Ooops bit of a problem with smart meters

[tanner0441]

Hi

I have been bombarded with phone calls and letters telling me their engineers (electrical supply company) will be in my area installing smart meters.

My matra is "I don't want one and I will change supplier if I have to to avoid having one."  If pushed I elaborate that everyone I know who has had one their bills have increased and I already have a power meter monitoring my usage.

Now it transpires that 4 million smart meters in the UK could be faulty and overcharging people and only working in dumb mode. Each meter has a personality module in it, (SIM card type thing.) and your supplier can alter your tariff at will turn you off individually or control the maximum load you can use.. When they're working properly.

There haven't been any updates on the news about what they intend to do about it yet.


Brian

[dnix71]

You have a mess in the UK that is political in nature. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/smart-meter-why-say-no-get-one/

Declining North Sea oil production decades ago set the stage for this. Coal is dirty compared to oil or nat gas, but that's what you have left to keep the grid up in very cold or very warm weather.

If you live in council housing you have no choice, otherwise it's past time to make investments in reducing your electrical use or install solar with backup batteries if you have the money and option to do so.

In the US the 2G networks are gone and most of the 3G network is spotty. Smart meters should not depend on the public phone/tv/internet networks.

[sean_ork]

The Telegraph is not a credible source of factually correct information.

[dnix71]

The BBC's take seems to agree with the Telegraph. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-67591320
So does the Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/millions-of-uk-homes-risk-overpaying-on-energy-bills-due-to-faulty-smart-meters-b2518892.html
The gov't website in the UK was published 11 years ago and last updated 3 years ago. So much for getting reliable info from the gov't. We have the same problem in the US https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work

[sean_ork]

Those figures do not account for those who had no option but to accept the installation of a SM, but have opted to run it in dumb mode, that is an availableoption here in the UK. Given the increasing range of ToU tariff here in the UK, some of which enable user to achieve single digit average unit rates. I've a feeling those that are still uneasy about embracing the benifits of a smart meter do so for illogical reasons.

Everyone I know, who has opted to upgrade to a snart meter have massively benifited.

[mab]

You have a mess in the UK that is political in nature. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/smart-meter-why-say-no-get-one/

Well, smart meters are still a bit clunky and there needs to be more forward thinking re: using comms networks that are going obselete and being shut down, but the issues are less about the smart meters and more about the exploitative practices of some energy companies and an energy regulator body that seems to be more interested in protecting the energy companies than the consumers  - so yes a political problem that remains to be resolved.

Declining North Sea oil production decades ago set the stage for this. Coal is dirty compared to oil or nat gas, but that's what you have left to keep the grid up in very cold or very warm weather.

Not really. The last coal fired station shut down for good at the beginning of this month.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y35qz73n8o
If the wind and solar are not producing we import electricity from neighbours and use gas - imported to a large extent i expect.

In the US the 2G networks are gone and most of the 3G network is spotty. Smart meters should not depend on the public phone/tv/internet networks.

Perhaps not, but what's the alternative?

[joestue]

my emporia vue 2 agrees with my utility smart meter within 0.2%

[dnix71]

mad Meters here us Bluetooth optical ports to be read. You can get an app for your smart phone that allows you to read your own meter. Meters also call home over the wires that supply power to your house. Using public internet is big league stupid. That is one reason for the distrust of election results here. Many voting machines are internet aware. Even air gapping is not insurance anymore.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Cyber_p006/cybersecurity/air-gap-computer-hacking lots of references at the botttom of the article.

If you agree to allow the power company to cut off certain appliance during peak use, they install devices that call home. If you try to bypass the shut off the power company knows immediately.

https://gridwatch.co.uk/ There are still 9 coal plants left, even if they are not running. And what's the point of burning garbage instead of coal other than making smaller landfills? We do that here in Florida https://www.fastcompany.com/91013995/florida-burns-its-trash-for-energy-and-now-it-wants-to-use-climate-funds-to-expand

Fake science is still fake science about climate change and people's part in it. I was watching a 20 year old X-Files sci-fi where Mulder mocks the view that cow flatulence causes climate change. Lying politicians and fake scientists with a hidden agenda make life difficult for everyone.

Personally I wouldn't burn coal for electricity because you need coal to produce raw steel from ore. That is strategically more important than making a few percent of the grid power. Nuclear is a bad deal in the long run because the fuel cycle is not closed. Buying power from someone else is not a solution, either.
Solar looked good under Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. https://www.theweatherjunkies.com/single-post/2017/09/28/Puerto-Rican-Solar-Farms-Heavily-Damaged-By-Hurricane-Maria

The widespread use of LED lighting has bought the world time to work on answers. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/led-lighting#:~:text=Residential%20LEDs%20--%20especially%20ENERGY%20STAR%20rated%20products,impact%20on%20energy%20savings%20in%20the%20United%20States.