Is utility meter reading getting worse? I ask because we've had an electricity bill (from Powergen) where we've been overcharged by 10,000 kW hrs - the reader apparently didn't spot that the dial on the 10k wheel was between 9 and 0 and not after 0. I'll bet the errors err on the over side.
Also, how much does it cost to replace a dial meter with a modern one? Is this worth doing?
E.
My water bill was £50 which is way out of line with expectations. The company confirmed it was a read but I don't believe the cover had been lifted. He either hadn't bothered at all or got them mixed up. I expect little else from many companies these days, I'm afraid.
I thought they were done as a matter of course. Ours was changed to digital about five years ago.
Andy
Yes AIUI there's a rolling replacement programme. There's no cost to the customer.
david
Ask them if they'll change it.
No, you are watching the bills and checking your meter so any errors will be detected and corrected.
Yes lecky meters should be replaced by the REC every ten years at no cost to the customer. What you get as a replacement varies, some times an electronic jobbie, sometimes a refurbished spinning disc one.
Some meters can be read remotely without lifting the cover... Anyway I'm= sure you have checked what the meter actually says and what the meter reading on the bill says tally.
Is it the primary supplier that does this or is there a third-party common organisation like I presume Transco is?
E.
If that's the case, it doesn't work !
Anyway I'm
Indeed. The revised bill was £150
Andy
In those situations I keep quiet and keep the money in my bank account until they catch up...
Yeah it's fine if you do actually put the money aside... I didn't bother and last year (after ages of no readings) suddenly found myself having to pay an electric bill 1000 GBP higher than usual. And that *hurt*!
David
I wish I had your self-control ! ;-)
Andy
Do you have a reference for this that I could wave at my supplier? It's never been done - although the gas and water have.
Andy
Known around these parts as an ESMA change (electricity supply metering act IIRC)
The time period between changes depends factors such as the type of premises. Some changes may be as much as 25 years apart IIRC, others
12-15 years.Sadly I don't have any cites on the time periods :-}
Although the year of manufacture on the meter may be waaaay back in the past, if it has a red spot on the glass, it was re-certified - this was happening all the way through the 1980s from what I remember, possibly longer.
When I was working on a remote meter reading project in the early 1990's, the requirments REC's put on meter suppliers was a 40 year expected lifetime and a 10 year guarantee. (The 40 year expected lifetime ruled out the use of LED and LCD displays in the early 1990's.)
There are 4 meters in different houses I know the age of, and they are aged 17 (age of house), 21 (since meter last replaced),
25 (since meter moved during renovation), and 49 (age of house).
Have a dig about on the Ofgem site but I hope you have better luck than me, links back to Homepage 404...
One can give them a hard luck story. I had a similar situation and offered the supplier the choice of spreading the payment over 6 months or my business going to another supplier. They went for the first.
Mine was recently replaced, the chap said "new electronic ones (the only ones we are now fitting) are good for 10 years. The mechanical types would do 15 years between recals, but we are now scrapping them."
My recently replaced one was date stamped 1953, but was fitted early 90s after recalibration to replace a 1976 model.
I used to do this but with the way prices keep going up these days I'd be more inclined to accept high estimates and effectively get some of next year's energy at this year's prices.
My most recent bill was severely underestimated so I suspect that (Powergen at least) have cottoned onto that. I noticed as well that they no longer have an automated 'report your reading' line. You can do it but have to sit in a queue with everyone else to speak to a person in the call centre.
Andrew
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