Which Energy Suppliers (if any) Will Supply to Customer Using Own Meters

CouldntResist

You are free to fit your own meter somewhere (presumably leaving theirs alone as not your property to tamper with), suppliers are free to refuse you as a customer with that meter.

Seems like you are both happy with that, so suggest you carry on and let us know the result so we have a data point the next time the question arises.

Bernard_Nurse

GingerTim said:

I tend to agree with @mmmmikey that you are going to struggle here - while the ombudsman might say this is possible it can't force a supplier to do it/agree to it. I can't see any supplier will want to take the commercial decision to install and commission a customer's own dumb meter, particularly as the pressures to meet smart meter installation targets increase. 

Indeed, which is why I'm now thinking of terminating services with existing supplier, getting them to remove their meter, paying for my own to be professionally installed and registered, and then signing up to another supplier.

I believe it can take a few weeks for a 'new connection' to be live.  As I only use gas for heating, have an immersion heater as a back up and only the oven is gas cooker wise, a few weeks without supplier isn't an issue.

If the existing meter worked, I could seamlessly shuffle off to another supplier without issue.  One has assured me that their policy is to replace like for like but at a cost to you where there is an problem with a meter... but they can only take me on if as before, the existing meter works.

I have switched supplier in the past and at no time was the meter changed even it (so I have learned since) belongs to them.

Hence, if a meter has been professionally installed, commissioned and registered, what difference does it make to a new supplier whether it was supplied by me or a previous one?

Keep_pedalling

Bernard_Nurse said:

GingerTim said:

I tend to agree with @mmmmikey that you are going to struggle here - while the ombudsman might say this is possible it can't force a supplier to do it/agree to it. I can't see any supplier will want to take the commercial decision to install and commission a customer's own dumb meter, particularly as the pressures to meet smart meter installation targets increase. 

Indeed, which is why I'm now thinking of terminating services with existing supplier, getting them to remove their meter, paying for my own to be professionally installed and registered, and then signing up to another supplier.

I believe it can take a few weeks for a 'new connection' to be live.  As I only use gas for heating, have an immersion heater as a back up and only the oven is gas cooker wise, a few weeks without supplier isn't an issue.

If the existing meter worked, I could seamlessly shuffle off to another supplier without issue.  One has assured me that their policy is to replace like for like but at a cost to you where there is an problem with a meter... but they can only take me on if as before, the existing meter works.

I have switched supplier in the past and at no time was the meter changed even it (so I have learned since) belongs to them.

Hence, if a meter has been professionally installed, commissioned and registered, what difference does it make to a new supplier whether it was supplied by me or a previous one?

How do you plan on heating and hot water when the system requires electricity for the boiler and the circulation pump? 

SAC2334

Just get smart meters fitted and stop a needless complaint .You will learn to love them especially if you join Octopus and go on their smart meter tariffs.My last electric bill on a variable direct debit I was billed at 11.58 p a kwh for 30 days on Octopus Agile   and my gas bill on Octopus Tracker was billed at only 3.60 p a kwh ,  and even the daily standing charge was much lower than the capped rate in my area which is now 65 p a day whereas my Octopus Agile tariff was 51 p .

This is a money saving forum so my advice to save the most money is to get smart meters and move to Octopus Energy using a customer referrel code to collect £50 at the same time .

OK , you can certainly buy a new old stock G4 gas meter  (£50 ) and a very unreliable cheap basic digital electric meter (£40 ) and pay through the nose costing £100 s for a qualified gas safe and a qualified  electrician to fit them but the suppliers will not adopt them into their systems for billing .

I did see a Youtube of this woman claiming to make it work but its a scam and its her husband who actually charges £400 to fit them , then they  have the same problem of suppliers refusing to accept them.  

Bernard_Nurse

Keep_pedalling said:

How do you plan on heating and hot water when the system requires electricity for the boiler and the circulation pump? 

Unlikely to need any heating now for a few months and immersion tank for hot water; the issue relates to the gas meter, not electric.

Bernard_Nurse

SAC2334 said:

Just get smart meters fitted and stop a needless complaint .You will learn to love them especially if you join Octopus and go on their smart meter tariffs.My last electric bill on a variable direct debit I was billed at 11.58 p a kwh for 30 days on Octopus Agile   and my gas bill on Octopus Tracker was billed at only 3.60 p a kwh ,  and even the daily standing charge was much lower than the capped rate in my area which is now 65 p a day whereas my Octopus Agile tariff was 51 p .

