No Smart meter can be supplied

CoMSR

My daughter and her husband moved into a house in the countryside on Scotland about 18 months ago. It is very picturesque but is 'semi-remote' in that the nearest town is about 2miles away, with a major city about 25minutes drive. They have recently had a baby so the need to keep the house warm is a priority.

Since that moved in they have asked Scottish Power, several times, to install a smart meter so they can take advantage of cheaper tariffs. Scottish Power have said that they cannot install a smart meter because they are in a rural location.

I have a number of queries about this:
Is this actually legal, in that can the power provider prevent you from accessing a cheaper tariff on the grounds that they do not want to supply a smart meter?  
Secondly, has anyone got advice on how to proceed?

MattMattMattUK

CoMSR said:

My daughter and her husband moved into a house in the countryside on Scotland about 18 months ago. It is very picturesque but is 'semi-remote' in that the nearest town is about 2miles away, with a major city about 25minutes drive. They have recently had a baby so the need to keep the house warm is a priority.

Since that moved in they have asked Scottish Power, several times, to install a smart meter so they can take advantage of cheaper tariffs. Scottish Power have said that they cannot install a smart meter because they are in a rural location.

I have a number of queries about this:
Is this actually legal, in that can the power provider prevent you from accessing a cheaper tariff on the grounds that they do not want to supply a smart meter?  

Yes it is completely legal.

CoMSR said:

Secondly, has anyone got advice on how to proceed?

There are ongoing consultations on how to handle the issue of smart meter communications issues for remote areas, part of that is due in late 2026. It will involve a technological solution, signal boosters, a different network, connection via WiFi etc.

They could try changing supplier to see if a different supplier might be willing to fit a meter, though there is a fairly high probability it will not work if that area is one of the many that are flagged as not currently being suitable for smart meters.

Keep_pedalling

There is nothing stopping them installing a SM, but there are problems in rural areas in Scotland and the north of England because they are unable to communicate over the radio network so manual readings are still required. 

Modern time of day tariffs rely on getting 30 min updates from a smart meter, if the supplier cannot access that data then they cannot offer those tariffs and there is little they can do about it. 

WiserMiser

What is their heating system?

Scot_39

Why have they been refused?

Assuming the reason for refusal is Arqiva lrr coverage is spotty - they might be able to get a 4g cellular comms hub instead. But their may be no 4g vodafone network cellular cover either.

But SP in particular have been buried under RTS upgrades  most of this year - with sone posters here getting appts 3-4 months after June shut off date - so might be worth trying again - if not tried recently  ? 

But if neither network an option ....

Do they need a meter for export readings - like for solar say ?

If they do not have good comms links - they will not be able to access many smart tariffs that offer best savings - as these tend to rely on half hourly measurement resolution data (note thats not the same as half hourly transmission of data) that is only available over the networks.

Without comms a smart meter is just like tge previous generation digital - you have to read and phone in or log in to enter total registers - monthly typically.

As above ofther methods are being considered finally - they always should have been.

But rural is rural - you take the pros and the cons.  My uncle waited c4 yrs for smart -  with 2 failed attempts (no comms connection found by fitter)  - after paying sse to remove second rts meter as part of heating upgrade  in rural Aberdeenshire.

Baldytyke88

CoMSR said:

Since that moved in they have asked Scottish Power, several times, to install a smart meter so they can take advantage of cheaper tariffs. Scottish Power have said that they cannot install a smart meter because they are in a rural location.

How old is the meter that is in use, could it be a smart meter, but it's not communicating?

Energy meters last between 10 to 40 years, depending on the type, with an official "certification date" acting like a "best before" date, after which your supplier must replace them to ensure accurate billing

Keep_pedalling

Baldytyke88 said:

CoMSR said:

Since that moved in they have asked Scottish Power, several times, to install a smart meter so they can take advantage of cheaper tariffs. Scottish Power have said that they cannot install a smart meter because they are in a rural location.

How old is the meter that is in use, could it be a smart meter, but it's not communicating?

Energy meters last between 10 to 40 years, depending on the type, with an official "certification date" acting like a "best before" date, after which your supplier must replace them to ensure accurate billing

If is already be out of its citification period or close to it that may help in twisting their arms to change it out. 

matelodave

Keep_pedalling said:

Baldytyke88 said:

CoMSR said:

Since that moved in they have asked Scottish Power, several times, to install a smart meter so they can take advantage of cheaper tariffs. Scottish Power have said that they cannot install a smart meter because they are in a rural location.

How old is the meter that is in use, could it be a smart meter, but it's not communicating?

Energy meters last between 10 to 40 years, depending on the type, with an official "certification date" acting like a "best before" date, after which your supplier must replace them to ensure accurate billing

If is already be out of its citification period or close to it that may help in twisting their arms to change it out. 

Some of the comments on this thread are really stupid

What is the point of insisting on a smart meter if it wont work in the location due to communication issues.

Although it may be lovely to live out in a rural environment there are usually quite a few downsides as well as benefits and you cannot expect any supplier to provide you with a bespoke service with costs out of all proportion to the service.

I live out in the country and we don't have mains gas, that doesn't mean that I can insist that a gas pipe be run from the main road, some three miles and across a river from me. In the same way, if you cant get a mobile phone signal its highly unlikely that any provider will put up a base station, just for you or to enable a smart meter to operate.

I'm not sure what the rules are if you decide to build a house miles away from anywhere regarding the provision of water, gas, electricity, telephone or sewerage. I guess you may be able to get some of these services laid on if you are prepared to pay but I'd bet none of them would do it out of the goodness of their heart.

Keep_pedalling

matelodave said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Baldytyke88 said:

CoMSR said:

Since that moved in they have asked Scottish Power, several times, to install a smart meter so they can take advantage of cheaper tariffs. Scottish Power have said that they cannot install a smart meter because they are in a rural location.

How old is the meter that is in use, could it be a smart meter, but it's not communicating?

Energy meters last between 10 to 40 years, depending on the type, with an official "certification date" acting like a "best before" date, after which your supplier must replace them to ensure accurate billing

If is already be out of its citification period or close to it that may help in twisting their arms to change it out. 

Some of the comments on this thread are really stupid

What is the point of insisting on a smart meter if it wont work in the location due to communication issues.

Although it may be lovely to live out in a rural environment there are usually quite a few downsides as well as benefits and you cannot expect any supplier to provide you with a bespoke service with costs out of all proportion to the service.

I live out in the country and we don't have mains gas, that doesn't mean that I can insist that a gas pipe be run from the main road, some three miles and across a river from me. In the same way, if you cant get a mobile phone signal its highly unlikely that any provider will put up a base station, just for you or to enable a smart meter to operate.

I'm not sure what the rules are if you decide to build a house miles away from anywhere regarding the provision of water, gas, electricity, telephone or sewerage. I guess you may be able to get some of these services laid on if you are prepared to pay but I'd bet none of them would do it out of the goodness of their heart.

Because no one should take SP word for it that it is not possible to get a working smart meter at their exact location. Speaking of stupid comments comparing radio signals with gas pipes is not exactly a smart comparison, the gas infrastructure is a complete known with radio signals you can have a working meter in one house and next door can’t get a signal. The worse that can happen with having one fitted is that you still have to submit readings yourself.