Smart Meter - no thanks!

Davesquire

twopenny said:

Does it need a new meter?
The house I bought the previous owners used a pre paid is PAYG key which was in fact a USB that plugged into a normal meter.
Actually the rate was pretty good on that but a pain being limited to only a set amount each top up.
I just phoned and said I wanted to go on normal billing and I think they just set that up remotely. I didn't have knowledge of anyone coming and doing the switch manually 

I've got a smart meter for electric. I was very reluctant but so far it's a blessing.
British gas do quarterly billing too if you find that convenient 

Thanks for that. The answer is, I really don't know but will investigate further.

Davesquire

dunstonh said:

I have zero confidence in so called "smart" meters, which appear to have caused nothing but problems since day one.

Your lack of knowledge is not grounds for refusing a smart meter.

Can I insist on my provider removing "un smart" meters and replacing them with a good old fashioned "it works" meter? 

You do realise that that there is virtually no difference between a smart meter and one of the old fashioned meters you refer to?   And a smart meter that fails effectively becomes an old meter requiring manual readings.

Thanks for your feedback. So, if I understand, there is no way that the company can manipulate your feed/switch it off remotely? (Not that I've ever had a problem with that, just with the old meter they have to get permission to enter. Also, may be rather over exaggerated meter reporting (I recall one where an OAP lost his feed over Christmas). I am not being "tinfoil hat", just concerned at the number of population sleepwalking into a control society.

Reed_Richards

Davesquire said:

Thanks for your feedback. So, if I understand, there is no way that the company can manipulate your feed/switch it off remotely? 

Look inside your "fuse box" and you will see a large switch which you can use to disconnect your property from the mains.  Any means of switching you off remotely would need an electronic equivalent, something capable of handling all the current to your house.  It would be big and if these were somehow concealed inside smart meters they would have been discovered by now.  They would also add hugely to the cost of a smart meter, which is an expense paid by your supplier.

QrizB

A smart meter *does* have an internal contactor that can shut off your supply remotely. It's part of the smart meter spec and is required for PAYG accounts (where running out of credit means you also run out of electricity).

WiserMiser

Reed_Richards said:

Davesquire said:

Thanks for your feedback. So, if I understand, there is no way that the company can manipulate your feed/switch it off remotely? 

Look inside your "fuse box" and you will see a large switch which you can use to disconnect your property from the mains.  Any means of switching you off remotely would need an electronic equivalent, something capable of handling all the current to your house.  It would be big and if these were somehow concealed inside smart meters they would have been discovered by now.  They would also add hugely to the cost of a smart meter, which is an expense paid by your supplier.

Unfortunately you are misinformed.  All smart meters have a relay that can disconnect the supply.  It's known as Load Shedding.  And of course, how do you think a smart pre-payment meter works?

https://www.smartenergygb.org/about-smart-meters/smart-facts/can-a-smart-meter-cut-off-power#cut-off-power

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/03/miliband-smart-meter-rationing-green-energy-net-zero/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G32NYQpvy8Q&t=415s (Fast forward to 6:55 and 8:41)

dosh37

According to MSE:-

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/08/fixing-broken-smart-meters/

One in Five 'Smart Meters' don't work as they should.

That doesn't exactly fill consumers with confidence.

In my case I have a radio teleswitch.

The teleswitch signal simply tells my meter whether to record standard or off peak usage.

It controls no separate circuits such as hot water, storage heaters etc.

My tariff has identical unit rates for both standard and off peak so the cost is the same.

When the signal is switched off it will make no difference whatsoever.

Despite this I am constantly harassed by Octopus to tell me that the teleswitch signal is about to be switched off.

They seem to be using this as an excuse to install a smart meter.

A while ago I received an unsolicited email from Octopus informing me that an engineer would be visiting on a specific date to change the meter (unbooked and not agreed to by myself).The email said the engineer would phone on the day to give me a time.

Instead I received a message on my answer machine the day before telling me an engineer would be visiting. No time or date was given. They expected me cancel any appointments and wait in for up to two days with no indication if, an when, they might turn up.

My existing meter works perfectly well.

It is electronic (no rotating mechanical dial) so there should be no need to recalibrate.

I have no wish to monitor my electricity usage on an hourly basis. I don't want or need a smart meter.

The gas meter won't change so I will still need to read and submit usage figures every month. I have no problem with that.

