Scrap The Smart Meter Rollout Now
By Paul Homewood
h/t Dave Ward
Energy companies are set to miss their targets for installing smart meters this year amid reports of supply chain and staffing issues.
Ofgem, the industry regulator, set domestic firms a target of installing nearly three million smart meters.
However, only 1.7 million were installed in the first nine months, according to new data from industry analysts ElectraLink. Reaching the target by the end of 2022 would require companies to nearly double their current installation rates.
Smart meters are key to plans to reduce demand for electricity and avoid blackouts this winter after the National Grid said that it would pay households to reduce their use during peak times.
However, customers have complained of long waits and faulty technology, even after asking suppliers to install the devices.
Installation rates have still not bounced back to their levels before the pandemic, when social distancing and lockdowns made home installations difficult.
If the government is serious about cutting energy bills, the first thing it should do is cancel the smart meter rollout, which will cost billions more to fulfil, all of which will end up on energy users’ bills.
Approximately about half of UK households have smart meters, meaning that it will cost about £20 billion to complete the rollout. This saving should be used to reduce the energy price cap immediately.
But at least we are starting to get the truth:
“Smart meters are key to plans to reduce demand for electricity and avoid blackouts this winter “
This is the first time I have seen it admitted that we need them to avoid blackouts. Previously we have seen all sorts of absurd and easily disprovable claims that smart meters will be of huge benefit to customers, enabling them to check their usage, benefit from cheap off peak rates and avoid estimated readings (frankly the most ludicrous claim of the lot, given we all have the internet now!).
Given that smart meters cost around £800 per household, I would struggle to find anybody who would actually fork out this out for something that appears to not even work a lot of the time. That is why successive governments back to Blair’s time have decided to mandate the energy companies to bear the cost, which is then of course passed onto everybody’s bills whether they have one or not.
If consumers really can save money with a smart meter, let them buy their own.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
If the grid wants to control demand outside of large users where they have demand side unit agreements, they can cut some of the substations at peak. Much more efficient than smart meters
Reading between the lines of the plans for rolling blackouts it seems clear that smartmeters will allow individual homes on a street to be targetted, while the light stay on in some of them. It will be argued that you can stay warm and watch TV with your neighbours rather than everyone in the neighbourhood being plunged into darkness for three hours. But as a demonstration of technical capability it would have quite other implications.
Cancelling the smart meter programme is indeed an obvious way to save money, aside from the totalitarian overtones of granting power to the Centre.
I don’t think the current UK smart meter program was designed to be used to perform rolling blackouts as the distribution network operator would need to know what load it was removing from the system and the current smart meters are aud-hoc mess (can you imagine if they try to do this via the smart meters and couldn’t figure out how to turn everything back on?)
If there was any kind of plan it was cronyism (someone must laughing all the way to the bank), maybe time of use pricing and maximum peak demand charging as it makes no sense having the energy suppliers being responsible for the meters and you would have thought OFGEM would have investigate this in mid 2000s as I suspect having the distribution network operators be in charge of the meters (regular & smart) & requiring the installation of a standardised socket like in North America whenever there is a new installation or replacement so meters become plug and play would saving the consumer money in the long run.
During the August 2019 blackout they found that they didn’t understand what load was removed by disconnections. The variable was embedded generation. Once you are dealing in tens of thousands of homes or more the average load shed is actually quite predictable. See Central Limit Theorem.
Quite apart from having to replace 1st generation stuff as well as install new meters, isn’t it the case that even the ones being touted now will have to be replaced if things like V2G (vehicle to grid) facilities have to be catered for?
If hey can’t manage the to meet the target for the relatively straightforward installation of electricity meters it doesn’t bode well for their chances of meeting their target for heat pumps, does it?
I have no intention of getting a smart meter but I had an interesting conversation with a representative of my gas and electricity supplier who phoned to convince me to get one. After asking about the geography of my admittedly rambling house he told me that I wasn’t able to have a smart meter because the gas and electricity supply entries were too far apart – some thirty feet – and both distant from my WiFi hub. Seems there are many potential problems…but in any case I regard smart meters as anathema!
“and both distant from my WiFi hub”
What an odd thing to say. Smart meters don’t use your WiFi, they have their own dedicated nationwide network (which raises its own, different problems of course).
But of course, you were speaking to a non-technical sales geek, possibly a Guardian reader!
That’s interesting as my gas meter is in an enclosure just inside the front gate and my electricity meter is in a cupboard in the toilet.
If a “smart” meter and installation costs £800, I wonder how much would it cost to produce a little fact-sheet saying:-
“(1) The higher the wattage rating of any appliance, the more electricity it will use when turned on.
(2) The more electricity you use, the more it will cost you.
(3) The End”
I’m sure the Chinese could produce tens of thousands of such a small fact sheet, with a self-adhesive back, for a few quid.
As a Chartered Engineer, I find it insulting that they imagine I need even such a little fact-sheet, let alone some (almost certainly Chinese) unreliable and insecure gizmo, manufactured and installed.
