Water meter cost?

[James Wilkinson Sword]

I thought I'd look into getting a water meter to save money, but it does= n't!

Current fixed cost (Scottish Water) with no meter is =A3390 a year.

To install the meter costs =A3100 for a survey, then =A3200 to install i= t.

Once it's in, it's =A3300 a year standard charge for pipe maintenance, p= lus =A3160 a year for the water I think I'd use (that's being very econo= mical, only 4 toilet flushes a day plus a bit for the shower, dishwasher= , sink etc.

That's more!

-- =

Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact? Breasts don't have eyes.

[Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp]

Never bothered getting one, I assumed I would save with a meter, but I also assumed they were free to the consumer.

AB

[alan_m]

My meter was fitted free and with the option I could change back to the property rateable value method of paying within a year of it being fitted. Any new owners of my house have to use the meter.

As a results my water charges fell but I detect that as more people have meters installed, either compulsory or voluntary, the standing charge part of the bill has increased while the actual consumption charge now forms a smaller part of the bill.

[Roger Mills]

Before I had a meter installed (free by Severn Trent) I bought and installed my own meter (ISTR for about 30 quid) and ran it for a year to see how much water I was using. I worked out that, for my usage, I'd save about a third of the cost relative to ratable value based charges.

I've had the (Severn Trent) meter for several years now. I do the sums every year, and I'm still quids in.

[Andrew]

My bills with Southern are about £65 every 6 months. That is a lot,lot less than the rateable value charge.

[Bill]

I'm in an area where water is United Utilities and sewage is Welsh Water. Our annual cost is about ?1200,payable half every 6 months, so twice a year I am consumed with rage, turn all the taps on and think seriously about washing the car.

A few years ago, I looked at the charges if we accepted their "free" meter, and compared the annual cost compared with a similar property in London. It was difficult to make the comparison because of the complexity of charges, but it appeared to be that for the same amount of water we would pay double what would be charged in London.

The sooner the multiple fat cats are drowned the better.

[S Viemeister]

I've just paid my _annual_ water bill - GBP 179.92. No waste water charge, we have a septic system.

[Brian Gaff]

What, that is criminal. I pay nowhere near this much for mine in the English suburb from Thames Water. Don't they want you to have one for some reason? Brian

[Brian Gaff]

They are in most places, as they can read them electronically and see if anyone is using too much, ie a leak. I think he has been misquoted or he lives in some small out of the way place with no pipes getting his water via a mule and buckets. brian

[Robin]

It is all down to the respective Parliaments. Scottish Water is in public ownership and has not been given money by the Scottish Parliament to pay for "free" meters. English water companies, in private ownership, are required by the Westminster Parliament to install them (where practicable) free of charge out of their own budgets.

IIRC the Scots argue there's no clear evidence that metering reduces usage.

[top posting for Brian]

[Huge]

No it isn't. It's state owned.

[Dan S. MacAbre]

Our meter was fitted free, and the bill immediately dropped from £60 PM to £40 PM (approximately where it has stayed since). Even without any readings having been taken. I took that as evidence that we were paying a £20 premium simply for not having a meter.

[JoeJoe]

...and there is hardly any water shortage there either.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Sounds similar to mine, half of mine is for the waste water.

I'm just surprised that if I get a meter and use almost no water, I pay = more.

And from what I've heard, places where you have to get a meter, they all= ended up paying more.

Ofwat apparently let the water companies take 2 billion profits, which t= hey failed to invest in more reservoirs, so we still get "water shortage= s".

-- =

Found in a fortune cookie: "You are a poor, pathetic, gullible fool who seeks advice from bakery pr= oducts."

[James Wilkinson Sword]

That'll be why it's so expensive then.

[alan_m]

Where water is plentiful there is no incentive for the water companies to try and get people to use less. In areas where there is likely to be a water shortage in times of prolonged hot weather the incentive is that it is cheaper to reduce consumer consumption[1] rather than expanding the capacity. Metering is seen as one way of getting people to realise how much water they are using.

[1] A figure of around 16% reduction in water consumption is claimed for a large scale trial of meters in the Isle of Wight.

[Robin]

Much the same thing. I prefer "public ownership" to "state ownership" because it covers things which are not owned by the state as such. It's also in line also with the split between public and private sector in the National Accounts (albeit that, following international standards, focuses on control rather than ownership in any event).

In this case it also avoids the issue that Scotland is not a "state" :)

[Andrew]

But how much is your house worth, how much has its price increased since 1997 ?.

How many bedrooms does it have ?

How many people live there ?.

Do you run a B&B or have lots of visitors ?

The free meter option works for older people where there are only 1 or 2, 3 at most people living in the property.

[Andrew]

But the pipes, pumps, sewage treatment and leisure activities all cost money, probably paid for by the Barnet formula.

[Harry Bloomfield]

alan_m expressed precisely :

Those most likely to volunteraly agree to a meter install, like me, are the people who are low users anyway. The big incentive to me, was a reduction in cost of around a 60% lower water bill and not subsidising others around me, the mass users, any more.

I use more or less exactly the same as I always did.