Bloody stupid smart meters

[Bloodybridget]

I did a search and can see that there are loads of threads about smart meters, but I'm so annoyed, I need to start another one.
We got a smart meter installed by our old dual fuel supplier, Ovo. It was a massive pain as our electricity meter is in the basement where there's a poor signal, so needed multiple visits and complicated shenanigans, but eventually it happened and worked.
The contract expired in January, I shopped around to look for a cheaper deal and went for Green Energy Network. Completed application and got an email saying "am working on your registration and unfortunately, we are unable to complete the switch as your meter is listed as a HalfHourlyProfileClass meter this means that your current supplier takes remote readings every half hour.
We currently are unable to support these meter readings if you would like us to take supply of your property I would kindly ask that you contact your current supplier to update the electric energy database to reflect the correct profile class."
I took this to understand that once the update had happened, GNE would be able to read the smart meter. I was wrong! They asked us for initial meter readings; doing this involved me peering at a rapidly changing display of confusing numbers and letters on gas and electric meters - I had to climb a stepladder to see the electric one - while my DP scribbled down the results. We are in our 60s and 70s (so not dead keen on standing on top of stepladders) and I would never have changed supplier if I'd known this.
We've got one of those display things that tells you how much energy you're using; why they couldn't make those able to give meter readings as well, I have no idea.
I rang GNE this morning, all they could say was that they'll be starting to install their own smart meters in the second half of this year and we'll have the option to get one if we want.
No wonder so many people refuse to have the sodding things.

Sorry OP. I have resisted so far. The letters said they would become compulsory in 2019, but nothing seemed to come of it?

I'm with Ovo. I'm resisting one so far. When did you have your meter installed? Is it SMETS2?

We keep getting letters about smart meters, but just give them a damn good ignoring. Ours dumb meter doesn't have to be replaced til 2024, so won't do anything til then, and having a dh who is a C.Eng means we can manage to calculate our usage and thus our bill, all by ourselves as we have, you know, brains. By 2024, the roll out may have stopped as it has in Germany.

Isn't there a plan to make energy more expensive if you refuse a smart meter? Or, conversely, to offer a discounted rate to those who do have one?

Smart meters only work with the company that install them! When you change supplier they go "dumb" and work like your old 1 did, and even if you change back to your original supplier they stay dumb.
There is a 2nd generation smart meter that is supposed to stay smart when you change supplier however they are not going to be available until they have fitted all the 1st gen devices that the government already bought.
@highonpotandused
There is no current law or plan to create/change any law that would enforce the use of smart meters in the UK. Many energy companies are inferring that you must have a smart meter because it uses up the meters that they have and locks many people in with them (due to not wanting it to go dumb) and it saves them money on sending out meter readers.
People don't want the 1st generation meters so they are waiting for the 2nd generation which is also leading to high pressure selling tactics being used.
The system is not fit for purpose and needs to be scrapped

tell them to take it out and shove it up their asses, i hate them.

Isn't there a plan to make energy more expensive if you refuse a smart meter?

Yep.

Part of the point of smart meters is to introduce peak time pricing, eg during the evening when you're trying to cook and do bedtime.

Obviously this isn't exactly a popular tariff! If it were, it would already have been introduced with old-fashioned meters, just like Economy 7!

The plan is to roll out smart meters so that they're fitted in a majority of properties BEFORE people know this is the purpose. The plans describe this as "maintaining consumer confidence." Then to start offering "off-peak discounts". Then to creep the prices up so the "discount" is now the normal price, and the peak is eye-watering.

When consumers and consumer organisations complain, they'll be told the peak price doesn't matter, because consumers have the "choice" to use electricity at a cheaper time of day.

While the majority of people don't have smart meters, the companies will be reluctant to introduce the eye-watering peak prices, because the majority of consumers will just switch to any utility company which doesn't do that.

@opticaldelusion I'm out now but I'll check which meter we have later.

@Stressedout10
There is no current law or plan to create/change any law that would enforce the use of smart meters in the UK. Many energy companies are inferring that you must have a smart meter because it uses up the meters that they have and locks many people in with them (due to not wanting it to go dumb) and it saves them money on sending out meter readers.
People don't want the 1st generation meters so they are waiting for the 2nd generation which is also leading to high pressure selling tactics being used.
The system is not fit for purpose and needs to be scrapped

Thank you. So the bastards lied!!

