Ovo pay interest on any positive balance, FWIW.
Any downsides to a smart meter?
- Thread starter Minstadave
- Start date
Soldato
Didn't know this, what percentage is that?
Oh actually, checking again, they've stopped doing it now as it runs counter to the directive to minimise credit balances!
It was 3% I think
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When was the last time you had an inspection of the supply head and meter connections?
You do realise that screwed down cables can become loose over time due to heating and cooling of conductors? This is a very common cause of meter related house fires...
Any meter built or installed before 2001 will need to be replaced, its that simple, they have and will have come to the end of expected (certified) life, where as years ago we would test and recertify it has now become cheaper to replace the meter, in 2006 MID (Measuring Instruments Regulations) meters were introduced (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mid-approved-gas-and-electricity-meters) and since then all meters installed and MID approved. There for they are approved for a lifecycle set out by the manufacture, most are 10-15 years iirc.
I've said it before and I will say it again, residential metering makes less money for suppliers than you would expect, especially with the cost of running large call groups and employing humans in the UK (most have a significant UK based call center now, although they tend to have centres in several other parts of the world for outbound dialing). Commercial metering or CT/Major business is where the money is at, my employer manages the supply for every ScrewFix (1726 stores not including distribution centers) and B&Q (300 not including distribution centers) in the UK and they are one client worth rought £18m pa. We supply the rail network (£2.3b over 3 years) and every Government office (not local but we do cover several of them too). In some areas we supply street lighting and CCTV power systems. Consumer Retail business is small fry compared to generation, whole sale energy prices are close to cost in value of nuclear and gas generation, due to constant maintenance and new builds. Where as Solar and Wind in the UK has paid for its self in less than three years in some installations.
Eon do provide weekend appointments, as do nearly all suppliers bar a few of the smaller ones. They also provide late evening slots as do nearly all other suppliers.
If your E7 meter uses a radio teleswitch a smart meter will be your only option, I would be pushing for a new meter as hard a possible as come March 2025 when the Radio4 signal is switched off you can say goodbye to you heating and hotwater!
At the end of the day Suppliers are being FORCED to install smart meters as part of a Government idea it will help reduce our carbon footprint as a nation (it Wont). They honestly don't want to be doing it, every appointment costs roughly £400 in man hours and equipment that they are NOT allowed to add to the overall cost of your fuels (strict guidelines control what can be added to your fuel costs).
Disagree - time of use tariffs have already proven to make a huge difference.
Its funded through the standing charge.
Yeah seems a pretty obvious upside to smart metering. Encouraging smart EV charging and load shifting to have less spikes in usage means less fossil fuel based generation needed to meet short term demands - it's mostly gas used for that I recall.
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Time of use and load shifting does not reduce the carbon cost of 24/7 production from a gas powered plant.
Incorrect, the installation an maintenance of the smart meter is provided by the supplier, the standing charge covers the infrastructure cost provided by the DNO and the DCC.
No one said it did.
The marginal power generation is always fossil fuels at peak times. Shifting it overnight to where there is spare capacity on renewables via time of use pricing will lower carbon cost and it’s cheaper.
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Nope. They recoup the cost of providing installation and maintenance of the meter through the standing charge, just like they did with traditional meters.
As I said the installation and maintenance of the meter is paid for by the supplier, this is an up front coat of around £400 for a two fuel property.
The running costs of the meters come out of the standing charge.
Lol