PowerSwitch

We keep getting letters asking us to contact Eon so they can replace our electricity meter.

Apparently meters "wear out" ...

Hmmm ... I suspect this is baloney, and that they simply want to install a smart meter.

Well, I'm not keen on letting them install a meter which might have remote disconnect capability.

Sooo ... should I insist they get a magistrate's warrant, just to make a stand?

Just keep telling them you'll be away/out/working etc. They'll think you're upper middle class and leave you alone

Our gas-meter is outdoors so I wonder if they can replace it with a dodgy one on the sly?

Over the years, our meter has been periodically replaced. I believe they do wear out or become less accurate.

They have to change the meters every two years if you've been with the same supplier. You could try switching, the new supplier won't change it for two years.

If it were decided by the power co the meter would get changed once every 200 years, and you'd receive a massive back bill for 150 years electricity

My gas meter was changed a few years back, its external and it was just chance I happened to be there, couldnt do it if I didnt turn my boiler off.
Guy said the seals need replacing every 10 years, and its easier just to do the meter.

Not sure why your worried about a remote disconnect, they could just kill the sub station.

My meter was replaced last week. It's external. I haven't opened the box to see what the new one looks like.

Junkie wrote:They have to change the meters every two years if you've been with the same supplier. You could try switching, the new supplier won't change it for two years.

Ehhh, we've been (well, the landlord has been) with the same supplier for well over two years, and certainly the 2.5 years we've been in our place.
Looking at the meters, they certainly aren't new ones.

Vortex wrote:We keep getting letters asking us to contact Eon so they can replace our electricity meter.

Apparently meters "wear out" ...

Hmmm ... I suspect this is baloney, and that they simply want to install a smart meter.

Well, I'm not keen on letting them install a meter which might have remote disconnect capability.

Sooo ... should I insist they get a magistrate's warrant, just to make a stand?

Electricity distribution companies already have remote disconnect capability. In the extremely unlikely event that electricity generating shortfalls reach the point where demand has to be forcibly curtailed, they'd cut supplies indiscriminately to everybody in a certain catchment area. Smart meters can't make that worse and could potentially actually improve the position, if that's really what's uppermost in your mind in the list of things to be concerned about as regards your electricity supply. They could be used to ensure that those who really can't manage without, don't get cut off.

I've just checked my new meter. It is reading 48KWh after 7 days.

About 60% higher than I expected - and we weren't even at home for two days

I am going to check it again after another two days away.

Electricity meters do require periodic replacement, and the old ones with moving parts can actually wear out and become less accurate.
IMHO there is no cause for concern, the proposed smart meters are not really that smart, and AFAIK have no remote dissconnection facility.

As posted above by others, any shortage of electricity is easily dealt with by dissconecting one or more grid districts at a time.
This was done routinely in the 1970s and has been done since, though seldom.

Such rota cuts are normaly for up to 3 hours, and are imposed automaticly in case of sudden frequency collapse, or manualy if time permits.

It cant be repeated too often that such cuts are imposed one district at a time, and that no exceptions can be made for the elderly, vulnerable, disabled, hospitals, police stations, etc.

I'm ex Electricity Board, and there was a statuatory need to replace meters on a regular basis.

We used to have meter changing programmes which involved whole streets at a time. These days with multiple providers, and consumers changing suppliers on a whim, not so easy to keep under control.

There is no hidden agenda, meters do go a bit do-lally at times, and can fluctuate either way.

Alex

The flat I had in London from 2001-5 was on 'Economy 7' and had had the meter replaced but not the time clock which was the original 1970 model - rather conveniently the time had drifted (or been reset by a previous owner) so that cheap rate leccy was from 4 pm to 10pm approx real time.
Very convenient, I made sure I always submitted a customer reading to avoid the risk of a meter reader spotting the error...

Interesting post on smart meter privacy ..

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticl ... ws_discuss

Here's a direct link:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy ... y-concerns

Will the data include anything other than aggregated load wrt time? If it's just that the privacy implications are fairly limited and without a shadow of a doubt worth the efficiency savings.

Vortex, I'm surprised you're responding negatively to smart meters - in my mind (and I assumed most Powerswitcher's) smart meters are going to be critical to maintaining electricity service as the production falls over coming decades.

I'm specifically annoyed by the Eon letter which suggests that 'meters wear out' and if we don't change our meter then 'bad things will happen'.

I would prefer them not to talk down to us and simply admit that they want to install smart meters despite what age or condition our current meters are in.

I would also like them to summarise the features of these meters - merits AND demerits.

Some might regard the addition of a remote switch off feature as somewhat Orwellian.

Replacement of a dumb meter with a smart meter IS a major change for the consumer and so shouldn''t be snuck in via a dishonest letter.