Energy news in general

MeteredOut

matt_drummer said:

MikeJXE said:

The point I am making is 

Smart meters can be switched off remotely en mass 

Others can’t unless they come to your door 

Yes I know there are regulations and we all know how secure they are NOT 

They can turn off whole areas at the substations.

What do you think will happen if they just turned off properties with smart meters fitted and left all the others connected?

It will never happen.

It would be commercial and political suicide.

Came here to say this, which is the point those that say "I'm not getting a smart meter so I can't be switched off" often believe.

And its not as if those in power would have to cut thousands of people off at a time.

According to the National Grid (my bolding):

"What is a substation?

The most common substations close to homes are local distribution substations, which transform higher voltage electricity to normal mains voltage. There are many hundreds of thousands of similar substations throughout the UK, each typically supplying up to a few hundred houses."

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/is-living-next-to-substation-safe

TroubledTarts

We all have a region letter on our bills and if there is to be any energy rationing it will be done on that code and will affect both dumb and smart meters all together.

Ildhund

TT is referring to the letter usually in a little box, like my 'P' here:
  

TroubledTarts

https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/rota-load-disconnections

https://www.gtc-uk.co.uk/residents/rota-load-disconnections/

stripling

@Gerry1

• We have to make sure that the generating capacity is up to the job, but instead the authorities have penny pinched and let our power stations crumble away and be closed without replacements being built.  Correcting all this creaky infrastructure won't come cheaply.

• Or we can accept that our lifestyles will change forever: rationing by surge pricing, load limiting and ultimately load shedding will become the norm.

It may be that only the rich will be able to switch on as they please and the rest of us will have to do as we're told when the Smart Meter Says No.  But it shouldn't be introduced and imposed by stealth, that's what grinds my gears.

There needs to be an honest discussion and debate.

These are all very valid points and they definitely need to be addressed by policy-makers but having or not having a smart meter makes zero difference to what the outcome will be on a personal level. You won't avoid 'surge pricing' by not having a smart meter. And smart meters are really useful too (although they seem to have a tendency to ignite people's inner-geek 😁).

When/if this 'time of use' malarkey ever becomes policy smart meters will be in every home.  The honest discussion is the bit you should be fighting for not the meter.  

I agree with @matt_drummer  smart meters should've been rolled out universally and that roll out shouldn't have been placed in energy company's hands. That's how most other European countries have handled it.  BUT....

That roll-out should've been accompanied by intensive public information and awareness campaigns, there should be/have been far more public trust built up in terms of guarantees that smart meter data will not be eventually commodified, for example. And as I have seen in other countries, energy markets and decarbonisation should be better regulated and more openly and publicly discussed.  Britain trots obediently behind the US in these things and regulation is a dirty word. Sadly. 

MikeJXE

Is it even possible for a mass roll out, can they make and install them quick enough, could/will they ever.

I don't know what the figures are for none connecting gas meters on even electric meters but it is a small percentage

Once everyone has one that small percentage will be a very large number  

Gerry1

stripling said:

@Gerry1

• We have to make sure that the generating capacity is up to the job, but instead the authorities have penny pinched and let our power stations crumble away and be closed without replacements being built.  Correcting all this creaky infrastructure won't come cheaply.

• Or we can accept that our lifestyles will change forever: rationing by surge pricing, load limiting and ultimately load shedding will become the norm.

It may be that only the rich will be able to switch on as they please and the rest of us will have to do as we're told when the Smart Meter Says No.  But it shouldn't be introduced and imposed by stealth, that's what grinds my gears.

There needs to be an honest discussion and debate.

You won't avoid 'surge pricing' by not having a smart meter.

How can that possibly work?  All my supplier gets is a monthly reading from yours truly.

mmmmikey

Gerry1 said:

stripling said:

@Gerry1

• We have to make sure that the generating capacity is up to the job, but instead the authorities have penny pinched and let our power stations crumble away and be closed without replacements being built.  Correcting all this creaky infrastructure won't come cheaply.

• Or we can accept that our lifestyles will change forever: rationing by surge pricing, load limiting and ultimately load shedding will become the norm.

It may be that only the rich will be able to switch on as they please and the rest of us will have to do as we're told when the Smart Meter Says No.  But it shouldn't be introduced and imposed by stealth, that's what grinds my gears.

There needs to be an honest discussion and debate.

You won't avoid 'surge pricing' by not having a smart meter.

How can that possibly work?  All my supplier gets is a monthly reading from yours truly.

You pay for it in installments. A little bit of the cost is added to the cost of every single unit of electricity you buy. In fact, if you are on a single rate tariff you're likely to pay more because your supplier has to price to allow for the risk associated with selling energy at a loss when prices spike. The cost may be hidden, but it's definitely there.

Smart meters don't force people to change their usage preferences. They just allow people who make the choice to save themselves some money by buying electricity when it's cheaper.

Gerry1

My definition of surge pricing is when prices are much dearer at certain times of day, typically 4-7pm on weekdays and/or when demand is high

Yes, suppliers could just add a percentage to each kWh, or they could even force refuseniks onto a 'thumbscrews' tariff where all usage costs £5/kWh or whatever.  But that's still not surge pricing, that needs a smart meter.  Without the ToU info they won't have a clue about exactly when my energy was used.

mmmmikey said:

Smart meters don't force people to change their usage preferences.

They will, when they're almost universal.  Except for the rich, of course.  They won't care what the cost is, they'll use as much as they like, when they like... unless there's such a dire energy shortage that Load Limiting or even Load Shedding kicks in.

mmmmikey said:

They just allow people who make the choice to save themselves some money by buying electricity when it's cheaper.

Well, some people will believe that.  Others will see it like loyalty cards: just make the non-members pay a totally crazy price and tell the members they’ve saved a king's ransom, and hope they don't notice that the 'real' price is still cheaper at Aldi.

Ildhund

RTS Shutdown

Ofgem's latest consultation suggests that those who don't have their RTS meter exchanged before 30 June will be cut off:

We are consulting on whether new licence conditions under the Electricity Supply Licence Condition 12: “Matters relating to Electricity Meters”, should be added to support RTS meter consumers.

These will state that after support for RTS meters ends:

• the licensee cannot supply electricity to premises that rely on RTS technology

The big stick coming out ...