As energy prices rise, many households are anxious to monitor their use of gas and electricity in real time and, above all, how much it costs them all, with this feature one of the great attractions of smart meters.
Last month, Guardian Money published a letter from a reader that Shell Energy’s smart meter stopped working just as the new upper energy price cap came into effect in April, and we ask other readers to tell us if they were also experiencing “a loss of intelligence.” ness ”.
The answer was a resounding yes. The hundreds of letters we received coincided with the publication last week of government figures that revealed that millions of smart devices are readable by hand.
Officials say there are now more than 28.8 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across the UK, but about 3.6 million are in what the Department of Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) calls it “traditional mode”, potentially because the owner has switched to a vendor that “currently cannot run the meter in smart mode” or there are network communication problems. However, BEIS says the number running in traditional mode is declining.
We looked at the issues readers raised about specific power providers, as well as other questions about smart meters.
When will my smart meter be smart again?
The original letter to our Consumer Champions was about Shell Energy, and our request made many more customers write. Jennifer, a customer of Shell Energy, whose meter also went crazy in March, spoke out to many when she said she could not control its use. and therefore his expense, was a source of concern.
“I can’t see at the moment how much a particular action is costing me, such as heating for an hour or having the oven and grill on for 40 minutes, from rising energy prices.” he says. “Could it be that I can afford to turn on the heating more, or maybe there are things I’m doing that cost a lot and could reduce … that’s probably the goal of a smart meter?”
Several Shell Energy users wrote to report problems with their meters. Photo: True Images / Alamy
Some Shell Energy customers say they were warned that their problem was due to the “unreliable signal” where their device was placed, while others with problems say that their meters stopped working when they were transferred to the company from a failed supplier or when the price limit. changed.
Shell Energy says: “As is the case throughout the industry, a small proportion of smart metering equipment may lose communication. When the cause of the error can be identified and is under our control, we work to resolve the issue. “When the problem is out of our control, we work with our industry partners to try to address them.”
He added: “We are not aware of any smart meter issues caused by customers switching to our failed vendor system or by changing the price cap. problem because the new rate information is not displayed on the IHD. [in-home display]but these events are not a cause in themselves. “
The company also says that “when we talk about smart metering equipment that is not working properly, it is a communication problem and not a supply problem: the supply of electricity and gas to the property, billing and direct debit they are not affected “.
Smart counters 2.0?
CS, an EDF Energy customer, reports that its smart meters had also stopped working and says it was told that its first-generation meter, or SMETS1, was to blame. The same reason seems to have been given to some E.ON customers whose counters had malfunctioned.
SMETS1 stands for “Technical Specification of Smart Measurement Equipment 1”, and they were the first wave of meters installed in homes. The industry has now moved to install SMETS2 devices.
“I didn’t know that smart meters needed upgrades and I’m a little worried that manual readings could inflate my bills compared to smart meters in a period of sharp price increases,” says CS.
With more than 2.8 million smart meters in its books, EDF says it has been installing SMETS2 devices since the end of 2018. It added that at the start of the smart launch program, all customers UK power meters had SMETS1 meters, which did not have the ability to always work effectively when a customer moves between suppliers.
The company says there is an industry-wide scheme known as Enrollment and Adoption (E&A), which is specific to SMETS1 meters and consists of enrolling them in a new secure network. “This is intended to give SMETS1 counters the same functionality as SMETS2 counters without the customer having to go through the hassle of another meter change. Most of our SMETS1 customers have already successfully registered.”
Citizens Advice has developed an online tool to help you check what type of smart meter you have and troubleshoot.
Gillian Cooper, its head of energy policy, says some of the top meters may lose their smart functionality when you switch. “This can happen, for example, if your provider has collapsed and you have been relocated to a new one,” he says. “If you haven’t switched power providers and are having problems with your smart meter, you should contact your energy company for assistance.”
Some readers have had problems with their smart gas meter alone. Photo: Ron Bull / Alamy
My provider blames the data communications company. What is and can be your fault?
The DCC is the “digital backbone” that connects smart meters with energy providers and is the new network that EDF describes. The network is owned by Capita and several readers, including Shell Energy, E.ON and Octopus customers, say they were told their problem was a problem with the DCC.
Geoffrey Towne, one of the several Octopus Energy customers who wrote to us, reports that the two meters went “dumb” on March 16th. When he reported the fault, they told him: “In February, a large number of communication centers have lost communication with us. This is a high priority flaw that is being investigated and treated by the DCC. “
Octopus tells Guardian Money that it is aware of a problem caused by a software error affecting a specific type of counter. “The problem is with a software bug in the communications center firmware of this type of smart meter, which leads to a loss of connectivity. However, this is not a big problem: it only affects about 1,000 of our smart meters, ”says the company.
He added: “We have been working with DCC on this and have developed a solution that does not require a complete smart meter replacement. It will be launched to all our affected customers over the next few weeks.”
There are 11.8 m SMETS2 counters and 8.7 m SMETS1 counters on the DCC network. Millions of first-generation counters had stopped sending automatic reads before being enrolled in the smart grid, and as they migrate further, some of the connection issues reported by readers should be resolved.
Migration is complex and involves the readjustment of more than 500 technological variants.
A DCC spokesman says there are now 20.5 million meters on the smart meter network and the vast majority are “working as they should.”
They add: “As with any network of our scale and high growth, a small number of devices may experience temporary problems, which we solve, working closely with energy suppliers and meter manufacturers.”
Are smart meters a waste of money?
The suggestion that they are not as smart as advertised (the current promotional impetus has Albert Einstein as the brand’s ambassador) has led some readers, such as Peter Holmes, to conclude that counters are a “waste of money. “.
“I’ve had a problem with a smart meter since I switched to Shell Energy,” he writes. “I’ve reported it twice, but it hasn’t been fixed yet. It had second-generation smart meters installed by EDF, but when I switched to Green, the electricity meter stopped communicating, though that the gas one was fine. “
However, when Holmes later switched to Shell, he says the gas meter reconnected, but the electricity meter stopped again. “Personally, I think smart meters are just a massive waste of money. Smart meters have had no impact on my energy use,” he writes.
Russell Wing, who says his smart meter has never worked, adds: “We’ve tried at least five times with multiple vendors to make it work. It also has a nice backlit display, so it’s easier to do. the readings.
With smart meters that she said only worked properly for a short period of time, Ecotricity customer JN wonders if the whole project is a green wash and a way to get rid of staff.
“It certainly doesn’t save me money, as I had been keeping a close eye on what I was using anyway, and it scares me to think what scarce minerals are used to make counters and appliances,” he writes. “The arguments for installing them are greenwash in my view.”
The deployment of smart meters in 30 million homes is expected to be completed by 2025, and the EIB describes the replacement of traditional gas and electricity meters as an essential improvement in the national infrastructure that would help make the system the country’s energy market is “cheaper, cleaner and more reliable”.
A BEIS spokesman says the launch “is making good progress”, adding: “Customers who have a smart meter are more satisfied with their overall energy provider, but we want all consumers to have the best possible experience and will continue to work closely with the industry so that customers can take full advantage of smart services. “
The cost of the project is distributed among everyone’s bills as part of the standing charge. Smart Energy GB, the government-backed campaign to educate the British on the merits of smart meters, says the devices gave consumers greater visibility and control over their energy …