smart meter commitment...

[Northdowns Martin]

My experience is if you submit meter reading to your supplier monthly they are happy to continue without a smart meter. SM just means they can be lazy and not send out a meter reader. One word of advice, I did commit to having a SM fitted at an outlying farmyard to avoid me having to trek there every month, read and agree the final reading with the engineer before its removed and photograph it with a time and date picture. It has caused me no end of problems to rectify the wrongly submitted reading.

 

[Exfarmer]

They use your electric to run the smart meter,then charge you for it.

They use power from before the meter, so don’t worry that couple of units will not cost you

 

[Swarfmonkey]

The customer always ends up paying for such things, and that goes as much for the cost of smart meters as it does the cost of the power to run them. If you think the company itself is absorbing the cost of both then that's incredibly naïve.

 

[Wesley]

The customer always ends up paying for such things, and that goes as much for the cost of smart meters as it does the cost of the power to run them. If you think the company itself is absorbing the cost of both then that's incredibly naïve.

Working on that theory its better value having a smart meter than not. As you’ll be paying for it regardless…

 

[Doing it for the kids]

The customer always ends up paying for such things, and that goes as much for the cost of smart meters as it does the cost of the power to run them. If you think the company itself is absorbing the cost of both then that's incredibly naïve.

not really - they may add it on in terms of service charges or other hidden extras but i am far more worried about the changes in billing going forwards and having no control over them when they do so. Will have to update all the sub meters which will be a right faff.

 

[Goweresque]

Oh an don't forget if they need to turn the power off they are far more likely to flick a switch at the Sub station all done remotely

The issue is not whether they can cut off entire sections of the grid, they can always do that at the sub station, as you say. The issue with smart meters is they will be able to differentially turn people off, depending on whatever criteria they choose, for demand management purposes.

As it is if they cut an area off, everyone gets cut off, business, domestic,old, young, people with kids and people without. What they are aiming for is to be able to turn off people they consider can do without electric, but leave on those considered 'vulnerable'. I'm semi-convinced that all this stuff about getting the elderly to register as a 'vulnerable customer' with the local electric company is precisely to build up such a database. After all there's nothing they can do for the elderly if a tree falls on the line in a storm and cuts off a town or village. So the registration is pointless, as things stand.

But roll forward a few years and suddenly it makes a lot of sense. The Grid is struggling to cope due to overreliance on renewables and a cold snap with no wind, they need to reduce demand suddenly to prevent a grid collapse. Rather than cut off everyone in an area, just turn off all the people who are under 60, via their smart meters instead. No Grannies freeze to death, renewable energy doesn't get any bad PR. Job done. Eventually I would expect all consumers to be categorised, all listed and graded as to who gets cut off first. The elderly and those with small kids maybe, and those with health issues, they'll be high priority to keep supply. Single people, the young, they'll be prime candidates to be cut off first.

 

[steveR]

The issue is not whether they can cut off entire sections of the grid, they can always do that at the sub station, as you say. The issue with smart meters is they will be able to differentially turn people off, depending on whatever criteria they choose, for demand management purposes.

As it is if they cut an area off, everyone gets cut off, business, domestic,old, young, people with kids and people without. What they are aiming for is to be able to turn off people they consider can do without electric, but leave on those considered 'vulnerable'. I'm semi-convinced that all this stuff about getting the elderly to register as a 'vulnerable customer' with the local electric company is precisely to build up such a database. After all there's nothing they can do for the elderly if a tree falls on the line in a storm and cuts off a town or village. So the registration is pointless, as things stand.

But roll forward a few years and suddenly it makes a lot of sense. The Grid is struggling to cope due to overreliance on renewables and a cold snap with no wind, they need to reduce demand suddenly to prevent a grid collapse. Rather than cut off everyone in an area, just turn off all the people who are under 60, via their smart meters instead. No Grannies freeze to death, renewable energy doesn't get any bad PR. Job done. Eventually I would expect all consumers to be categorised, all listed and graded as to who gets cut off first. The elderly and those with small kids maybe, and those with health issues, they'll be high priority to keep supply. Single people, the young, they'll be prime candidates to be cut off first.

Just keep that generator handy, and if in a big city where one is unrealistic, a big ass battery power station.... and a gas heater for when the u/s ASHP craps out.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

The issue is not whether they can cut off entire sections of the grid, they can always do that at the sub station, as you say. The issue with smart meters is they will be able to differentially turn people off, depending on whatever criteria they choose, for demand management purposes.

