smart meters- what is typical lead time?

Qyburn

JimJamDad said:

All I can get from So Energy is "you are on our waiting list", with no indication of how long it will be. Really frustrating. I considered changing to Octopus, but no idea if it would help.

Probably not. Octopus doesn't actually maintain a waiting list, you just have to strike lucky when you call them or use the online option.

Heedtheadvice

Update: I have found appointment available to me online on the UW Web site.

Nearly the end of January. Booked the first one available so that will be nearly four months wait in all.

Given that they are being 'pushed ' that is a long time.

Ildhund posted "There have been many local and nationwide advertising campaigns to persuade diehards to upgrade. Have you not noticed any of this marketing activity? It looks as if you've been putting off getting a smart meter for a long time, but now when you change your mind, you expect the supplier to spark at the drop of a hat ..."

Well yes there has been a long advertising  etc campaign but tather than be critical of Jimjamdad perhaps you should consider the long time that Smets1 meters had problems, poor Wan communications, other issues such as lack of supply for a few years  the bad publicity regarding installation and problem resolving leaving customers with often dumb meters. Still being pushed quite heavily but obviously demand cannot be met quickly. 

No not my sole view as evidenced by historical reports and even Ofgems concern leading to a Smart Meter standards review. Given the number of properties with older meters, even if everyone signed up now, it must put the key performance aim ( all installs to be completed in 2026 and fully working) at serious risk.

Ildhund

Heedtheadvice said:

... perhaps you should consider the long time that Smets1 meters had problems, poor Wan communications, other issues such as lack of supply for a few years  the bad publicity regarding installation and problem resolving leaving customers with often dumb meters. 

Yes, we've all read stories about these problems, but I can only remember reading about a couple of cases where a smart meter was actually failing to do its job properly, i.e. measuring the quantity of energy passing through it. In all the other cases - affecting a small fraction of the 35 million installed meters - the customer was presumably in just the same situation as one with a traditional meter. All of the problems you list - except for the SMETS1 ones, which are rapidly going away - apply to SMETS2 meters as well, so if they were a legitimate reason for not having a smart meter installed until this month, that reason still exists. I just don't think it was ever legitimate.

Heedtheadvice

Ildhund said:

Heedtheadvice said:

... perhaps you should 6consider the long time that Smets1 meters had problems, poor Wan communications, other issues such as lack of supply for a few years  the bad publicity regarding installation and problem resolving leaving customers with often dumb meters. 

Yes, we've all read stories about these problems, but I can only remember reading about a couple of cases where a smart meter was actually failing to do its job properly, i.e. measuring the quantity of energy passing through it. In all the other cases - affecting a small fraction of the 35 million installed meters - the customer was presumably in just the same situation as one with a traditional meter. All of the problems you list - except for the SMETS1 ones, which are rapidly going away - apply to SMETS2 meters as well, so if they were a legitimate reason for not having a smart meter installed until this month, that reason still exists. I just don't think it was ever legitimate.

Well we might just have a difference of opinion,  interpretation or not seeing the full picture. Most of the public could not be blamed for a reluctance following all the bad press of the early rollout and lots of reported issues including functional problems. Plus when they do read correctly ( only) why go through the booking and installing hassle to then still have a dumb meter effectively.

I agree there have been big improvements I roll out, meter quality and communication improvements but the still are around. The customer has no knowledge or guidance as to whether they will be the the ones with issues.

I cannot rely on widespread personal experience or knowledge of installations failing  ( my next door neighbour might not be typical!) but just to quote from a gov report, where ( domrstic) customers do get meters installed currently

"However, a minority
(15%) did report issues with their smart meter. These were evenly split between issues with
the IHD not functioning properly and issues with the meter" 

That is a very high failure rate and hassle for an 'improvement' and we have to have a suck it and see approach to success.

No wonder Ofgem is pressing rather belatedly for improvements.

I have high hopes my installation will go well but following a conversation with the installer yesterday there is no Iinformation they could give as to the chances of success ( it will rely on mobile signsl coverage and no plan to cater for that being bad at installation time therefore potentiall haphazard) .....it will be a wait and see job. Fingers crossed.

Qyburn

I wonder if there's still a backlog from RTS replacement. But I think in general lead time will vary around the country. Our original installation was six months after my first request.

Ectophile

The guy who came round to fix my smart meter told me that they are now going around fixing all the failed smart meters.  So there's probably more waiting list for new ones.

The electricity system in the UK is like the rail nework after privatisaition.  Loads of companies are responsible for little bits of the system, with nobody in charge making sure it all works.  Then the actual work is subcontracted out to the lowest bidder, just to make things even worse.

JimJamDad

Belated reply. Yes of course I have seen all the encouragement to get a smart meter, which is why I imagined it would be a relatively quick process. I didn't try to get one before because of the bad publicity and the fact that we were used to test the system before it was rolled out and told it would not work due to our terrible phone signal. I know a lot has changed in recent years so hopefully it will now work if they ever come to fit it. Nearly two months wait now with no indication of when it might happen.