British Gas unable to install a smart meter?

playlister82

I live in a flat with storage heaters that heat at night, I am on the economy 7 tariff with British Gas so that the electricity is cheaper at night when they are heating. I've been told that the signal for my electric meter is being switched off in the summer, so British Gas need to install a new smart meter with day/night function (sorry I don't know the technical name for it).

Up until now, British Gas engineers have visited 3 times to try and install a new meter but have been unsuccessful because of poor mobile signal in the area. Every time I am told that they need a special kind of meter that they (the specific engineer) don't have at the time, that is able to work with the lack of signal. Given the continuous unsuccessful visits I am becoming concerned that British Gas don't know what they are doing and I will be left without heating in the winter (because I won't have a meter that can differentiate day and night rates).

I am wondering if there is anyone out there who has experienced a similar issue - if their energy provider has sent them warning emails telling them to get a new meter installed (because the signal is being switched off in June), only to find out when the engineer visits that they don't have the specific meter that they need? Did it eventually get resolved in the end?

I am really worried now that I will not have heating next winter, and I will have to move to a place with a better heating set up.

Scot_39

From other posts it seems suppliers now often only configure the meters once installed so rely on a working signal.

That wasn't the case when I got mine - I came pre configured for my tariff in the box.

Maybe they could try doing so in sone way.  But tgen your likely to have no comms link - and a meter you will still have to read and submit.

But with BG you might struggle to get resolved quickly.

And are you sure your even on an RTS meter anyway - other suppliers are getting it wrong.

A photo with serial nos etc redacted might help us tell you.

Gerry1

Sounds like you have a Radio TeleSwitch.  IMHO there's been a lot of scaremongering to get people to switch to smart meters even though your RTS would almost certainly carry on quite happily without the Radio 4 Long Wave updates, just as a digital watch would do if you didn't keep setting it to the 'pips'.  It might drift a few minutes per year.

You need a 5-terminal meter so that your heaters are switched at the right time but for some reason BG haven't supported these.

That said, there's a consultation from Ofgem about a crazy proposal that suppliers won't be obliged to serve customers who still have RTS meters, but I doubt that would happen in practice.  Just just imagine the outcry if a little old lady were left in the cold and dark and couldn't phone for an ambulance or the fire brigade...

playlister82

This is my meter, hopefully it helps. Next to it is the black box that has the radio signal switching between day and night (sorry I do not know technical names). This is being switched off in the summer.

playlister82

Gerry1 said:

Sounds like you have a Radio TeleSwitch.  IMHO there's been a lot of scaremongering to get people to switch to smart meters even though your RTS would almost certainly carry on quite happily without the Radio 4 Long Wave updates, just as a digital watch would do if you didn't keep setting it to the 'pips'.  It might drift a few minutes per year.

You need a 5-terminal meter so that your heaters are switched at the right time but for some reason BG haven't supported these.

That said, there's a consultation from Ofgem about a crazy proposal that suppliers won't be obliged to serve customers who still have RTS meters, but I doubt that would happen in practice.  Just just imagine the outcry if a little old lady were left in the cold and dark and couldn't phone for an ambulance or the fire brigade...

Yes that is what the enginner said this morning, that I need a 5 terminal meter. However he didn't have one and it doesn't seem that they are available as standard.

It's good to know that my current meter could still work after the signal is switched off. Are you certain this is the case?

playlister82

Does anyone know if British Gas can just install a standard electric meter instead (that doesn't need signal)? I understand this will be more expensive but still want my heating to work. And would it work with storage heaters?

Gerry1

I'm quite confident that an RTS meter will happily keep switching on its existing schedule, but I could be mistaken.

It would be wide open to fraud if one signal said 'Turn On Cheap Rate' and another seven hours later said Turn On Peak Rate'.

Every student household would have screened their meter in the middle of the night and had cheap rate forever !

If you're really worried, just Ditch and Switch to a better supplier such as Octopus who won't have any such problems, preferably sharing £100 with someone who gives you a referral code.

playlister82

Gerry1 said:

I'm quite confident that an RTS meter will happily keep switching on its existing schedule, but I could be mistaken.

It would be wide open to fraud if one signal said 'Turn On Cheap Rate' and another seven hours later said Turn On Peak Rate'.

Every student household would have screened their meter in the middle of the night and had cheap rate forever !

If you're really worried, just Ditch and Switch to a better supplier such as Octopus who won't have any such problems, preferably sharing £100 with someone who gives you a referral code.

Thanks well I've just spoken to British Gas customer service and they don't have the 5 terminal meter. Do you know if Octopus do have them?

I'm just worried it will not know when it's night time and I'd just end up paying day rate all the time. All the articles I've found online say that will likely be the case.

Gerry1

There's always the possibility that they could pursue a vicious 'Scorched Earth' policy by deliberately switching all RTS meters to 24-hour peak rate just before Long Wave is switched off, as a 'Last Gasp' attempt to force refuseniks to accept smart meters.

I'd have dismissed this as scaremongering but as Ofgem are proposing that suppliers will no longer be obliged to supply RTS consumers it seems anything is possible.

Edit: I answered your question before you asked it !  AFAIK it's only BG that has this problem.  A separate Contactor unit can also be used, essentially a beefy relay switch in a box rather than built in to the meter.

playlister82

Gerry1 said:

There's always the possibility that they could pursue a vicious 'Scorched Earth' policy by deliberately switching all RTS meters to 24-hour peak rate just before Long Wave is switched off, as a 'Last Gasp' attempt to force refuseniks to accept smart meters.

I'd have dismissed this as scaremongering but as Ofgem are proposing that suppliers will no longer be obliged to supply RTS consumers it seems anything is possible.

Edit: I answered your question before you asked it !  AFAIK it's only BG that has this problem.  A separate Contactor unit can also be used, essentially a beefy relay switch in a box rather than built in to the meter.

Thanks it does already have a separate contactor unit next to it. Forgive me for not really understanding how these things work. I thought that it needs a mobile / radio signal of some kind to tell it when it’s day and night time, but your previous message seems to suggest it doesn’t actually need that and it can keep switching between day/night on its own. Is that correct? 

Everything I’ve read online says that without a signal it will not know the time of day and the hot water / heating could stop working. I am not sure whether to believe that information or accept it as just “scaremongering”.

Gerry1

A Radio Tele Switch is not the same as a stand alone Contactor.  An RTS unit tells a meter which rate to use for billing.  It also has an internal relay to liven up dedicated circuits during the cheap rate period to supply circuits used for storage and immersion heaters, EVs etc.

Some electronic two-rate meters are programmed with E7 times and have an external relay in a box.  That's a contactor.