Scottish Power Email "we NEED to upgrade your Meter"

Intoodeep

Received this Email today from Scottish Power saying they NEED to replace my electricity meter because it is over 15 years old, well its actually 44 years old !
Do I have to succumb to their wishes ?, or can I carry on with the Meter which shows no signs of failing or not working properly ?

Netexporter

Do I have to succumb to their wishes ?

Yes.

How do you know it is recording correctly? 

Brie

And it makes life easier normally as you no longer have to do so many readings yourself.  Good to check it occasionally but maybe once a quarter rather than monthly.

TheElectricCow

At 44 years old the meter will almost certainly have reached the end of its certified lifespan, which means it’s entirely possible it’s not recording usage accurately. From memory, the longest certification given to any model of domestic electric meter is 45 years, so unless you happen to have one of those specific models the meter has definitely expired.

There is a requirement on the suppliers to fit an in certification meter, and a requirement on you to allow them to do this (unless you’d prefer not to receive mains electricity services and go off-grid).

QrizB

Intoodeep said:

Do I have to succumb to their wishes ?

Yes.

Do you have a simple single-rate tariff, Economy 7, or any of the old complex tariffs like Economy 10, Flexiheat etc?

matelodave

AFAIK the energy company can change your meter whenever they want to - its their meter, not yours.

They can also decide whether to change a meter within or beyond certification dates based on their experience of reliability so again its not really up to you to decide whether a meter should or should not be replaced or even what type of meter should be installed.

There may not be a statute that says that you have to have a smart meter but that doesn't mean that the energy company cant impose one as a condition of supplying you with electricity.

EssexHebridean

If a meter is replaced now due to being end of life the supplier is indeed allowed to replace it with a smart meter - I believe the general belief now is that there are no old style non smart meters being fitted by energy suppliers now anyway. 

SAC2334

Intoodeep said:

Received this Email today from Scottish Power saying they NEED to replace my electricity meter because it is over 15 years old, well its actually 44 years old !
Do I have to succumb to their wishes ?, or can I carry on with the Meter which shows no signs of failing or not working properly ?

You can make some big savings with smart meters which are now not available for dumb meters . Octopus Tracker being the obvious one .Research that then you may be begging Octopus to get yours fitted in a couple of weeks..plus you make £50 just switching to Octopus .You will not be getting anything like the service that Octopus give compared to IMO one ot the worst run suppliers in the UK with Scottish Power