Smart Meter Change-over Problems

[Alistair Robertson 1Participant @alistairrobertson1]

A few months ago my RTS meter was replaced by a Smart Meter.

Everything went fine except the for the fact that I had two meters High and Low rate.  In the paperwork there was only space for one meter removed. The technician put both meter numbers in the box and said that will work!

Now comes the problem as only one meter is shown as removed and the other is still supposed to be in situ and we are being charged for estimated usage and a standing charge for this meter!

To add to the problem we changed supplier as we fitted solar panels and the old supplier could not support an “Export” tariff.

The problem is we cannot get the old meter removed from the Meter Database by either of my suppliers old and new and I have contacted the meter database but they cannot help as they only accept requests from a bona-fide supplier who can prove they removed the meter!

Has anyone else had the same bother?

[old foolParticipant @old-fool]

Not exactly. But. My supplier refused to acknowlage my solar FIT payment despite having agreed to take the export supply in the first place. The crunch came when the company meter inspector came for a routine check. They are legally required to do this time to time. I refused to let him in and waited to see who squealed. It still took the intervention of my MP to shift the log jam. MP’s are a valuable resorce They don’t have real power outside Westminster, but getting a letter on “House of Commons” notepaper can often focus the mind! Anyway after 5yrs it all came good. Hope it comes good in the end for you Alistair.

Just as an aside. RTS meters are switched by a signal on the Radio 4 LW carrier (198kHz from Droitwich) which the BBC had planed to switch off end of June until the government stepped in and forbade it. They have a contractual obligation to supply that signal. They cannot just transmit the time signal, because then it is no longer a broadcast station and not permitted on a broadcast band! Oh the muddle we can get into when Lawyers get involved

 

Bob

[Antony PriceParticipant @antonyprice56876]

Hi Alistair. Raise a formal complaint with your current Supplier. Ask the Supplier to get the MOp (meter operator) to return to site and carry out a review of what meters are installed. By raising a formal complaint, the clock starts ticking to be able to escalate the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman. If the Supplier does not resolve the complaint within 8 weeks then you can register your dispute with the Energy Ombudsman, which is an easy process on their web portal. Regards Tony Price

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Our gas and electricity smart meters stopped transmitting last year and eventually the man came to change them, but saw that the new gas supply valve incoming with the OFF-ON-OFF lever had a rubber seal on one end of the valve and he didn’t have one in the van. So he went away without doing anything. Months later he came back with everything needed and fitted the supply valve and both meters. The little remote toy never did work, and the supplier is now getting me to manually read one of the meters because it won’t call home.

[VicParticipant @vic]

I put off having a smart meter for as long as possible. As I want to buy a BEV in the near future though I relented in order to get low price overnight charging. I recently read that electricians won’t be able to install a charger soon unless the property has a smart meter so just as well I had it installed.

[Vic]

On Vic Said:

electricians won’t be able to install a charger soon unless the property has a smart meter so just as well I had it installed.

Can I take it “won’t be able” is short for “won’t be permitted”?

If so, is there legislation (backed up by stiff penalties) to enforce this?

Unless there is, what is to stop you agreeing with your electrician that the charging station goes in but the dumb meter stays?

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

We switched to Octopus and had a smart meter installed to take advantage of better tariffs.  However the people who fitted our solar in 2018 then went bust shortly after.  We got a FiT contract set up with our then supplier Ovo, but didn’t have the documentation to transfer it over to Octopus.  I kept getting requests from Ovo for FIT meter readings and eventually discovered that they were happy to keep paying us!  Bizarre.

The actual installation process was seamless and everything worked almost immediately.

[Bill Phinn]

On Bill Phinn Said:

On Vic Said:

electricians won’t be able to install a charger soon unless the property has a smart meter so just as well I had it installed.

Can I take it “won’t be able” is short for “won’t be permitted”?

If so, is there legislation (backed up by stiff penalties) to enforce this?

Unless there is, what is to stop you agreeing with your electrician that the charging station goes in but the dumb meter stays?

Third possibility is ‘we choose not to contract dumb meter customers because they’re more trouble than they’re worth!’ So now, if you want to change supplier, they insist on the customer taking a smart meter, otherwise “NO DEAL”.

From the suppliers perspective, smart meters are better all round than dumb, because they report consumption automatically, support variable tariff schemes, and can be reset remotely.   No need to employ thousands of meter readers and a fleet of vans, or a way of entering manually collected meter readings into their billing system.  The business is more efficient, and it’s nice to think that savings will be passed on to the customer.    Unfortunately, if anything goes wrong, it’s the customer who suffers.

No doubt a dodgy electrician could be bribed to install stuff without changing the meter, but there are many disadvantages.  One is that the energy market has changed enormously, and there’s more to come.  For example,  a dumb meter will be the most expensive way of buying electricity because they’re not clever enough to change tariff when green energy is cheap.

No legislation as far as I know, but the utilities can’t ignore government policy because they are subsidised and regulated.  And smart meters are cheaper for them too.   As always, change is a messy business:  the old way is disintegrating, whilst the replacement is imperfect, perhaps badly flawed, and the future is always uncertain…

Dave

 

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