How do I keep my analog meter

Reed_Richards

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/can-i-be-forced-to-have-a-smart-meter/

Updated 5th March 2026. Maybe the right to prevent "some level of data collection" when data collection is possible isn't the same thing as the right to right refuse a data collection capability?

pseudodox

My smart meter was installed in "dumb mode" at my request in writing & agreed in writing. For 15 months I submitted readings each month & paid MVDD. Everything was hunky dory. Then there was a glitch - my 1st May reading did not produce a bill, all my readings disappeared from my account. I took immediate action by contacting the supplier - the service agent was as puzzled as me. But after a couple of weeks of email exchanges, photographic proof of readings and a surprise auto reading (BTW not accurate) appearing on my account I was informed my meter had inadvertently been switched to pulled readings. It was confirmed I had never agreed to this & everything reverted to normal. I was thanked for keeping readings & thus my account up to date.

Even in "dumb mode" I am well aware the supplier has remote access to check & update the meter & I am fine with that. If such facility reduces fraudulent meter bypasses or monitors vastly under reported readings it is to all our benefit. My meter might be in dumb mode but I am in intelligent mode & having a smart meter is no different to analogue. Except I have to climb on steps to press the buttons to read the meters whereas before I could just look up at them. \

So to the OP - just agree to a smart meter but get written agreement how it will work. Simples.

Bendo

The mind boggles.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82067311#Comment_82067311

Things have moved on a bit since you made your agreement with your supplier.

Currently, the rights that a customer has amount to this:

To refuse to have a Smart Meter unless your existing meter is faulty or has reached the end of its certified life.

To request daily readings rather than the default of half hourly readings. (Residential customers only)

If someone feels strongly about this they can always ask their supplier for something different, but they have no right to receive it, and it is not in the suppliers interest to agree to anything beyond the customers rights as they really do need the half-hour data for the MHHS scheme.

Also if you do request to move from the default half-hour data collection it will lock you out of many smart tariffs and the ability to participate in the various demand flexibility schemes that reward participants for helps with grid stabilisation.

The_Green_Hornet

Out of interest, the latest OFGEM State of the Market Report indicates that only 2.8% of domestic retail customers are on TOU tariffs, with the majority of these being EV owners, so very much a minority in the grand scale of things.

In the same report it shows that 64% of domestic retail customers are on the SVT and only 17% are likely to switch to a TOU tariff in the future.

So for most people a smart meter is of very little benefit apart from the automation of their meter readings.

TroubledTarts

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82067530#Comment_82067530

Not forgetting what many do when they get their smart meter, they use the IHD to see how much they use as a baseline and switch things off on standby etc.

Whether or not that habit continues when the IHD goes in the draw or bin is anyone's guess.

For many it's put in the too difficult or can't be bothered pile I presume.

Ildhund

@MWT wrote:

To request daily readings rather than the default of half hourly readings.

There are so many misunderstandings about these options that I think it would be worthwhile to clarify.

A SMETS2 electricity meter has a data store in which it records among many other things

• A snapshot of the register readings at midnight GMT every day;
• Half-hourly usage data, the quantity of electricity used in every half-hour slot, 48 quantities every day.

Register readings (e.g. Total import, Total export, Rate 1 import etc.) are routinely retrieved by the supplier for billing purposes. The customer may be able to opt for this retrieval to happen only once a month rather than once a day. Only suppliers can retrieve meter readings.

Half-hourly usage data can be used for billing, e.g. for smart ToU tariffs. They can also be used for settlement, i.e. to determine just how much the supplier has to pay the generator for the electricity sold to you. Anyone with a DCC account and the customer's permission can access the meter's store of usage data. Each of these two use-cases - billing and settlement - requires customer authorization, but nowadays this is assumed and the customer have to opt out to change the permissions.

Half-hourly (Hh) settlement is being introduced across the entire electricity market - hence its ubiquitous initialism MHHS, Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement. After some years' pilots, it got underway in earnest last autumn and is intended to be fully rolled out by the summer of 2027.

Bottom line: the meter stores both readings and usage data. Suppliers and other interested parties need permission from the customer to access and retrieve the data. The customer has some control over the frequency of retrieval.

oldernonethewiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82067568#Comment_82067568

I recall reading older threads where some people seem to think the IHD was the Smart Meter.

Mine IHD is in a drawer somewhere.

QrizB

The quarterly smart meter rollout reports include statistics on installed smart meters that aren't communicating with the DCC. The stats come from the DCC.

Here's where you'll find the reports:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics#2026-quarterly-updates

The March 2026 report states that 72% of domestic meters are smart meters. 66% are smart meters in smart mode (ie. working as intended) and 6% are in traditional mode (needing to be read manually).

(The report also refers to "advanced meters". As far as I can tell, advanced meters are used in some non-domestic premises but are pretty much unknown for household supplies.)

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82067575#Comment_82067575

Mine sits on top of the desktop computer. In addition, I have the Octopus Home Mini which continuously updates live usage (every 10 seconds I believe) on their app. Not that I use the app - I just scrape the numbers to feed in to my own database. Electricity consumption is monitored by another device. Having a detailed record of both consumption and meter readings will be advantageous should there every be a billing dispute.

The data has helped to identify parasitic loads and alert me to an odd occasion when a power hungry device has been left on by accident. And having a smart meter enabled me to use a ToU tariff (Octopus Tracker) for a while, saving some 15-20% over SVR. Did consider Agile as the peak periods coincided with the times when I would be out anyway.