Your meter will lose functionality in March 2024

Guest2

Guest2

Guest2

Soldato
Joined
6 May 2009
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I've received this email from Shell, again.

Is this just a forceful tactic to get eveyone onto smart meters? I contacted our management company because everyones meters are maintained by the property manager with no access to residents.
Smart meters cannot be fitted as have caused issues in the past
I contacted Shell maybe 6 months ago and they said to ignore the email


We’re getting in touch to let you know that your Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meter will lose functionality from Mar‍ch 202‍4.
This is due to an industry wide change that will affect the radio signal your meter uses to communicate.
This change means your meter won’t be able to support your multi-rate tariff, as it’ll be unable to switch to your tariff’s cheaper off peak rates. In some cases, this change may also cause a permanent interruption of your home’s central heating, as well as your meter’s ability to record your energy usage accurately.
It’s important that you take steps to arrange a replacement for your RTS meter, and we have just the thing.

Choose smarter home energy
Our SMETS2 smart meters allow you to keep your multi-rate tariff without the fuss. A smart meter provides detailed breakdowns of your daily energy use, so you needn’t wait for your bill to arrive to understand your energy use.
On top of that smart meters submit your readings for you, always produce accurate bills, and help you to keep track of your energy usage.
 
Carefully worded I presume, the meter will still work fine, it'll just remove an automatic element from the functionality. Of course they want you to have a smart meter though so they've conventiently left out a few bits of important info.
 
The reason it will lose functionality is because 3G is being switched off so it'll won't have any connectivity. It'll still work as a normal meter.
 
Why can't smart meters be fitted? What issues did they cause?

If you're going to lose some functionality there and can no longer get variable rates etc.. then that's a bit naff and I'd assume that at least one resident might start enquiring about whether they can try smart meters again.
 
So because its a dual rate meter, (day/night - slightly cheaper at night) it will change to all one rate, presumably higher day rate
 
dowie said:
Why can't smart meters be fitted? What issues did they cause?

If you're going to lose some functionality there and can no longer get variable rates etc.. then that's a bit naff and I'd assume that at least one resident might start enquiring about whether they can try smart meters again.
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There's ~100 properties, ~30 smart meters were installed a few years ago and people were getting incorrect readings. It ended up people paying others bills due to receiving incorrect readings. It sounded like it was a royal mess according to the building manager.
They were all removed in the end
 
dowie said:
Why can't smart meters be fitted? What issues did they cause?
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Not everyone can have a smart meter fitted. I can't have one in my home because they refuse to fit it without ripping out one side of a window cupboard and shelving unit, and that simply ain't going to happen. I've never been able to figure out why it's a problem though because getting to the current meter is not a problem, you simply open a door (or take it off) and there it is - right in front of you and easily accessible with plenty of space around it to work. It's not as if it's tucked away in some dingy little hole in the cellar with no light and no room.
 
Guest2 said:
There's ~100 properties, ~30 smart meters were installed a few years ago and people were getting incorrect readings. It ended up people paying others bills due to receiving incorrect readings. It sounded like it was a royal mess according to the building manager.
They were all removed in the end
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Yikes, are they all downstairs in a basement or something? That sounds more like a botched installation tbh.. presumably, some muppet came to install them all at once and wasn't too careful about which meter belonged to which flat.

With my flat the meters are in a cupboard in the corridor on each floor in the block so far fewer to get confused with - the issue we had was dodgy mobile reception given the meters are inside a cupboard in a windowless corridor right in the core of the block.

Ultimately though it isn't a decision for the building manager to make, the meter belongs to the utility company and if you as a bill payer want to switch it to a smart meter then you have the option to do that and tbh.. if you do have some variable tariff then I'd look to do just that.
 
I have smet1 meters and they will cease to function for OTA reporting soon , apparently they are looking at adding a module to those meters what a farce :rolleyes:
 
Malevolence said:
Not everyone can have a smart meter fitted. I can't have one in my home because they refuse to fit it without ripping out one side of a window cupboard and shelving unit, and that simply ain't going to happen. I've never been able to figure out why it's a problem though because getting to the current meter is not a problem, you simply open a door (or take it off) and there it is - right in front of you and easily accessible with plenty of space around it to work. It's not as if it's tucked away in some dingy little hole in the cellar with no light and no room.
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That's fine, but those people won't benefit from variable priced tariffs either.

In the case of the OP, they will be moved to a flat single tariff with no cheaper overnight part.
 
Got the same email, my first appointment was cancelled because of COVID and they've refused to book any more appointments since because of the height of my existing meter. Apparently, the fitters are all pussies and can't climb ladders any more.
 
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Seeing those adverts on TV saying we all need smart meters so they can monitor the country's usage and plan better blah blah etc. Why don't they just put some monitoring devices in sub stations and be done with it.
 
LeeUK said:
Seeing those adverts on TV saying we all need smart meters so they can monitor the country's usage and plan better blah blah etc. Why don't they just put some monitoring devices in sub stations and be done with it.
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How would that allow me to use a smart tariff?
 
LeeUK said:
Seeing those adverts on TV saying we all need smart meters so they can monitor the country's usage and plan better blah blah etc. Why don't they just put some monitoring devices in sub stations and be done with it.
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Substations monitor power usage in real time with all the data transmitted back to a control room. However this data is limited to HV circuits which may contain many thousands of individual customers fed via numerous 11KV / 400v transformers. These transformers typically don't have the functionality to monitor power usage in real time so this is where smart meters bridge the gap.
 
Feek said:
The reason it will lose functionality is because 3G is being switched off so it'll won't have any connectivity. It'll still work as a normal meter.
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The radio teleswitch system does not use 3G, it predates the mobile networks by a good number of yearsthe signal actually comes from the BBC radio 4 transmitter at droitwhich and I beleive one of the reasons its being discontinued is they are running out of replacement valves for it!

They'll work as a normal meter still, but stuck on one rate (likely the expensive day rate one), and if you have any switched loads such as storage heaters water heating they won't be pulled in.

If the OP wanted to avoid a smart meter then I guess he could move to a single rate tariff, but if he wants to keep E7 then I think the only way they can offer it is with a smart meter (I suppose they could go back to old school timeclocks, but that insn't going to happen)
 
Guest2 said:
So because its a dual rate meter, (day/night - slightly cheaper at night) it will change to all one rate, presumably higher day rate
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Nope. I had my dual rate meter changed to a smart meter. Works perfectly well on an Economy7 dual rate.

Can't see what possible reason you could have not to want a smart meter, unless your current meter is on the fiddle.

If you don't care about the 'smart' part just chuck it in a drawer.
 
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