Electricity meter readings are 20x higher than average and I don't know why

Reed_Richards

Ildhund said:

After reading that Irish Sun article, it seems very likely that this meter is one of the bad batch of 27,000 Ampy 5235a meters installed between 2007 and 2009 that the article refers to:  "... the digital meter... has a faulty component that over-records usage for short periods of time before it fails completely". There must be more of them still in service; I wonder who could track them down. At any rate, Octopus can't just ignore this evidence. Perhaps someone at Landis & Gyr (who acquired Ampy at some stage) has a long memory.

I couldn't find a link to that Irish Sun article in this thread so here it is (again?):
https://www.thesun.ie/news/333159/dodgy-meters-hiked-hundreds-of-irish-homes-electricity-bills/

Also :https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/customers-face-higher-esb-bills-over-meter-fault/35310704.html

and https://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1220/840106-esb-networks-electricity/

Spoonie_Turtle

Reed_Richards said:

Ildhund said:

After reading that Irish Sun article, it seems very likely that this meter is one of the bad batch of 27,000 Ampy 5235a meters installed between 2007 and 2009 that the article refers to:  "... the digital meter... has a faulty component that over-records usage for short periods of time before it fails completely". There must be more of them still in service; I wonder who could track them down. At any rate, Octopus can't just ignore this evidence. Perhaps someone at Landis & Gyr (who acquired Ampy at some stage) has a long memory.

I couldn't find a link to that Irish Sun article in this thread so here it is (again?):
https://www.thesun.ie/news/333159/dodgy-meters-hiked-hundreds-of-irish-homes-electricity-bills/

(Just to let people know, it was via an archive.ph link)

Chris_b2z

The Irish Sun article states that ESB Networks were alerted to the problem by the manufacturer. Does anyone know whether Ofgem and all UK suppliers were also alerted of this critical defect that could have resulted in much stress and widespread over-charging?

Baldytyke88

EssexHebridean said:

Baldytyke88 said:

L564 said:

Octopus did offer a smart meter, which I'd be happy to get but I don't want to lose evidence of the inaccurate meter readings. I'm looking at an excess charge of over £500 at the moment and it is going up every day. If they don't think the meter is at fault, then this won't solve the problem.

There is your answer, your delay could cost you a lot of hassle.

Did you miss the bit where the OP estimates that this has already cost them £500+ in charges for the extra "use"? while you may be able to afford to wave that level of money goodbye, most people (including I suspect the OP) really can't - and that is why it's important for them to actually solve the issue, rather than just getting the meter replaced.

"For reference, my meter is Ampy Metering 5235A 2008 model", he has lived at his address for 4 years, most people have been asked numerous times to switch to a smart meter!

diddydiner

L564 said:

I have always been pretty consistent about submitting meter readings monthly and six months ago I noticed my electricity meter reading (I have a gas meter as well but that has been fine) was about twice as high as I would have expected. I put this down to it having just been Christmas. But a month later it was 5x higher than I would have expected so I rang Octopus (my energy company) in February to report the problem.

They asked me to do a couple of creep tests which I did and on all occasions my meter kept going up even after I had turned the fuse box off completely. I sent them photos and even videos so they could see the meter flashing away in real time despite all power being switched off. 

Octopus eventually sent an engineer out to do a meter accuracy test a couple of months later, in April. However, the results came back saying there was nothing wrong with the meter, the variance was only about 1%. 

Octopus also said the increases during the creep test were probably just "residual energy" and so from their end nothing was wrong. They just wanted to close the case. 

However, I have been monitoring the readings the whole time and the daily average is just going up and up. In the last week it has recorded over 27KWH per day! That's 20x higher than my daily average use in the previous four years I've lived here, and impossible for me to use as I don't have much in my flat. Just a few chargers, a fridge, a rarely used oven and a kettle. I don't own a TV or electric heaters and my boiler is gas. 

I've done a creep test over three hours with the power off and have filmed the meter continuing to go up but Octopus haven't acknowledged this evidence. I've sent them so many meter readings to demonstrate the huge spike in recorded usage but again, since their accuracy test came back as saying everything was fine, they just don't want to engage. 