WiserMiser

dosh37 said:

In my case I have a radio teleswitch.

The teleswitch signal simply tells my meter whether to record standard or off peak usage.

It controls no separate circuits such as hot water, storage heaters etc.

It depends how it's connected up.  In its simplest version it just sends a signal to the meter telling it which register to increment.  You would have to have your own local timeswitches if you wanted to use immersion and storage heaters only at the cheap rate times.

However, the RTS will usually have built in contactor that livens up an output only when its cheap rate, so you'd wire the relevant circuits to that terminal.

https://youtu.be/bDfioJkTaoIhttps://youtu.be/bDfioJkTaoI?t=900 (Fast forward to 15:00).

Scot_39

dosh37 said:

My existing meter works perfectly well.

You have no idea if its working fine - only that it is working - unless you have an in certification meter in series with it.

dosh37 said:

It is electronic (no rotating mechanical dial) so there should be no need to recalibrate.

And suspect you do not have an engineering background - if you believe the later statement.

Old analogue disk meters were certified for 30-40 years plus in some cases (think there are some still listed at 45 in the govt list ) whereas many modern digital are for just 10 to 15.  

And your RTS will I suspect be using a much older generation of measurement components than a modern digital let alone a smart meter.

In fact 1,000s of first generation digital meters were replaced in Ireland for premature measurement circuit failure - long before smart - as components in the measuring ciruit drifted and then failed.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81520089/#Comment_81520089

Edit1

And that drift wasn't in the consumers favour - those meters over read - significantly so - so overbilling users.

If your RTS is actually the meter - what is its certification date - and its certified lifetime ?

Many might already out of date before this new radio switch off. 

If its older than the sum of the two - it needs replacing - and given Ofgems new practices - that will almost certainly be with smart - any option users had to object - long since removed. 

Edit2

And regardless of the actual meter certification - Ofgem has talked - at least seen the proposal to - if not the final wording - in posts here months ago - reclassified all regardless as End of original certified life from 30th June 2025 RTS shutdown date - and given suppliers extra powers to upgrade other legacy metering and to abandon the old tariffs they supported - yes to smart (like the electromechanical clocks that used to perform RTS style switching) from that date.

powerful_Rogue

dosh37 said:

According to MSE:-

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/08/fixing-broken-smart-meters/

One in Five 'Smart Meters' don't work as they should.

That doesn't exactly fill consumers with confidence.

In my case I have a radio teleswitch.

The teleswitch signal simply tells my meter whether to record standard or off peak usage.

It controls no separate circuits such as hot water, storage heaters etc.

My tariff has identical unit rates for both standard and off peak so the cost is the same.

When the signal is switched off it will make no difference whatsoever.

Despite this I am constantly harassed by Octopus to tell me that the teleswitch signal is about to be switched off.

They seem to be using this as an excuse to install a smart meter.

A while ago I received an unsolicited email from Octopus informing me that an engineer would be visiting on a specific date to change the meter (unbooked and not agreed to by myself).The email said the engineer would phone on the day to give me a time.

Instead I received a message on my answer machine the day before telling me an engineer would be visiting. No time or date was given. They expected me cancel any appointments and wait in for up to two days with no indication if, an when, they might turn up.

My existing meter works perfectly well.

It is electronic (no rotating mechanical dial) so there should be no need to recalibrate.

I have no wish to monitor my electricity usage on an hourly basis. I don't want or need a smart meter.

The gas meter won't change so I will still need to read and submit usage figures every month. I have no problem with that.

I wouldn'y rely on the MSE artice. They don't seem to know the difference between a smart meter and an In Home Display (IHD).

The most common issue is they don't send the data, so you've got a meter that works exactly as an old dumb one where you have to submit the readings yourself.

WiserMiser

x44 said:

Reed_Richards said:

  Any means of switching you off remotely would need an electronic equivalent, something capable of handling all the current to your house.  It would be big and if these were somehow concealed inside smart meters they would have been discovered by now.  They would also add hugely to the cost of a smart meter, which is an expense paid by your supplier.

See this disassembly of a smart meter by Big Clive on Youtube

Skip to minute 7:00 where the chunky relay to disconnect your power is specifically shown and mentioned

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G32NYQpvy8Q

Same video that I posted at 7:16pm, just three posts above yours !