Energy company are forcing me to replace my meter

rose.wyn

Thank you to above people saying ignore the veiled threat re meter change.  I've recently had some minor electric rewiring done, by retired electric board gentleman, and was assured nothing wrong with existing meter.  Likewise the gas one - as gas board, while doing work in street, had to come and switchoff/on during the street repairs.  Again assured me nothing wrong with that meter.  I'm quite able to decide for myself, at nearly 80, to decide how much I use and want or need to keep warm and fed without having a smart meter nagging in the background.   

QrizB

rose.wyn said:

Thank you to above people saying ignore the veiled threat re meter change.

Nobody hs said that to you, as far as I can tell?

Your meters belong to your supplier and you have agreed, buy virtue of having a supply, to let them install their equipment on your property.

rose.wyn said:

... without having a smart meter nagging in the background.   

That is not what smart meters do.

rose.wyn said:

... was assured nothing wrong with existing meter.

Maybe read this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6573354/12-500-ovo-energy-billing-error-unresolved-after-5yrs

rose.wyn said:

Likewise the gas one ... again assured me nothing wrong with that meter.

And this one:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6452074/gas-meter-still-increasing-whilst-gas-isolated-siemens-landis-gyr-e6s

brianposter

The real advantage of smart meters to the consumer is that they permit a sensible investigation when things go wrong.

deemil67

LV_426 said:

My energy supplier has sent me a message to say that my electricity meter is reaching the end of its certification period. They want to replace it with a smart meter. I've so far resisted their nagging to do this, but the new twist is the certification period. Can they force this replacement, is what they say true about certification true? What are the consequences of using an 'uncertified' meter?

my energy supplier has been sending me this message for about a year now.  i received another one today and thought i would reply, thanking them for the free upgrade to a smart meter but that i do not want it although i am quite happy to receive a new traditional meter.  they replied saying that a new traditional meter is not an option, but they are able to install a smart meter but decommission it after installation so it would just then be a normal meter.  now my thoughts are, just how reliable are these new meters and would it be more reliable by not being smart?

GingerTim

deemil67 said:

LV_426 said:

My energy supplier has sent me a message to say that my electricity meter is reaching the end of its certification period. They want to replace it with a smart meter. I've so far resisted their nagging to do this, but the new twist is the certification period. Can they force this replacement, is what they say true about certification true? What are the consequences of using an 'uncertified' meter?

my energy supplier has been sending me this message for about a year now.  i received another one today and thought i would reply, thanking them for the free upgrade to a smart meter but that i do not want it although i am quite happy to receive a new traditional meter.  they replied saying that a new traditional meter is not an option, but they are able to install a smart meter but decommission it after installation so it would just then be a normal meter.  now my thoughts are, just how reliable are these new meters and would it be more reliable by not being smart?

When they say will make your smart meter 'unsmart', all that means is that automatic reads are not used for billing - it will still be connected to the network for software updates and the like.

[Deleted User]

deemil67 said:

LV_426 said:

My energy supplier has sent me a message to say that my electricity meter is reaching the end of its certification period. They want to replace it with a smart meter. I've so far resisted their nagging to do this, but the new twist is the certification period. Can they force this replacement, is what they say true about certification true? What are the consequences of using an 'uncertified' meter?

my energy supplier has been sending me this message for about a year now.  i received another one today and thought i would reply, thanking them for the free upgrade to a smart meter but that i do not want it although i am quite happy to receive a new traditional meter.  they replied saying that a new traditional meter is not an option, but they are able to install a smart meter but decommission it after installation so it would just then be a normal meter.  now my thoughts are, just how reliable are these new meters and would it be more reliable by not being smart?

Hi - a smart meter is just a bog-standard meter with a few extra gizmos that allow readings to be taken every half hour and the readings to be sent automatically to the supplier to avoid the need to read the meter. The extra gizmos now work very reliably for the vast majority of people with many of the older issues resolved, so nothing to worry about really. And even if the extra bits don't work you're still left with a meter that works like your existing one. So really very little to be concerned about, and in fact there are a number of benefits associated with having a smart meter, the main one being that a number of the cheapest tariffs are only available if you have a smart meter. You also don't have a choice - if the meter is past it's certification date the supplier is legally obliged to change it and all you will be doing by trying to delay is causing yourself and the supplier a heap of unnecessary hassle. So best thing to do is just to get the mater swapped out, then you can forget about it.

Gerry1

No such thing as a dumb smart meter.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80320924/#Comment_80320924

EssexHebridean

deemil67 said:

LV_426 said:

My energy supplier has sent me a message to say that my electricity meter is reaching the end of its certification period. They want to replace it with a smart meter. I've so far resisted their nagging to do this, but the new twist is the certification period. Can they force this replacement, is what they say true about certification true? What are the consequences of using an 'uncertified' meter?

my energy supplier has been sending me this message for about a year now.  i received another one today and thought i would reply, thanking them for the free upgrade to a smart meter but that i do not want it although i am quite happy to receive a new traditional meter.  they replied saying that a new traditional meter is not an option, but they are able to install a smart meter but decommission it after installation so it would just then be a normal meter.  now my thoughts are, just how reliable are these new meters and would it be more reliable by not being smart?

It's just a meter - and no more or less likely to be inaccurate than any other. Presumably you've had meter changes before - were you as concerned about those, too?

As for accuracy, you are likely to get far more accurate billing by allowing the supplier to bill using information supplied by the meter than you are by providing readings yourself. There is far less chance of the meter accidentally transposing two figures, or mis-entering them into the supplier's site, for example. 

Sydney25

This comment "the old style ones are not made any more" - this isn't true (I thought it was) but I have today seen hundreds of single-phase 'non-smart' meters for sale online. Search Google (or whichever search engine) for Single Phase electricity meter.

Keep_pedalling

Sydney25 said:

This comment "the old style ones are not made any more" - this isn't true (I thought it was) but I have today seen hundreds of single-phase 'non-smart' meters for sale online. Search Google (or whichever search engine) for Single Phase electricity meter.

But none of them approved for residential use. They are used for things like industrial units and park homes who don’t have their own dedicated supplies.