Economy 7 Currently - Scottish Power emailing to get me to move to Smart Meter - Should I?

EnviousNinja

I currently have an economy 7 meter, not ideal for tracking my usage obviously, but the night rates are good

I keep getting emails from ScottishPower asking me to switch to a Smart Meter, I've no idea if I should or not?
I am not on any special tarrifs that I'm aware of, just the standard, so I don't know if I should switch or not?

Any thoughts?

[Deleted User]

You can still be on Economy 7 with a smart meter.  All that changes is that your meter reads can get automatically sent to Scottish Power (as long as the comms works).

EnviousNinja

oh ok, so there is no downside to switching to a smart meter then? (assuming they retain me on the same tarrif)

EssexHebridean

No - and indeed, once the current crisis passes if we get back to a meaningful range of fixed tariff options again, you may well find cheaper options available to you with a smart meter than without. the only thing to be mindful of with E7 is that currently if you were wanting to switch for some reason British Gas cannot support E7 on smart meters so you would not be advised to switch to them. (As they are aware of the situation it's to be hoped they would not take you as a customer  mind you!) 

[Deleted User]

If your meters use RTS time signals to switch peak/offpeak then this service is due to switched off next year. Suppliers are under remit from Ofgem to offer consumers a smart meter or, if this is not possible due to communications issues,  an alternative solution.

Hysteron

EnviousNinja said:

I currently have an economy 7 meter, not ideal for tracking my usage obviously, but the night rates are good

Have you been informed what the new night rates will be from Oct 1 with Scottish Power, I haven't see my new rates yet but I do know from reading the forum that the new EDF off peak rate is cheaper in my area than I am paying now before the increase so I will be looking to switch if my current supplier (Utility Warehouse) can't match that.

Regarding the smart meter, I'm glad I had one installed last year as it really helps me to track exactly where the energy is being used and helps work out areas for potential savings. There is an app called "Bright" that you can install on your phone, it's free and I find it a lot more useful for tracking usage than the supplied smart meter monitor.