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Original poster

Smart meter installation.

57 replies

ALongHardWinter · 16/03/2019 16:34

A few days ago I received a letter from my electricity supplier,Scottish and Southern Electric (SSE),asking me to phone them to make an appointment to have a new meter installed. The words 'Smart Meter' were not mentioned in the letter,it merely said they needed to install 'a new,up-to-date meter'. For various reasons,I am not at all keen to have a Smart Meter. Is this a ploy on their part to fit one in my house? I've been reliably informed that it a not compulsory,or a legal requirement to have one,that I am entitled to refuse one. But I've heard and read numerous stories about people being told they 'must have one',or even having one installed without their knowledge (i.e. being told it is a non-smart meter,and only finding out afterwards that it is not). Has anyone had any experience of this?

OP posts:
Meandmetoo · 16/03/2019 16:39

Only that my supplier kept sending increasingly shouty letters about NEEDING to replace my meter with a smart one. Then cheekily sending me a date/time for when an engineer would be at my house! I've told them to stop harassing me otherwise I would take it further and I haven't heard anything since.

Saucery · 16/03/2019 16:45

They are not compulsory at all. You can have yourself taken off the mailing list (email, letter, phone) if you ring them up, but it only lasts 3 months. “To give people chance to change their minds” apparently Hmm

So every few months I am contacted, I say their efficiency is questionable and their safety record doubtful and they take me temporarily off the list.

Original poster
ALongHardWinter · 16/03/2019 17:06

So if I phone them as requested,and ask whether it's a Smart Meter they want to install,they'll probably lie and say it's not? Or they'll say it is,but that I MUST have it installed?

OP posts:
gudrunandtheseeress · 16/03/2019 17:12

Smart meter energy companies' common ploy is to write to you with a timetabled appointment telling you their engineer will be coming to install a smart meter. They use persuasion/coercion like saying not to have one would be anti-green and you would be contributing to global warning. It will save you money, they say. Um, no, the energy will cost the same and you can control your usage yourself.

In spite of what these companies imply it is quite legal not to have a meter. I have looked into smart meter usage on the web for my business which is run from home and this is what I have found:

It is up to the energy company what fuel they use to produce power and their consequent contribution to global warming or harm to the environment would be down to each power company, who should be getting their act together - not the end user.

A great deal of personal information about the user is gained and can be disseminated into unknown hands as part of the contract (in the small print). This information would easily reveal when the house is empty, and because the smart meter system uses an internet connection from the property back to the suppliers' server it is potentially hackable. Abuse of the connection could include hacking into your internet, and to allow this would be your responsibility. If your bank account was attacked in this way you bank could then claim you were negligent and any funds stolen would not be refunded or compensated by your bank.

The meter can be 'killed' remotely by the supplier, eg. for alleged or actual non-payment of your energy bill or for suspected tampering with the equipment.

I cannot risk having a smart meter, it's as simple as that, and if I had to move I would remove one from the new property and have a normal meter installed, which is also legal to do.

Original poster
ALongHardWinter · 16/03/2019 17:35

So if you don't have wifi at home,you can't have a smart meter?

OP posts:
gudrunandtheseeress · 16/03/2019 19:22

That's my understanding, yes.

Arnoldthecat · 16/03/2019 20:44

Wrong. Smart meters do not require connection to your home internet. They have in built wireless modules and their own communication capabilities.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 16/03/2019 21:54

You don’t have to have a smart meter and I wouldn’t bother until they have a model that is universal. Ours was installed three years ago and has never worked, despite them fitting a booster. We’ve changed suppliers several times since then too and they don’t transfer.

gudrunandtheseeress · 17/03/2019 14:39

Wrong. Smart meters do not require connection to your home internet. They have in built wireless modules and their own communication capabilities.

Thanks for that Arnold, but I don't this necessarily rules out abuse of the homeowner's internet provision.

DGRossetti · 17/03/2019 14:42

My objection to Smart Meters is the ability to remotely disconnect. The amount of lies confusion around the details of the scheme should be enough to signal something dodgy is afoot.

