Gas Meter Still Increasing Whilst Gas Isolated (Siemens/Landis+Gyr E6S)

jaggers

Just wanted to say how useful this thread has been — I’ve been digging into my own gas usage and what I’ve found is frankly alarming.

My smart meter has been in place for several years and I’ve now been through two energy suppliers with it. The consistent assumption from both has been that any problem must lie with my kit — boiler, controls, or something else — and not the meter itself.  So yes I’ve paid for heating engineers to check and double-check my system and they’ve never found a fault.

But after logging my boiler runtime and gas readings, it’s clear something was seriously wrong. I’ve had days where the meter recorded more gas than my boiler could physically use, and more worryingly, usage across multiple days while the gas supply was physically shut off at the ECV.  So it’s the meter. 

My current supplier has offered to send the meter off for testing — but it’ll be their own engineers, and if no fault is found, I’ll be charged for the privilege. There’s also no clear process for what happens after that, and I’d lose the only physical evidence I have of the meter misbehaving.

So before I let them take it away, I’m wondering:

What tests should I be doing now to document the fault?

I’ve already done gas-off isolation tests and am logging usage via their app and my in-home display. Anything else worth capturing?

Would really appreciate input from anyone who’s been through something similar!

Ectophile

Could you take a video of the meter with the valve turned off?  With the valve off, it should not increase at all.

Unfortunately, it's always the case that if the meter is sent for testing and there's nothing wrong, then you pay for the test.

QrizB

jaggers said:

My current supplier has offered to send the meter off for testing — but it’ll be their own engineers

It shouldn't be sent to "their own engineers", it should be to the independent UKAS-accredited laboratory that carries out all these tests.

See example test report here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80633189/#Comment_80633189

Phones4Chris

Taking daily photos and videos of the meter readings etc is also worth doing. Those photos etc should be date stamped so you can prove how much the readings increase in any specific period and your Gas Safe engineer should be able to clearly say what your boiler's maximum usage could be. Also videos should prove if the meter increments with the ECV off. You can always take all the evidence to the Ombudsman if you don't get a satisfactory response form your supplier.
Who is your gas supplier?

brianposter

Gas meter testing off site is a nonsense - the meter may start working correctly as soon as it is touched with a spanner.

You need to be able to show that the meter is misreading before having it tested, and there is no point in testing if you can already prove it is wrong.

Simply demonstrate to your supplier that the meter is increasing with the gas turned off. If they insist on testing you refuse and go to the ombudsman. 

This last sentence needs correcting. You insist that it has already been demonstrated that the meter is faulty and you are not prepared to pay for testing which is only of interest to the supplier. That will go down better with ombudsman or court.

MeteredOut

brianposter said:

Gas meter testing off site is a nonsense - the meter may start working correctly as soon as it is touched with a spanner.

You need to be able to show that the meter is misreading before having it tested, and there is no point in testing if you can already prove it is wrong.

Simply demonstrate to your supplier that the meter is increasing with the gas turned off. If they insist on testing you refuse and go to the ombudsman. 

My meter was demonstrably increasing whilst disconnected from the supply. EDF refused to even review the videos. The ombudsman's decision was for the OFMAT test to confirm it was faulty (it was).

My main recommendation: do not allow the supplier to replace a faulty meter without confirming it will be independently tested. Once its gone, it will be harder to prove your case.

brianposter

If that is what happens you point out very clearly in writing that an off-site test is nonsense and if this is not accepted you go to court.

brianposter

MeteredOut said:

brianposter said:

Gas meter testing off site is a nonsense - the meter may start working correctly as soon as it is touched with a spanner.

You need to be able to show that the meter is misreading before having it tested, and there is no point in testing if you can already prove it is wrong.

Simply demonstrate to your supplier that the meter is increasing with the gas turned off. If they insist on testing you refuse and go to the ombudsman. 

My meter was demonstrably increasing whilst disconnected from the supply. EDF refused to even review the videos. The ombudsman's decision was for the OFMAT test to confirm it was faulty (it was).

My main recommendation: do not allow the supplier to replace a faulty meter without confirming it will be independently tested. Once its gone, it will be harder to prove your case.

What would you have done if they had told you that the meter was working correctly ?

MeteredOut

brianposter said:

MeteredOut said:

brianposter said:

Gas meter testing off site is a nonsense - the meter may start working correctly as soon as it is touched with a spanner.

You need to be able to show that the meter is misreading before having it tested, and there is no point in testing if you can already prove it is wrong.

Simply demonstrate to your supplier that the meter is increasing with the gas turned off. If they insist on testing you refuse and go to the ombudsman. 

My meter was demonstrably increasing whilst disconnected from the supply. EDF refused to even review the videos. The ombudsman's decision was for the OFMAT test to confirm it was faulty (it was).

My main recommendation: do not allow the supplier to replace a faulty meter without confirming it will be independently tested. Once its gone, it will be harder to prove your case.

What would you have done if they had told you that the meter was working correctly ?

Small claims court. I had plenty of videos showing otherwise.

But, they don't just plug it in and check it - they have an extensive testing strategy over a period of time.

jaggers

Thanks all — some really useful suggestions here!

Just to update: I’ve repurposed a spare dashcam that has a parking timelapse mode (2s clips). With 30GB of onboard storage, I’m getting about 4 days of continuous footage — perfect for showing that the ECV has stayed off. I’ve set up a little “test rig” so the gas meter, ECV, Echo Show clock and in-home display are all visible in shot, which keeps everything nicely datestamped.

I’m also keeping the ECV off pretty much all the time now — only switching it back on briefly to top up hot water. I’ve got solar thermal heating, so I’ve only needed two quick top-ups in the past fortnight.

And yes — when my supplier said their own engineers would be doing the testing, that definitely set alarm bells ringing. I’m holding off on any removal until I’ve got solid evidence logged and a clear answer on where the meter’s going and what happens if no fault is found.

In parallel, I’ve pulled down my supplier’s half-hourly gas usage data. Even with the ECV shut and no demand on the system, it’s still showing a consistent trickle of usage — sometimes over 30kWh a day — which only adds to the concern.

I also looked back through this historical data and spotted a glaring anomaly in July last year, where the half-hourly logs show 160 kWh of gas consumed over just four hours — that’s averaging 40 kWh per hour. That’s way beyond the physical capability of our boiler which has a maximum gas input of 17.9 kWh/h, and there are no other gas appliances on the property. So I’ve a mounting body of evidence and proof now.

The only thing that worries me is my “smart” meter was installed in January 2022 but I was passed over to another energy supplier in early 2024 who acquired the retail portfolio, so who will be responsible for my 2022-2024 overclocking? I’ve some correspondence with my last supplier who’d managed to fob me off saying it was likely my boiler at fault, and I’ve a partial data download from that period which clearly hints at some of the phantom usage patterns (periods of continuous regular gas usage) but legally will the new supplier have responsibility for the meter that wasn’t installed during their watch?