Meter readers, first time in many years

BooJewels

I was wondering recently about the practical logistics of meter reading in the current multiple (albeit shrinking) supplier environment.  I can remember when you'd see the meter reading coming down the road and he'd go in to every house in sequence - well, missing the few that were out at work etc. 

These days, I doubt I'm with the same supplier as my neighbours - so the same reader is unlikely to have many customers with a particular company in the same street.  So how does it work - might a meter reader call at no.10 for EDF, then 16 for Octopus, then 29 for British Gas - or do they work for one supplier in a day and have to leap frog greater distances between properties with that supplier?  I used to have my meters read annually with GB Energy (went bust, moved via CoOp to Octopus) and it was the same bloke who read my meter for EOn previously.  Mine haven't been done since the last GB reading.  British Gas don't even acknowledge my own monthly reads unless they specifically asked for it.

[Deleted User]

BooJewels said:

I was wondering recently about the practical logistics of meter reading in the current multiple (albeit shrinking) supplier environment.  I can remember when you'd see the meter reading coming down the road and he'd go in to every house in sequence - well, missing the few that were out at work etc. 

There is no longer a Licence requirement placed on suppliers to read any meter. This is the Licence obligation:

1. 21B.4  The licensee must take all reasonable steps to obtain a meter reading (including any meter reading transmitted electronically from a meter to the licensee or provided by the Customer and accepted by the licensee)

   1. (a)  at least once per year from each of its Customers; and

   2. (b)  as from 1 April 2018 (or any other later date pursuant to a direction issued by the CMA no later than 1 September 2017) at least once per month from each of its Customers with a Supply Meter able to remotely transmit meter readings.

EssexHebridean

Swipe said:

**quote removed as the poster has removed theirs**

You might want to provide some evidence of an accusation like that...if you have none, then probably best to delete your post. 

Swipe

Verdigris said:

MDS dropped that contract a few years ago.

I stand corrected then

Verdigris

BooJewels said:

I was wondering recently about the practical logistics of meter reading in the current multiple (albeit shrinking) supplier environment.  I can remember when you'd see the meter reading coming down the road and he'd go in to every house in sequence - well, missing the few that were out at work etc. 

These days, I doubt I'm with the same supplier as my neighbours - so the same reader is unlikely to have many customers with a particular company in the same street.  So how does it work - might a meter reader call at no.10 for EDF, then 16 for Octopus, then 29 for British Gas - or do they work for one supplier in a day and have to leap frog greater distances between properties with that supplier?  I used to have my meters read annually with GB Energy (went bust, moved via CoOp to Octopus) and it was the same bloke who read my meter for EOn previously.  Mine haven't been done since the last GB reading.  British Gas don't even acknowledge my own monthly reads unless they specifically asked for it.

Yes, the work is generally mixed between suppliers to create a maximum density of work in a geographic area. Clearly, in the Olden Days of gas and electric boards, every house in the street had the same supplier, and same read windows, so it was quite efficient. Now, with modern "progress" the meter reader can end up chasing about a large area because different suppliers jobs have different end dates and read quotas have to be met.

BooJewels

@[Deleted User] - I was aware of the changes in the meter reading requirements, my comment was more about the fact that maybe 30 years ago, everyone was with the same regional supplier and we all got bills quarterly on the same date. You'd be expecting the bill a few days after they'd read the meter - and how very different it all is now - making the logistics of even reading meters an entirely different ball game now.

Thanks @Verdigris for the clarification.  It sounds like it must be a bit of an organisational and logistical nightmare - which I suspected.  It illustrates why there's such a push for smart meters.  I always felt there should be a slightly better system for submitting your own readings - maybe an interface to upload photos (I can bank a cheque that way) and an incentive to do so at certain intervals. But I suppose smart meters now supercede such needs.

EssexHebridean

With the advent of most suppliers now having apps it is certainly a lot easier to submit regular readings than it used to be. 

BooJewels

I didn't so much mean ease of dong the task really, as accuracy and reliability @EssexHebridean

I've submitted my own reads for as long as it was possible - and noted them monthly even in the era I touched upon earlier with quarterly meter reads, so I've always been on top of my own usage. How many threads do we see on here with people who get in a pickle because they judge their fuel use by the value of their monthly DD and there's a couple of threads on the first page about final bill discrepancies months after moving from a supplier.  Smart meters will now negate the need for anything different moving forwards, but I always felt submitting your own read by typing in numbers was maybe too reliant on trust and personal accuracy.  I know, because careful and on top of it I reckon to be, I made a silly error that took a while to unravel.

SAC2334

EssexHebridean said:

Something that only just occurred to me on seeing this thread is that while home visits to read meters seem to have mostly died a death (although of course with the increase in meters outside properties it may be that a lot of folk simply don't realise when it's happened) commercial reading seems to have continued as normal. It may be that there's a reason for this which I'm unaware of - a requirement to have external reads of commercial meters remaining when it's been dropped for resi ones perhaps. Our office meter gets read around once every six months. 

All meters, domestic and business meters need to have occasional visits ,British Gas term them as a meter inspection, not specifically for readings, but to verify the integrity of the meter.They can be dangerous things especially when they are bypassed or  in the case of gas meters , substituted. I retired a few years ago when back then meter bypassing on electric prepays was rife. With todays horrendous rates it will be definitely going through the roof in the areas that it is most   prevalent. With only British Gas running a proper Revenue Protection Unit its going to be a meter fiddling bonanza. In my home town a few months ago the Police raided 5 cannabis farms in just one street alone, all bypassing meters using thousands of pounds worth per year  not counting the dozens more fiddling the meters.It was so bad the area tripped Northern Power Grids fuses often causing many power cuts   . This is what its like in the roughest areas in town. I expect this is happening countrywide 

[Deleted User]

SAC2334 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Something that only just occurred to me on seeing this thread is that while home visits to read meters seem to have mostly died a death (although of course with the increase in meters outside properties it may be that a lot of folk simply don't realise when it's happened) commercial reading seems to have continued as normal. It may be that there's a reason for this which I'm unaware of - a requirement to have external reads of commercial meters remaining when it's been dropped for resi ones perhaps. Our office meter gets read around once every six months. 

All meters, domestic and business meters need to have occasional visits ,British Gas term them as a meter inspection, not specifically for readings, but to verify the integrity of the meter.They can be dangerous things especially when they are bypassed or  in the case of gas meters , substituted. I retired a few years ago when back then meter bypassing on electric prepays was rife. With todays horrendous rates it will be definitely going through the roof in the areas that it is most   prevalent. With only British Gas running a proper Revenue Protection Unit its going to be a meter fiddling bonanza. In my home town a few months ago the Police raided 5 cannabis farms in just one street alone, all bypassing meters using thousands of pounds worth per year  not counting the dozens more fiddling the meters.It was so bad the area tripped Northern Power Grids fuses often causing many power cuts   . This is what its like in the roughest areas in town. I expect this is happening countrywide 

This would be the same BG that sought and was granted a derogation by Ofgem from the previous meter reading requirement of once every 2 years. BG only had to read their customers’ meters once every 5 years before the SLC change.