Gas meter error

Chris_b2z

BarelySentientAI said:

jnsunnyday said:

I have crossed checked them frequently.  Although admittedly not every month.  My gas meter is a bit of a pain to get at, but appreciate there could have been error at some point.  Still, random 200 hike is odd.  It would have to have been reading at a lag for months.  

A 'spot' jump isn't that unusual, particularly as meter batteries drain.

If true, then potentially millions of households are regularly being overcharged.

That's shocking, but even worse if the industry and regulator are aware of this as a known defect affecting a certain make / model and doing nothing about it.

BarelySentientAI

Chris_b2z said:

BarelySentientAI said:

jnsunnyday said:

I have crossed checked them frequently.  Although admittedly not every month.  My gas meter is a bit of a pain to get at, but appreciate there could have been error at some point.  Still, random 200 hike is odd.  It would have to have been reading at a lag for months.  

A 'spot' jump isn't that unusual, particularly as meter batteries drain.

If true, then potentially millions of households are regularly being overcharged.

That's shocking, but even worse if the industry and regulator are aware of this as a known defect affecting a certain make / model and doing nothing about it.

Battery getting low can make electronics do funny things.  Voltage spikes on the grid can make electricity meters do funny things.  One of those funny things can be a spot increase in reading (or very rapid change), hence "isn't that unusual".  It's a way that these things are known to break.  It's not millions and it's not regular.  Recognising a failure mechanism exists isn't the same as doing nothing about a known defect.

On the other hand, millions of households are potentially being undercharged at all times if you fancy a pointless sound bite.  Many more than could be affected by a recognised end of life defect in one model of meter. Also shocking to you?

Xbigman

You say 200 units but do you mean 200 kWh? If so that's about £12. Not a major disaster. If the meter is old with a suspect battery I'd simply take up the offer of a new smart meter from Octopus and keep an eye on the readings until its sorted out. No point stressing this too much.


Darren

Chris_b2z

BarelySentientAI said:

Chris_b2z said:

BarelySentientAI said:

jnsunnyday said:

I have crossed checked them frequently.  Although admittedly not every month.  My gas meter is a bit of a pain to get at, but appreciate there could have been error at some point.  Still, random 200 hike is odd.  It would have to have been reading at a lag for months.  

A 'spot' jump isn't that unusual, particularly as meter batteries drain.

If true, then potentially millions of households are regularly being overcharged.

That's shocking, but even worse if the industry and regulator are aware of this as a known defect affecting a certain make / model and doing nothing about it.

Battery getting low can make electronics do funny things.  Voltage spikes on the grid can make electricity meters do funny things.  One of those funny things can be a spot increase in reading (or very rapid change), hence "isn't that unusual".  It's a way that these things are known to break.  It's not millions and it's not regular.  Recognising a failure mechanism exists isn't the same as doing nothing about a known defect.

On the other hand, millions of households are potentially being undercharged at all times if you fancy a pointless sound bite.  Many more than could be affected by a recognised end of life defect in one model of meter. Also shocking to you?

In my opinion, if there is a technical defect or limitation known to result in false readings on a large scale then an urgent pro-active technical solution needs to be found. It should not be ignored or concealed. Lessons must be learned from Horizon.
There is one manufacturer of gas smart meter that appears repeatedly in online forums each time describing very similar random 'spot jump' symptoms. I would hope that the industry are already aware and understand the underlying cause. However, suppliers tend to deny any knowledge even when someone reports this exact symptom on a model known to be prone to this failure.

MeteredOut

Xbigman said:

You say 200 units but do you mean 200 kWh? If so that's about £12. Not a major disaster. If the meter is old with a suspect battery I'd simply take up the offer of a new smart meter from Octopus and keep an eye on the readings until its sorted out. No point stressing this too much.


Darren

Looks like m3 from this post's picture:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80859600/#Comment_80859600

So, nearer 2,150kWh, £125

leonj

There is an error code on the meter

jnsunnyday

Xbigman said:

You say 200 units but do you mean 200 kWh? If so that's about £12. Not a major disaster. If the meter is old with a suspect battery I'd simply take up the offer of a new smart meter from Octopus and keep an eye on the readings until it’s sorted out. No point stressing this too much.


Darren

No.  I mean 213 units. Which is about 2500kwh.  

jnsunnyday

Also to note I sent octopus an outline what my usage was (daily  Average)  in both May and December (usually my peak month) over the last six years.  

Now all my meter readings have disappeared from the app.  Have the following screen and have done for 2 days. My bill PDFs are still there so downloading them all and sending them to myself.  

Zandoni

BarelySentientAI said:

Chris_b2z said:

BarelySentientAI said:

jnsunnyday said:

I have crossed checked them frequently.  Although admittedly not every month.  My gas meter is a bit of a pain to get at, but appreciate there could have been error at some point.  Still, random 200 hike is odd.  It would have to have been reading at a lag for months.  

A 'spot' jump isn't that unusual, particularly as meter batteries drain.

If true, then potentially millions of households are regularly being overcharged.

That's shocking, but even worse if the industry and regulator are aware of this as a known defect affecting a certain make / model and doing nothing about it.

Battery getting low can make electronics do funny things.  Voltage spikes on the grid can make electricity meters do funny things.  One of those funny things can be a spot increase in reading (or very rapid change), hence "isn't that unusual".  It's a way that these things are known to break.  It's not millions and it's not regular.  Recognising a failure mechanism exists isn't the same as doing nothing about a known defect.

On the other hand, millions of households are potentially being undercharged at all times if you fancy a pointless sound bite.  Many more than could be affected by a recognised end of life defect in one model of meter. Also shocking to you?

I can’t comment on electric meters but gas variants are far more likely to over read than under, this applies to electronic and mechanical diaphragm.

jnsunnyday

jnsunnyday said:

Xbigman said:

You say 200 units but do you mean 200 kWh? If so that's about £12. Not a major disaster. If the meter is old with a suspect battery I'd simply take up the offer of a new smart meter from Octopus and keep an eye on the readings until it’s sorted out. No point stressing this too much.


Darren

No.  I mean 213 units. Which is about 2500kwh.  

Also.  To put this in perspective.  That’s nearly half of what my usual estimated usage is.