Changing my meter, economy 7

Marksfish

You can have a smart meter fitted, but with the smart features turned off by the operator. You can specify it at time of ordering.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/getting-a-smart-meter-installed/#:~:text=You can ask your supplier,if they can do this.

Spoonie_Turtle

Marksfish said:

You can have a smart meter fitted, but with the smart features turned off by the operator. You can specify it at time of ordering.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/getting-a-smart-meter-installed/#:~:text=You can ask your supplier,if they can do this.

Actually that page just says you can *ask* … 

bob2302

The OP thought that a smart meter that couldn't connect was somehow worse than a traditional meter. It isn't. There's no sense in suggesting that the smart features be turned-off.

Grrrlracer

MP1995 said:

Grrrlracer said:

I'm currently with British Gas for my electric and the bills are huge for a one bedroom flat (£200 a month) so I've had my storage heating removed and am looking at a mostly solar instilation in the future. For now, I just want to go onto a single rate, but British Gas will only change me to a smart meter, which will struggle to get a signal in my listed 500 yr old property. Can anyone point me in the right direction to a supplier who will give me a conventional meter?

I think this js right - Did you know that when you have a smart meter fitted it actually extends the range of nearby smart meters and connectivity through a mesh network.

Therefore the more people that get one and they link together the better coverage there will be in the UK.

You can have a smart meter installed in dumb mode but if you want anon smart meter installed that's a cost to you then you have to get your supplier to accept it.

I can't find anyone who will switch the meter they supply to dumb down mode

Grrrlracer

Spoonie_Turtle said:

What heating will you be using now?  Will you still be on Economy

No. I want a single rate meter

Grrrlracer

Grrrlracer said:

I've just been talking to a nice person at Utilities Warehouse and he is arranging a dumbed down smart meter install. That'll do. I'm happy now!  Thanks for all your comments. 

Well. They refused to do that once I'd swapped to them. That's one off my christmas card list .....

Spoonie_Turtle

Grrrlracer said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

What heating will you be using now?  Will you still be on Economy

No. I want a single rate meter

That's answered the second question. 
What form of heating will you be using?

Grrrlracer

It's a small well insulated flat. At the moment I have no cooker. I shall be installing an Everhot, which will do the cooking and heating. If I need a top up, I have two low energy electric panel heaters

GingerTim

Marksfish said:

You can have a smart meter fitted, but with the smart features turned off by the operator. You can specify it at time of ordering.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/getting-a-smart-meter-installed/#:~:text=You can ask your supplier,if they can do this.

There's no such thing as a 'dumb smart meter', it's always communicating so it can receive firmware updates and the like- all they mean is that it the energy supplier won't use smart meter reads for billing purposes.

[Deleted User]

Marksfish said:

You can have a smart meter fitted, but with the smart features turned off by the operator. You can specify it at time of ordering.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/getting-a-smart-meter-installed/#:~:text=You can ask your supplier,if they can do this.

That web page and a few others I have read say that you can request that smart functionality is switched off. There's nothing, as far as I have been able to establish, that requires your energy supplier to do this - it's up to them if they agree to or not. Again as far as I can tell this is a matter of individual supplier policy and you have no legal right to demand this. Also, IIRC British Gas charged for this option at one stage and I don't know if that's still the case.

Has anyone seen an official reference or document that explains your actual rights, as opposed to any of the multiple articles that just say you can ask for a smart meter to be installed so-called dumb mode? And in a similar vein, is dumb mode defined anywhere or is it just a term coined by the press that could be taken to mean different things?