This is a money saving forum so my advice to save the most money is to get smart meters and move to Octopus Energy using a customer referrel code to collect £50 at the same time .

OK , you can certainly buy a new old stock G4 gas meter  (£50 ) and a very unreliable cheap basic digital electric meter (£40 ) and pay through the nose costing £100 s for a qualified gas safe and a qualified  electrician to fit them but the suppliers will not adopt them into their systems for billing .

I did see a Youtube of this woman claiming to make it work but its a scam and its her husband who actually charges £400 to fit them , then they  have the same problem of suppliers refusing to accept them.  

Thank you for your opinion, and I'm very glad you're happy with your choices, although I did open the thread with 'Before I begin, I can see there have been plenty of opinions on here for and against smart meters.  Not looking for a debate along those lines, just advice on the following:'

I may have found a supplier that will take me on with the defective meter and allow me to pay for it to be replaced with another traditional one once on their books.  I will report back in due course...

SAC2334

Bernard_Nurse said:

SAC2334 said:

Just get smart meters fitted and stop a needless complaint .You will learn to love them especially if you join Octopus and go on their smart meter tariffs.My last electric bill on a variable direct debit I was billed at 11.58 p a kwh for 30 days on Octopus Agile   and my gas bill on Octopus Tracker was billed at only 3.60 p a kwh ,  and even the daily standing charge was much lower than the capped rate in my area which is now 65 p a day whereas my Octopus Agile tariff was 51 p .

This is a money saving forum so my advice to save the most money is to get smart meters and move to Octopus Energy using a customer referrel code to collect £50 at the same time .

OK , you can certainly buy a new old stock G4 gas meter  (£50 ) and a very unreliable cheap basic digital electric meter (£40 ) and pay through the nose costing £100 s for a qualified gas safe and a qualified  electrician to fit them but the suppliers will not adopt them into their systems for billing .

I did see a Youtube of this woman claiming to make it work but its a scam and its her husband who actually charges £400 to fit them , then they  have the same problem of suppliers refusing to accept them.  

Thank you for your opinion, and I'm very glad you're happy with your choices, although I did open the thread with 'Before I begin, I can see there have been plenty of opinions on here for and against smart meters.  Not looking for a debate along those lines, just advice on the following:'

I may have found a supplier that will take me on with the defective meter and allow me to pay for it to be replaced with another traditional one once on their books.  I will report back in due course...

Ok Thanks..please do report back with the suppliers name and their tariffs they will be charging you .Will be interesting to see how much you re losing with your choice of supplier against my choice
Personally I m not interested myself in the debate of smart v dumb meters ,it's all about hard cash with me not ethics or choice. Hence why I quoted my kWh prices .

Rodders53

Immersion heater element needs electricity! Just as broadband, TV, lighting, chargers for phones etc.,.
You can, however use your gas cooker with matches to boil water for your ablutions.

If you don't trust the smart meter for readings accuracy, just get your own (calibrated/uncalibrated?) check meter fitted before your consumer unit and after the suppliers (smart) meter.  Then read it regularly, and compare to readings taken by your supplier?

Bernard_Nurse

SAC2334 said:

Ok Thanks..please do report back with the suppliers name and their tariffs they will be charging you .Will be interesting to see how much you re losing with your choice of supplier against my choice
Personally I m not interested myself in the debate of smart v dumb meters ,it's all about hard cash with me not ethics or choice. Hence why I quoted my kWh prices .

Ok, well I did frame the debate quite well I thought - here it is again for your benefit: 'Before I begin, I can see there have been plenty of opinions on here for and against smart meters.  Not looking for a debate along those lines, just advice on the following please:'

I also made it clear well before you came forth with your pearls of (not requested) monetary wisdom that it's not all about that (hence why the title of the post and the opening statement are what they are), but again thanks once again for your input.

lohr500

Presumably if you don't have a smart electricity meter, then won't a smart gas meter be dumb anyway?
Except in a very few cases, isn't it the case that the smart gas meter communicates data via the comms hub fitted on the electricity meter?