As it is if they cut an area off, everyone gets cut off, business, domestic,old, young, people with kids and people without. What they are aiming for is to be able to turn off people they consider can do without electric, but leave on those considered 'vulnerable'. I'm semi-convinced that all this stuff about getting the elderly to register as a 'vulnerable customer' with the local electric company is precisely to build up such a database. After all there's nothing they can do for the elderly if a tree falls on the line in a storm and cuts off a town or village. So the registration is pointless, as things stand.

But roll forward a few years and suddenly it makes a lot of sense. The Grid is struggling to cope due to overreliance on renewables and a cold snap with no wind, they need to reduce demand suddenly to prevent a grid collapse. Rather than cut off everyone in an area, just turn off all the people who are under 60, via their smart meters instead. No Grannies freeze to death, renewable energy doesn't get any bad PR. Job done. Eventually I would expect all consumers to be categorised, all listed and graded as to who gets cut off first. The elderly and those with small kids maybe, and those with health issues, they'll be high priority to keep supply. Single people, the young, they'll be prime candidates to be cut off first.

Exactly. This and charging x10 the price at peak hrs

 

[Blue.]

Had a new connection last year,told all new connections had to have a SM,fitter came and I told him it wouldn’t work because it’s a bad signal area,he told me they don’t use phone signal but something else that I’ve forgotten,he fitted the SM and it hasn’t worked from day one.

 

[serf]

Being off grid and having your own water and energy supply has never been so appealing as it is now and just say fek em all ....

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Had a new connection last year,told all new connections had to have a SM,fitter came and I told him it wouldn’t work because it’s a bad signal area,he told me they don’t use phone signal but something else that I’ve forgotten,he fitted the SM and it hasn’t worked from day one.

Yes, all new installs have to be SM’s.

On the last grainstore we did I was told to ask for a low connection, I think 20amp but the cable was big enough for much more. We can. Run much more off it but didn’t pay as much initially.

Helpful man on the inside there.

 

[d williams]

I agree but I have little choice it seems



In order to renew EDF have in their conditions the right to fit a SM. It seems BG are currently the only one who are not insisting on it.

This means we all have no Choice if we want to stay on grid

If bg means British Gas then I’d pay the extra then deal with those bunch of useless pansies
We’ve had emails from eon say that you need to go to a smart meter because the BBC are turning a radio signal off ??? Not sure what that has to do with it ???

 

[Storeman]

If bg means British Gas then I’d pay the extra then deal with those bunch of useless pansies
We’ve had emails from eon say that you need to go to a smart meter because the BBC are turning a radio signal off ??? Not sure what that has to do with it ???

Possibly the economy 7 switching signal.

 

[steveR]

Had a new connection last year,told all new connections had to have a SM,fitter came and I told him it wouldn’t work because it’s a bad signal area,he told me they don’t use phone signal but something else that I’ve forgotten,he fitted the SM and it hasn’t worked from day one.

Some companies wanted to piggyback on the property broadband!

 

[Forkdriver]

We have all heard the stories of someone being remotely cut off from their power in error via a SM. I dont want them to know when we are using our power because i am sure that one day there will be multiple tariffs for different times of the day which will cost us much more.

We use a lot for grain drying some years as well which many companies cant understand - not consistent.

managed to hold off for so long with out fitting one but now it seems all but BG business insist on a smart meter being installed when you move to them. BG are 10% more than EDF for us and we are up for renewal.

i have tried to reason with BG but they are still 2-3p more unit which tots up over the years.

what has everyone else done recently?

to smart or not to smart....!?

EDF insisted on a smart meter for us to get their best rate, 28p versus 33p

 

[TheTallGuy]

Move to an area with no mobile reception

I refused Eon's plea to move, I always state that my PV array won't allow the SM to work!!

Only part of the country (central & southern) uses mobile networks, the North uses a standalone radio network provided by Arqiva.

They use your electric to run the smart meter,then charge you for it.

How do you think that the electric used by non-smart meters is paid for?

Smart meters have already cost bill payers a fortune, estimated at £13.5 billion. Oh, and that that doesn't include the cost of replacing millions of units that'll be made obsolete (and therefore need replacement) by the loss of the 3G network.

Most meters installed the the last few years are modular and so would only require the communications module replacing. This "upgrade" would be done during routine meter inspections to minimise cost and disruption

Some companies wanted to piggyback on the property broadband!

After the SMETS 1 debacle Ofgem insisted that all smart metering is done through the DCC networks for security reasons, to allow seamless hand over between suppliers and to prevent the customer from easily being able to cut the comms link.