Smart Meter shove from Scottish Power

NRGMAN

I've  made it abundantly clear to SP that I am not interested in a smart meter. I was even put off getting one by a SP customer service staff member on the phone one day a few years back. Wonder if he still works for them?

Anyway, SP recently seem to be turning the heat up, so to speak, and "forcing" the issue, throwing in the ol "your current meter is old and needs replacing" trick. Is just over 12 years old now considerd ancient? Crikey, they've got a lower life expectancy than me!

So what to do? I'm actually happy with the way things are at the moment with no desire to change. Unless it is to another supplier if SP start sending letters out as well as txting and emailing me. I would like to think that if I just ignore them, they'll go away. But I doubt that, somehow.

Part of my reluctance to change too is that I have an older style electricity box (it's an old house) and I honestly don't think the supply would know what hit it if a smart meter was installed into it!

[Deleted User]

This topic has been discussed at length. I suggest a forum search.

If your supplier deems your meter to be end-of-life then it now has a legal right to fit a smart meter without your approval. 

A smart meter would not have any impact on your consumer box. Your home would be getting the same electricity as was the case before the meter change. By the sound of it you need an electrical safety inspection.

Edit: From the Ofgem Letter to Suppliers dated Apr 2023.

Mstty

Oh come on then what exactly did this SP customer services representative say to put you off getting a smart meter.....

@nrgcon2

brewerdave

Mstty said:

Oh come on then what exactly did this SP customer services representative say to put you off getting a smart meter.....

@nrgcon2

Well....my s-i-l had smarts fitted by SP in his previous house - and they never worked as smart in 18 months - so maybe the CS rep. was fed up of calls from dissatisfied customers ?? LOL

[Deleted User]

There's a good, well balanced article from Saga on Smart meters here that summarises the situation in a straightforward, non-political and unemotional way:

https://www.exceptional.com/homes/home-improvement/do-you-have-to-have-a-smart-meter

If your one of your issues with having a smart meter is concerns about your house wiring then I can't think of a better reason to get one. Surely better for an electrician or smart meter installer to tell you about any problems than a fireman, your insurance company or grieving relatives?

pochase

The certification period can be between 10 years for modern digital meters and 45 years for old analogue meters. I believe there were 1 with 45 years and another with 40 years, most or more like 25 years,

The interesting part is that the recently installed modern digital meters have a very short certification of 10 years only, so your 12 year old meter might well be end of life.

WHat is your meter type? There was somewhere a government lis twith certification times.

Btw it makes no difference at all if you have a digital meter or a smart meter for your fuse box. A smart meter does nothing to your electrcitty supply.

NRGMAN

pochase said:

The certification period can be between 10 years for modern digital meters and 45 years for old analogue meters. I believe there were 1 with 45 years and another with 40 years, most or more like 25 years,

The interesting part is that the recently installed modern digital meters have a very short certification of 10 years only, so your 12 year old meter might well be end of life.

WHat is your meter type? There was somewhere a government lis twith certification times.

Btw it makes no difference at all if you have a digital meter or a smart meter for your fuse box. A smart meter does nothing to your electrcitty supply.

It's key pre-payment meter.

NRGMAN

Mstty said:

Oh come on then what exactly did this SP customer services representative say to put you off getting a smart meter.....

@nrgcon2

He said it kept tripping certain appliances in his home.

GibbsRule_No3.

pochase said:

Btw it makes no difference at all if you have a digital meter or a smart meter for your fuse box. A smart meter does nothing to your electrcitty supply.

Intrigued by this.  EDF have also told me my meter has reached end of life so needs changing, appointment made for next week.  I have E7 so hope they bring the correct meter.  Does this really mean my times will not change with the new meter?  At present the times are really strange (in my favour, probably).  EDF don’t believe the times I tell them my E7 is on for, in eight years of living here they have made no attempt to read my meter, when in the past I talked to them, they kept telling me someone had read it when I wasn’t at home, as it is outside, despite me then asking why then the bill always says “reading” supplied by me as it has been, after an estimated bill from them?  I am fully expecting a problem after (IF) they put the new meter in.

EssexHebridean

NRGMAN said:

Mstty said:

Oh come on then what exactly did this SP customer services representative say to put you off getting a smart meter.....

@nrgcon2

He said it kept tripping certain appliances in his home.

Sorry - can you confirm that I'm reading this right - the CS operative reckoned that his electricity meter was tripping out "some" appliances? I quite literally can't even begin to think how that could be the case, allowing for the way household electrics work. 

Gerry1

EssexHebridean said:

NRGMAN said:

Mstty said:

Oh come on then what exactly did this SP customer services representative say to put you off getting a smart meter.....

@nrgcon2

He said it kept tripping certain appliances in his home.

Sorry - can you confirm that I'm reading this right - the CS operative reckoned that his electricity meter was tripping out "some" appliances? I quite literally can't even begin to think how that could be the case, allowing for the way household electrics work. 

A smart meter could certainly do that if Load Limiting was being enforced, but at the moment that's highly unlikely.