If smart electricity meters can "save energy" then why aren't there smart water meters and smart gas meters (would be the question to respond with ...)

Original poster
ALongHardWinter · 17/03/2019 16:38

I don't have the internet at the moment,I wasn't sure whether it was necessary for a smart meter.
Thanks everyone for your advice.

OP posts:
SmartEnergyGB · 18/03/2019 10:36

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DGRossetti · 18/03/2019 10:47

Are commercial bodies allowed to post on MN without asking first ?

@SmartEnergyGB - why on earth would anyone want a Smart Meter. What does it actually do ?

Just for the avoidance of doubt, I know my TV, toaster and fridge use electricity, so no surprises there.

SmartEnergyGB · 18/03/2019 11:02

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DanglyBangly · 18/03/2019 11:06

This information would easily reveal when the house is empty

A burglar could do that by sitting outside your house one night and seeing if any lights go on. Or a myriad of other ways that are simpler than hacking into your smart meter and looking at your electricity usage records.

FriendOrFaux · 18/03/2019 11:07

They don't save you money.
The only way to save money on your bill is to switch things off and don't waste electricity unnecessarily.

I have consistently refused having a sm installed.

Happynow001 · 18/03/2019 11:34

I've been reliably informed that it a not compulsory,or a legal requirement to have one,that I am entitled to refuse one. But I've heard and read numerous stories about people being told they 'must have one',or even having one installed without their knowledge (i.e. being told it is a non-smart meter,and only finding out afterwards that it is not)

^^ I've read that the energy companies are being encouraged to get smart meters installed in all homes by end of 2020 and that Ofgem is penalising energy companies who miss their targets. Maybe that's why the energy companies are being so bullish in their approach to smart meter installations.

DGRossetti · 18/03/2019 11:35

Smart meters are a crucial part of the creation of a smart grid. A smart grid will mean our energy networks are run in a completely new way.

Ah, yes - remote disconnection. Which will never happen by accident. And which will never be legislated against.

Thanks, but no thanks. As ignored in my PP, did you get MNHQs OK to respond as an organisation ?

Tinty · 18/03/2019 11:57

They don't save you money.

More than that, they actually cost you money. It may be only a few pence a year but it runs off of your electricity so it costs you money to power the smart meter.

The only way to save money on your bill is to switch things off and don't waste electricity unnecessarily.

So if you already do this, the smart meter is completely pointless except as a way for electric companies to do away with yet another employee. The meter reader, who will eventually have no job if all properties have smart meters.

What do you say to the above?
@SmartEnergyGB

FriendOrFaux · 18/03/2019 12:01

Hmm. Not convinced in the slightest by smart meters. And I would echo DGR's comments about remote disconnections, particularly of vulnerable customers.

Any truth that they need smart meters to bring in variable surge pricing?

Tinty · 18/03/2019 12:02

Pointless To the homeowner, not necessarily the electric company.

I don't understand why if they are so desperate to install smart meters (and avoid a fine), that they don't offer a financial incentive to home owners to have one fitted, i.e. £20 off of your next bill or something.

DGRossetti · 18/03/2019 12:06

Any truth that they need smart meters to bring in variable surge pricing?

100% truth. You need smart meters to be able to operate surge pricing.

Glittertwins · 18/03/2019 12:10

I also had numerous phone calls from my provider about a smart meter as well as the 'we're in your area so we'll install it' type of letter. No chance.
This is all down to providers trying to meet the government targets for smart meter installation by or in 2020. According to a report in the weekend papers, less than 4% of smart meter installations were SMETS2 is the ones that do not go dumb if you change provider so it sounds very much like the original SMETS1 are being foisted on unsuspecting customers who will eventually find out they no longer have a smart meter if they change provider.
Other than that, I don't see a single benefit that they would bring us. Turn off appliances if you want to save money!!

megletthesecond · 18/03/2019 12:19

My energy bills are already accurate, I submit meter readings every month. It takes 5 mins. That includes moving the Dyson out of the way in the cupboard under the stairs.

SmartEnergyGB · 18/03/2019 12:31

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