch off from April 2023.