@opticaldelusion the gas meter seems to be EG4v11.
@Luckystar777 unfortunately we have left it too late for your very tempting suggestion!

Wondering why you went for the so called smart meter in the first place. ?

energy already is more expensive if you refuse a smart meter, the big six all only offer fixed rate tariffs if you take a smart meter. Otherwise it is the 'tariff for fools' or the 'standard rate' one. Not even Martin Lewis appears to have spotted this.

the point is indeed to introduce variable pricing, we don't have the infrastructure for our vastly increased population. And I suppose we won't pay for it either.

My DP is a smart meter engineer - installs and repairs them all day every day... and he refuses to let us get them in the house 😂

Having just looked at the difference in tariff between dumb and smart meters, it's negligible atm. I'm not switching...

@FinallyHere we chose to have a smart meter because a) believed what we were told, that every home would have to have one eventually and b) our contract required us to send monthly meter readings and I was sick of doing them - the electricity meter was lower down then but I still had to drag a heavy chair into the hall, climb on it and struggle to read the numbers which were some way above my head.

We have resisted too. So far they do not allow for easy switching so unless you are going to stay with the same company forever there is no point. Future home owners will also be in the same situation. Also they dont need information that often. It's just to spy on us. Resist the smart meters. They are only there to help the companies.

What a total pain. Must admit, I’m just ignoring the letters too. Hope you get some sort of resolution.

A half hourly (HH) meter is usually installed in business premises, so that the supplier can charge different rates dependant on the time of day. To be honest, most domestic suppliers don't seem to offer anything for HH meters, so it seems likely that you will need to contact OVO to have them change the profile class of the meter from 00 to 01/02. It does seem strange that OVO decided to set it up that way!

There were issues with the first generation smart meters, which became dumb upon switching suppliers.

The second generation of smart meters will be rolled out in the coming months/ years. Technology has improved, they will work upon changing suppliers and are more reliable.

I'm always abit confused when reading the threads against smart meters.

We basically had to have one installed when we needed a new electricity meter in our property and were told it's pretty much rolling out for everyone.

I've had it two years nearly and my bills just gone down now again.

It makes a difference as it just makes us all aware of how much we are using and i keep a weekly and monthly tally of what the smart meter says.

Last year I had to contact them to deduct the bill as we were below what we were paying but this year they have emailed me to say it's dropping.

Is this likely to change?

@JesskerM I did get Ovo to change the meter profile, as requested by GNE, but that didn't make it possible - as I had assumed it would - for GNE to read Ovo's smart meter.
There doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it, except to maybe get a new meter from GNE when they get around to offering them, if that's a second generation one that can possibly be accessed by other fuel providers.
@marblesgoing yes ours worked fine as long as we were with Ovo. It's just a problem if you want to change supplier.

We allowed one of these devices to be installed fairly early on in the roll out. It lasted less than a day because it slowed the WiFi down to snails pace so I unplugged it from the wall and we went back to reading the meter in the normal way. I don’t need to know how much power my appliances are using.

Part of the plan for these companies is to eliminate the staffing cost of meter readers.

I read my meters manually every month.

I used a (non-wifi) plug in monitor for a few weeks to work out which appliances were taking most power – mostly things which heat and cool, but I found a few which were greedy when left on standby, so those now go off at the wall when not in use.

Evidence from studies (before the smart meter roll-out) shows householders are likely to make one-off changes to reduce power consumption when they first start monitoring it, and then not make significant further reductions. So they lag the hot-water tank, or stop over-filling the kettle, or whatever.

whatthehelldowecare
My DP is a smart meter engineer - installs and repairs them all day every day... and he refuses to let us get them in the house

Why?

I have read some of the negatives, but would like to hear 'from the horse's mouth' so to speak ;-)

Not being one of the 'science and maths are too much for my pretty little head' brigade, I know which appliances use most energy and how to turn things off. So no need for yet another device showing consumption. I submit a monthly meter reading although EDF don't do anything with it, but I keep a record to monitor our use.

dodgy mobile signal area and on the 'aint broke don't fix' principle, I'll have a smart meter when the bribe is high enough and they are mandatory.

looks like despite SMETS2, switching still isn't working. Government and regulator asleep at the wheel.