Can't get electric meter moved 2 feet the other side of a wall.

JanChris

Newly moved into Council over 60s bungalow... husband is 85 and disabled.  The gas meter is outside and has been exchanged for a smart meter...which is nice and easy to read.  The electric meter on the other hand is tucked away in a bottom kitchen cupboard with no door in front of it.. at right angles to where you can see it and is a nightmare to read, even a meter reader was amazed and I had to put my phone in the cupboard at an angle and try to get a photo of the readout...on my knees twisted double!
Octopus can't move it 2 feet onto the outside wall as it is "the property of Network Power" (or some similar name)...the council won't pay them (NP) to get it moved and told me to get back onto Octopus who again tell me they can't move it outside .... it's all too cramped to move it elsewhere in the cupboard and exchange for a smart meter.
I really want to be able to follow my usage on an IHD as we are on benefits and also not to have all this hoo-ha every time I need to take a reading. Is there any way I can get this done without incurring huge costs of over £800 which I've seen written?

Robin9

Correct  -  moving meters is nothing to do with Octopus.

Unsatisfactory as it is - if you want it moved you pay  -  and yes could be £800

Octopus should however put you on the Priority Services Register and arrange meter readers to call.

ariarnia

a couple of questions that you might not know the answer to.

how have they swapped the gas meter for a smart meter and not the electric meter? i don't think i've heard before of a smart gas meter which hasn't had to go thru the electric meter to send the readings in as they run on a battery so don't have the same signal strength. 

can you say again why can't they swap the electric meter for a smart meter inside? smart electric meters are about the same size as traditional meters and it should be a strait swap. 

final thought. have you asked the council to remove or replace the cupboard (or if you can). we took out one of the shelves in the cupboard our gas meter is in to make it easier to access and haven't put it back because i just use it for the pressure cooker and things that don't really fit well in a cupboard anyway. 

macman

As above-your gas smart meter will only work in dumb mode, as it can only send to the proxy gas meter which sits on top of the smart electricity meter (the comms hub). It can't communicate direct with the DCC, who handle the data flow to the supplier.
So, until you get the second meter installed, you'll need to carry on doing manual reads.
As suggested, the initial solution is to get on the PSR and then they must read the meters for you, due to disability.

Robin9

Gas meters can work independently in Smart mode.  I have two in cellars  that have their own local battery  transmitters 

MWT

ariarnia said:

... i don't think i've heard before of a smart gas meter which hasn't had to go thru the electric meter to send the readings in as they run on a battery so don't have the same signal strength.

It isn't the electricity meter that they have to go through, it is the comms hub.

Although the comms hub typically sits on top of the electricity meter, it only uses it as a power source, it is not otherwise physically connected to the electricity meter, and the electricity meter still has to connect to the comms hub via the HAN (Zigbee) to send data.

So you can find installations where the comms hub is separately powered without an adjacent electricity meter.

cannugec5

I’m waiting for a smart meter. They’ve not previously been available in this area, although I now have an appointment in 2 weeks time. I’m not holding my breath! 

For the  past couple of years I have been reading my electricity meter using a ‘selfie stick’ to photograph it, rather than climbing up ladders. 

We are both pensioners too. 

JanChris

Thank you folks.    Octopus engineer who came to put electric smart meter in said he doesn't have the room, even if I cut away part of the cupboard for him which I offered to.
The reason he put a smart gas meter in while he was here was so if I eventually get the electric meter sorted then the gas one will be ready.... And yes he told me it needs the electric one to work properly.   A meter reader did come but had so much trouble I ended up taking a photo of the reading for him on my phone.    If I'm going to have to do that then there's no point them sending a reader every month!....and yes my husband is already on the priority register.

t0rt0ise

ariarnia said:

a couple of questions that you might not know the answer to.

how have they swapped the gas meter for a smart meter and not the electric meter? i don't think i've heard before of a smart gas meter which hasn't had to go thru the electric meter to send the readings in as they run on a battery so don't have the same signal strength. 

can you say again why can't they swap the electric meter for a smart meter inside? smart electric meters are about the same size as traditional meters and it should be a strait swap. 

final thought. have you asked the council to remove or replace the cupboard (or if you can). we took out one of the shelves in the cupboard our gas meter is in to make it easier to access and haven't put it back because i just use it for the pressure cooker and things that don't really fit well in a cupboard anyway. 

Smart meters aren't the same size as some ordinary meters. Mine is much larger and he wasn't sure it would fit. He did manage but it took him a long time.

[Deleted User]

Smart meters aren't the same size as some ordinary meters.

Smart meters come in different sizes: for example, the L&G E470 SMETS2 comes in 100mm and 120mm variants.

ariarnia

[Deleted User] said:

Smart meters aren't the same size as some ordinary meters.

Smart meters come in different sizes: for example, the L&G E470 SMETS2 comes in 100mm and 120mm variants.

if the op contacted octopus and explained the space problem do you think they might make sure the engineer had a smaller type? 

JanChris said:

A meter reader did come but had so much trouble I ended up taking a photo of the reading for him on my phone.    If I'm going to have to do that then there's no point them sending a reader every month!....and yes my husband is already on the priority register.

i'm 99.9999% sure the meter reader would have a smart phone. maybe next time you could just tell him to take a picture not do it yourself? thats what he's there for after all.