Of course, as Paul points out, the real aim is for Ofgem to be able to restrict how much electricity you can use, although I note that current models are unable to do even this unless all your appliances are compatible (providing they care a fart whether, for example, your freezer defrosts itself without your knowledge).
Perhaps they just want to make electricity more expensive and more user unfriendly, which chimes perfectly with all their other genius policies. Take the wizard scheme of Carbon Capture & Storage.
I am certain that the whole idea of this was to make electricity more expensive, initially for coal and now for gas. Even for an unusually gormless Arts-Grad MP, it is hard to see any justification for the concept of using roughly a third of energy generated to ‘capture’ some CO2, and enormous amounts of money to then transport and insecurely store it. And Billions have already been wasted on this nonsense, with no tangible outcome.
I was once at a meeting chaired by John “Two Jags” Prescott, to propose such a scheme (the idea promoted by Richard Budge’s two sons and based on a new Syngas plant at Drax or Eggborough and a large diameter pipeline out to North Sea oil wells). I was rude enough (and close enough to retirement) to ask whether this idea made much sense as, based on their figures for an entirely successful scheme on one hand and the IPCC’s magic formulae, it would reduce the projected 2100 global temperature by 0.000,006ºC (from memory). As you will be aware, Two Jags was a horny handed son of toil (a ship’s steward) rather than his louche and even more incompetent successors, but he was smart enough to point out that this would be much better than increasing the temperature by 0.000,oo6ºC. As I obviously wasn’t going to be allowed a ‘supplementary question’, that is how it was left.
“I’m sure the Chinese could produce tens of thousands of such a small fact sheet”
It was recently reported that many Smart Meters are made by Chinese companies, and/or incorporate Chinese components and technology. And yet we’ve had repeated assurances from our “Government” that the system is completely secure!
Yes! Just like the bioweapon jabs, completely safe and completely effective!
Like the completely wonderful, cheap and appropriate whirligigs, solar EVs and Heat Pumps.
As Sunak has already re-introduced the complete ban on fracking (except for geothermal fracking no doubt) we are completely up shit creek without a paddle.
I have been warning people for years not to have a smart meter, because it was obvious to me that they would ultimately be used to control people’s energy use as they have no other useful function.
Self drive cars in the same category. Simply turn routes off and on to suit the prevailing orthodoxy.
It would be possible to have autonomous self drive cars.
Energy companies have been bullied by the government into installing smart meters, as they face financial penalties if they don’t meet their targets. Energy companies, not wanting to pay penalties, have in turn bullied their customers.
We signed up to a contract a while ago which, unknown to us, despite checking fairly carefully, contained a clause in the small print saying that the tariff in question was available only to customers with smart meters. When I declined to have one installed, I was bullied remorselessly by a very unpleasant and aggressive staff member (I’m guessing she received a bonus if she signed up enough customers to smart meters) who basically told me (two days before the old tariff expired, when I was struggling to find an alternative supplier at such short notice) that I would be thrown off (and left unsupplied) unless I agreed to take one.
In the end, I caved in and took one. It sits in a drawer, not plugged in. I have seen none of the “benefits” touted for them. We all know that the real reason they want us all to have them is to control supply to us because they have broken the system.
I did try to find a small supplier who wouldn’t make me have a smart meter (the smaller companies were not yet under the same financial pressures from the government) but I concluded that they were woefully under-capitalised, so were too much of a risk. The ones I considered have subsequently all gone bust. The system is well and truly broken, from government policy, through Ofgem and smart meters.
Your smart meter isn’t sitting in a drawer, not plugged in.
It’s sitting in your meter box, fully functional.
Just like your laptop being switched off in a drawer, your Wi-Fi is still working.
I know that. But I am not sitting looking at it, nor am I paying for the electricity it would use if I plugged it in. 😉
About 15 years ago I bought an OWL energy monitor. It cost £25 and took 30 minutes to install and get up and running.
It provides all the data needed to see what my electricity use is and costs, and modify my useage if necessary.
It would have been easier and cheaper to have sent these free of charge to every electricity user, and what’s more you would have been independent of control! Even if they now cost £200 each, there would have been a saving of £40 billion compared with what is currently being spent (wasted).
The downside as far as the government and electricity companies are concerned is that they can’t use “time of use ” pricing or develop electricity use management systems.
Electricity usage can still be sent in via the internet, and occasional meter reading visits can still be done to check the accuracy of the readings that have been reported.
I was given 2 electricity monitors for free by Eon and British Gas. The novelty wore off with both quite quickly and they were unused when the batteries went flat. Both ended up in the bin.
Sorry to be OT but has anyone seen this delightful bit of scaremongering?
https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/18/maps-showing-parts-of-uk-underwater-in-30-years-will-shock-you-17586168/
Oh that pops up every few months.
It’s another bit of rubbish from “Climate Central”.
See a small compilation I made here: https://cliscep.com/2022/01/15/drowning-by-numbers/
This started with an innocent sounding EU Directive in 2012, here is the wording (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/2012/27/article/9):
“Member States shall ensure that, in so far as it is technically possible, financially reasonable and proportionate in relation to the potential energy savings, for electricity and natural gas final customers are provided with competitively priced individual meters that accurately reflect their actual energy consumption and that provide information on the actual time of use.]
