Npower smart meter question

[fingal]

Thanks for all the replies!

I feel a little like I'm being pushed into having this meter fitted by the company so that's made me decide not to have it fitted at this moment in time.

Joan ofarc: 3 smart meters and 2 under the stairs? That's not very good as we've only had our meters changed once in 40 years!

[steve]

We unherited npower at current house, moved to coop - a LOT cheaper

[rolling-thunder]

It would seem we have to have meters fitted by 2020. After that date we have to pay for them ourselves. Which means they are supposed to be free and without additional change before 2020. I get the impression that the Government wants all households fitted with the meter so it seems a little silly if they aren't universal. As it is at the moment we submit our meter reading online after banning meter readers off our property. They now need to make an appointment if they need to inspect our meter. This comes after sometimes having 2 or 3 meter readers a week calling at our home , all insisting they had the right to read our meter. The final nail was when one reader called in the middle of a meal while I was away from home. My wife didn't feel comfortable letting him in the home so he got stroppy and threatened to return with a warrant and have her arrested. We made a complaint to the company and asked them to send someone else in future. He returned at later date when we were already submitting online readings and it was only after i'd closed the door on him my wife told me it was the same chap. I went and had a word & told him if he ever stepped on my property again i'd have him prosecuted for trespass. I phoned the company and reminded them about the complaint.
Not all meter readers can be nasty but now these situations can now be avoided, as can the incessant line of meter readers calling at all hours.

[Lorquinho]

Check out the Which? and Ofgem sites for smart meter information

They are not compulsory unless your existing meter needs changing for safety reasons and can be set to a "dumb" communication-less mode in which they behave like existing meters. Installation is free now and will be in the future.

There is a possibility that energy companies may offer special smart meter only tariffs in the future to "encourage" take up.

[seivad]

I'm sure their ultimate aim will be to charge you time of use rates. We went through the same thing a few years ago. The BS that we wouldn't have to send meter readings, and how energy conscious we'd all be when we could see how much power some appliances were using. All of this, of course, was for our benefit... and we should be so happy. Ha! Time of use tariffs came around, and so did an increase in the bill.

[silver fox]

I'm sure their ultimate aim will be to charge you time of use rates. We went through the same thing a few years ago. The BS that we wouldn't have to send meter readings, and how energy conscious we'd all be when we could see how much power some appliances were using. All of this, of course, was for our benefit... and we should be so happy. Ha! Time of use tariffs came around, and so did an increase in the bill.

Certainly, the energy companies have only one thing in mind, reduce their costs and increase their profits, not one of them have customers requirements at the forefront of their philosophy, we all know by now that the alleged "competitive market" is a load of BS, they just look for new ways to stick extra charges on while telling us how much better it is for the customer.

[salus.populi]

Time of use tariffs came around, and so did an increase in the bill.

Let me guess, it's cheaper to put your lights on in the daytime and more expensive to put them on when it gets dark?

[Styx]

The great smart meter rip-off: Energy giants will use devices to DOUBLE the cost of power when you need it most.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/b...need-most.html

The main driver for the the introduction of Smart Meters is from the industry to enable time of day tariffs to be rolled out in the domestic market.

Big Brother moves one step closer.

"Scottish Power said new tariffs which lead to price shifts every half an
hour will be put in place as soon as the energy regulator gives them the go
ahead."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ish-Power.html

[rolling-thunder]

A programme popped up after i'd submitted my earlier reply. I was shocked to find there was a tariff added on to pay for these meters. It was my understanding originally , that the customer didn't pay for the meters. So what is supposed to save us money is actually costing us extra money just to have them in the house

[Ceam]

allegedly they are installed to save money, which is nonsense. The only way to save money is to turn things off. You can do that without a smart meter. This is being done to give them more control.

[gsgsgs]

I had smart meters installed in 2017, initially I had the smart display set up so I could see it. After a few days of checking after each kettle boil, tea cooked, shower etc I hid it, it nearly became an obsession.

The only was to save money is to turn things off, not having smart meters.

Incidentally they're not so smart in that the reading for gas is given in imperial even though it says KWH, you either have to convert it or get the reading from the meter, defeating one of the reason to have a smart meter installed.

I've just found out my energy supplier has been forced to cease trading by Ofgem so waiting to hearing what happens next!

[Graham]

If you are really frugal with your electricity the one thing you cant do anything about is the standing charge...

Or is it?

There are some companies like Utilita who do not have a standing charge - its like PAYG - you would still have to weigh up the Kwh costs though to see if its worth switching...

[Alikado]

If you are really frugal with your electricity the one thing you cant do anything about is the standing charge...

Or is it?

There are some companies like Utilita who do not have a standing charge - its like PAYG - you would still have to weigh up the Kwh costs though to see if its worth switching...

If you sign up with;-

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub

and put your usage & tariff details in you can get a comparison of deals that are both with & without a standing charge, they also let you know when a better deal is around and when your current deal is coming to an end, you may even get some cashback when switching with them.