Smart meter

drt1710

EssexHebridean said:

drt1710 said:

Silverbird65 said:

Views on smart meters. Considering but still not sure. I am with shell who are keen for me to have one installed. I am happy to give my readings monthly. What is the panic ?
Thanks

You'll find views for and against.  It really is worth searching the forum if you have the time as you will get a lot more views on them.
EssexHebridean is an excellent reasonably balanced view, the only thing I'd add is about suppliers switching a smart meter to a prepayment meter.  What he says is correct in theory, but in practice, it's not worked like that to date. 
However, the energy industry has agreed to no more forced prepayment meters until 31/3/23, what happens after that is anyone's guess! (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/02/energy-suppliers-told-stop-prepay-forced-switch-regulator/)

Whilst a supplier "should" engage with a customer before switching you to prepayment, and prepayment should only be a last resort, and prepayment can't be used in certain circumstances, it's not always worked like that.  So if there is any chance that you "might" be in or fall into debt, I'd consider this. 
Having said that, if and when your meter comes due for replacement, chances are it will be replaced with a smart meter anyway.
There is also another advantage of smart meters, not sure if Shell is offering it, but "smart tariffs" whereby you pay a different price per unit at different times of day.  You're looking for something like Shell's version of Octopus Agile (a tariff which pays customers to use energy!!!!) (https://octopus.energy/agile/)
Basically, the future is coming to get us!
Hope this helps

BiB: I think in the case of most suppliers, it probably has, in fairness - the current temporary ban was as a result of British Gas deciding to seemingly bypass the rulebook completely. It should also be added that the situation in the Times investigation didn't only affect those with smart meters - and for my money, far worse were those where people's homes were actually entered to physically change the meter where in fact they should have been protected from this by the PSR. The cases uncovered in the investigation though do seem to have been a very small number (still too many, in the circumstances, mind!) where the system was abused by a supplier.  (Oh - and it's she, by the way!) 

To underline though - the system relating to smart  meters and debt is ONLY different in terms of the fact that the switch can be made without needing to physically enter the property - the right to switch a customer to prepay has been in place for a very long time where certain criteria are met.

You are right about life-end meters now being almost certain to be replaced with smart ones - there have been cases where dumb meters have been installed instead but as a general rule this seems to be more when a meter has needed an emergency replacement and that was what was available. 

Most importantly, a thousand apologies for assuming you were male, and more apologies as I will no doubt forget in the future that you are of the better sex!  
The Times definitely got caught with their trousers down, but I'm sure they were not the only ones abusing the system, I just hope that this temp ban results in BIG changes in the industry for the poor.