I've had an electrician come out and inspect the meter and some of the cabling around it to see if there had been any evidence of tampering but there's nothing. I did wonder if my neighbour had somehow tapped into my wires when we was renovating but I've not had any other signs of that like power cuts or smelling smoke. Also he is rarely in so even between us I don't know how we could use all that power. 

I'm at a loss with what else it could be. Is it worth paying for an independent meter accuracy test? Octopus have not offered this but I saw on the government website I can ask them to arrange this. I have got a case with the Ombudsman but I am not confident because Octopus seem to have an excuse for everything. What else could I be missing? 

For reference, my meter is Ampy Metering 5235A 2008 model. My fuse box is pretty old but the electrician didn't say there was anything wrong with it. 

Appreciate any ideas at this point! Thanks! 
 

Ampy Meters 5235A 2008 model. ARE ALL DODGY. I HAVE HAD TWO WITH EXCESSIVE HIGH READINGS. GOT REIMBURSED THE FIRST 10 YEARS. FROM THE FIRST METER AS  IT WAS FOUND FAULTY COMPONENT FOUND  BY THE MANUFACTURERS…IT WAS CLOCKING 9000kw YEAR….   THEY REPLACED THE 2ND ONE WITH THE SAME MAKE. STARTED AT 12.5 kw DAY. HAPPY. BUT OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS SUSPECTED INCREASE AGAIN. AND HAD IT INDEPENDENTLY TESTED AGAIN  IN 2023, BUT THEY FOUND  NO FAULT. IT WAS UP 8800 YEAR.,BENCH TEST DONT FIND LONG TERM IN SERVICE FAULTS,!!   .,WHEN THEY REPLACED WITH A SMART METER MY CONSUMPTION WAS 4200 KW YEAR,! SO IM AT OMBUDSMAN STAGE TO LOOK AT THE DATA AND COMPARE AND HOPEFULLY THEY SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN KW USAGE AS SUPPLIERS RELY ON REPORT. NO FAULT FOUND. YOU CAN ASK YOUR SUPPLIER FOR ALL YOUR  DATA FROM EVERY SUPPLIER YOUVE HAD AT THAT ADDRESS. .THERE ARE TWO -THREE PEOPLE IN OUR HOUSE, SO, 4200-4800 IS ABOUT RIGHT, AND I HAVE POND PUMP…. 

EssexHebridean

@diddydiner you might want to edit your post to remove the capitals - typing in capitals on a forum is the same as shouting directly at someone in normal conversation - considered by most folk to be extremely rude. I appreciate you may not have known this previously, but you do now! 


@L564 Did you have any success sorting your issues out? (I suspect they won't return but you never know, if signed up to emails on mentions then that might give them a reminder of the thread)

Robin9

 ......................., AND I HAVE POND PUMP….  

There was a post where the pond pump was the issue due to a stone.
 

BooJewels

    @Robin9  I saw the title of this thread and it made me titter thinking about that blasted water pump!  Yep, that was mine - must be nearly 5 years ago now.  I still have the silly stone somewhere - it was almost perfectly round and flat - fitted the pump inlet perfectly.

In my case (actually my parents' house we were selling), the pump was set into a sump in the garden to drain an area that flooded in heavy rain.  If it were in a pond, you'd perhaps know, because all the fish would probably get cooked - the water in the sump was positively hot!

WiserMiser

It was a sump pump used to stop a garden becoming waterlogged.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76497486/#Comment_76497486

diddydiner

EssexHebridean said:

@diddydiner you might want to edit your post to remove the capitals - typing in capitals on a forum is the same as shouting directly at someone in normal conversation - considered by most folk to be extremely rude. I appreciate you may not have known this previously, but you do now! 


@L564 Did you have any success sorting your issues out? (I suspect they won't return but you never know, if signed up to emails on mentions then that might give them a reminder of the thread)

Yes I know about the capitals, was in bed no glasses but wanted to answer to @L564  Im at  the ombudsman stage, so will report back if successful.  https://www.thesun.ie/news/333159/dodgy-meters-hiked-hundreds-of-irish-homes-electricity-bills/