Such a competitively priced individual meter shall always be provided when:
(a)an existing meter is replaced, unless this is technically impossible or not cost-effective in relation to the estimated potential savings in the long term;
(b)a new connection is made in a new building or a building undergoes major renovations, as set out in Directive 2010/31/EU. ”
The UK govt ignored the words “financially reasonable”, and the minimum requirement for merely waiting for existing meters to be replaced, and has been digging a hole for itself ever since.
“The UK govt…”
Lest we forget, all UK govts tended to interpret all Directives in ways as extreme, absurd, and damaging to us, as possible. They thought it clever to be more European than the Europeans.
They don’t mention that one way to cut blackouts is their plans for selective shutting down of domestic consumption without notice via the smart meter. You will have nothing and be happy
The project was managed by OfGen and is another complete failure from objectives, design and implementation that we have all been forced to pay for. A total waste of our money for no benefit – OfGen should be disbanded for the Smart Meter mess alone not even mentioning the incompetence and failures of the retail market that once again consumer will be forced to pay for as yet more supplies go bust. What a mess.
OFGEM are a total waste of space, since Jonathan Brearley took over (who co wrote the climate change act) they lost sight of their original remit, TO KEEP CONSUMER COSTS DOWN. They completely F..ked up the price cap and subsequent failure of many suppliers just about a year ago. About time they all got sacked.
The other thing about smart meters that no one dare mention is “Time of Day Pricing”. National Grid is advising power shortage in the evenings this winter and is offering £20 a day to smart meter consumers to not use electricity at this time. Crazy just increase the price by 20 or 30 times and see how they squeal, serves the idiots right.
Miliband changed the Ofgem brief so that it no longer defended the consumer as it was required to support eco-lunacy and unreliable expensive generation.
Miliband again! That guy has ruined this country.
Electricity Smart Meters must be made mandatory for homes with high-demand EV chargers and heat pumps, so that during power shortages they will be the first to experience the consequences of imposing such loads on our grid.
I assume you saw the story about the EV owners who sent notes to their neighbours requesting they cut electricity use so their vehicles could be reliably charged?
I would add to that those who have solar panels.
@Gerry, England – The people with solar panels who still want to be connected to the grid also need to be on 1/2 hour time of use tariff since the traditional single or economy 7 price is based on an average profile so they full contribute to the cost of the generating capacity they need.
As well as people who want to claim they use “100% renewable electricity” so there electricity supply is subject to real time balancing and is disconnected if the not enough renewable electricity or battery charged by renewable (to avoid the trick California plays with overnight battery charging with imported largely fossil fuel electricity).
Aiui all of the meters – 1st generation and 2nd – use the old 2G bandwidth for communication. That is due to be auctioned off sometime after 2025.
Apparently it would be tricky and expensive to retrofit the installed meters for an alternative means of communication so they may have to be replaced.
Makes you weep.
Partially off topic, but can anyone clarify for me the VAT position regarding propane? A friend claims to have recently had a 47kg propane refill for £75 but that price was inclusive of 20%VAT. “Devatted” that made it only £62.50 thus adding the lower 5% fuel VAT rate comes in at £65.62. My query is that propane has an energy density of 50.3MJ/kg thus the 47kg cylinder has a theoretical maximum energy content of 656kWh (47 x 50.3 ÷ 3.6) . At the 5% VAT rate that equates to just 10p per kWh and actually cheaper than mains gas right now. Surely that can’t be right?
This sort of follows on from Red Diesel hovering around the £1.00 per litre which when run through a generator can readily supply electricity at at over 3kWh per litre (approx. 30p per kWh) and is hence cheaper that mains supplies as well. Again what is going on that d.i.y. small scale supply is cheaper than massive scale mains services?
Footnote, this is not where the propane was purchased from but this is what I have just found online showing 20% VAT. I personally thought only 5% should apply.
https://chorleybottlegas.co.uk/basket
20% VAT applies unless it can be shown to be domestic supply. I think if you have a propane fuelled boiler with bulk delivery to a tank in your garden you pay 5%. Perhaps too if you have cylinders delivered to fuel your cooker. But not if you buy from a store. The rules are here
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-fuel-and-power/vfup2310
The government has gone back on its word regarding the use of Smart Meter data:
https://twitter.com/BernieSpofforth/status/1584911556835409922
Maybe this URL will link to the original tweet so you can watch the clip?
https://twitter.com/BernieSpofforth/status/1584911556835409922?s=20&t=lR3aaB-dr0TMgQyl4HUEug
Bloody WordPress – I give up!
One doesn’t need a smart meter. Just use your ordinary meter.
We (me and t’missus) bought a device called an Owl for a couple of quid from the charity shop that had a sensor that clipped round the cable at the meter and gave a readout of power that was being used.
Worked great, we ran round turning stuff on and off for an hour or so, found out little or nothing we didn’t already know.
When the batteries ran out they didn’t get replaced.