Octopus forcing new smart meter

matelodave

tastyhog said:

Why are people so against smart meters? it's not like they're spying on you, unlike the multitude of other devices you have in your home

Same here, people wander around with a mobile phone in their pockets, frying their gonads or cooking their brains as well as being tracked all over the place. What about smart speakers, routers, web searches etc and a multitude of other stuff like Face ache, Instagram which spreads their data around the world.

TBH a smart meter should be the least of anyone's problems.

Verdigris

tastyhog said:

Why are people so against smart meters? it's not like they're spying on you, unlike the multitude of other devices you have in your home

They read conspiracy theories about them on Facebook.

(Irony Meter explodes)

MWT

Browntoa said:

My understanding is octopus use their own engineer's to fit smart meters rather than the contractors that all the others use 

If I had to have one fitted I would trust octopus more 

It depends where their teams happen to be though, I've had a few Octopus smart meter related engineer visits across two properties and all of them were handled by AES. 

Ultrasonic

lovelylass_2 said:

I don’t want to have a smart meter fitted just yet.

Is there something specific that concerns you? 

GingerTim

tastyhog said:

Why are people so against smart meters? it's not like they're spying on you, unlike the multitude of other devices you have in your home

Must be worried that The Man will find out when they make some toast.

Verdigris

Smart meters make it hard to steal electricity and gas. I suppose some of the nonsense stories may have originated from the scumbag classes when they realised the game could soon be up.

Still, fewer gas explosions and fires, so mustn't grumble.

[Deleted User]

Merlin139 said:

I have been moved to Octopus from Avro and my Meters will be 20 in March 2022

Don't want Smart Meters. Read mine every week and submit readings once a month or more if asked. Therefore no requirement to have a new meter fitted.

Both meters are outside my house so I guess someone could just turn up and replace them!

Looks like I will have to put the automatic sensor controlled .50 Cal out to put them off!

It doesn’t work like that. The installer is required to carry out safety checks as part of the installation process.

This is no longer an issue of what the consumer wants: it is what is needed to keep the lights on. Smart meters offer the only way of matching electricity demand with supply as more EVs are brought into use and heat pumps are installed. I would put money on smart meters being made compulsory by the end of 2024. The Govt doesn’t have to make it so today, as most suppliers are meeting their agreed installation targets. You can expect non smart tariffs to become much more expensive relative to the smart meter tariffs on offer.

PS. Not having a smart meter will not protect you from future disconnections. This will be done, if necessary, on a regional basis not by individual meter.

brewerdave

tastyhog said:

Why are people so against smart meters? it's not like they're spying on you, unlike the multitude of other devices you have in your home

I WAS firmly against "smart" meters on the original rollout because of the inflexibility of SMETS1 with supplier changes and the comms issues with mobile phone tech; now I'd probably have one IF offered but as I'm currently with two of the smaller(surviving) suppliers, that isn't happening anytime soon.
 Having said that , there are still too many tales of incomplete installations due to incompetent or poorly trained fitters and ,even with apparently working meters, customers are still getting estimated bills because the suppliers haven't integrated their accounting systems with the information available from the DCC

[Deleted User]

brewerdave said:

tastyhog said:

Why are people so against smart meters? it's not like they're spying on you, unlike the multitude of other devices you have in your home

I WAS firmly against "smart" meters on the original rollout because of the inflexibility of SMETS1 with supplier changes and the comms issues with mobile phone tech; now I'd probably have one IF offered but as I'm currently with two of the smaller(surviving) suppliers, that isn't happening anytime soon.
 Having said that , there are still too many tales of incomplete installations due to incompetent or poorly trained fitters and ,even with apparently working meters, customers are still getting estimated bills because the suppliers haven't integrated their accounting systems with the information available from the DCC

The main issue with installations is that commissioning the gas meter is the last piece of the jigsaw. The commissioning process needs to be restarted after 59 minutes if the process hasn't successfully been completed. Sadly, too many installers are not prepared to wait given that they have a list of installations to complete. Suppliers, such as Octopus, will now attempt a remote commissioning process ( the gas meter is already paired to the comms hub) or talk the homeowner through the 2 button press that is required.

To pull data from a smart meter, suppliers need to develop or lease a sophisticated secure piece of software known as an Adaptor. This is their interface with the DCC Network. Yes, it is true that some suppliers such as Avro didn't do or pay for the work needed to make this work. Other small suppliers such as Zog appear to have no difficulty accessing smart meter data or sending out tariff information to their meters.

Octopus, for its part, has concentrated on its technology platform, and it uses a third-party Adaptor managed by TMA/CGI.

NameWithheld

Just checked and my electricity meter has a Tested 06/90 label on it, which is when the house was built. So 31 years old.