Dodgy meters costing more than actually used?

*~Zephyr~*

Hi
My BiL has long bemoaned the vast amount of energy his household consumed but put it down to having 5 tech obsessed teenagers in the house overusing their gadgets.  But then, three months ago they had smart meters installed and his usage / bills have literally halved!  

He is now thinking that the previous meters were dodgy as hell as nothing about his household usage has changed.  Using the (not-very-scientific) basis that his last quarter's usage is their average usage, a rough, back-of-a-fag packet calculation suggests that, over the 10 years they have lived at the address, he has paid his supplier £16,000 more than he should have.  

Is it remotely possible that older meters overestimate to such wildly incorrect degrees?  

[Deleted User]

You can't say it's impossible - but it's unlikely.

QrizB

*~Zephyr~* said:

Is it remotely possible that older meters overestimate to such wildly incorrect degrees?  

Yes, it is.

There are enough meters installed that there's bound to be the odd rogue one.

See for example this current thread about a dodgy gas meter:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6389945/gas-usage-mega-increase

pochase

You would need the old meter to be tested and it will have been disposed by now.

Also how do you know it had a problem for 10 years, if it has one at all?

EssexHebridean

There will likely have been SOME reduction in use simply as the figures have been clearly visible on the IHD presumably - albeit the figures being quoted do see too extreme for it to simply be down to that. 

As said though, this isn’t the first “rogue meter” event we’ve seen on these boards. Of course, it follows I assume that if there are a small percentage OVER reading, there must also be a corresponding small percentage UNDER reading too? I suspect we’re less likely  to hear about those though! 

[Deleted User]

This is quite a telling pie chart. Although it is a bit out-of-date, it covers the number of meters referred to the independent meter testing facility. As you can see, most consumers end up with a charge. It is of course just possible that the OP is seeing the benefit of having an IHD close by: 'yellow or red' tends to galvanise parents into taking some action. FWiW, no supplier is going to react positively to a claim that a long gone meter was over-recording usage.