The one we had fitted is the later system which is transferrable, I believe they all have to be so now. Our bill has not altered at all from the installationI have resisted on the grounds that I don't want my energy supplier to have direct, real time access to my essential services. The other reason being, once you have a smart meter installed it cannot be removed or the installation rescinded, even if you change suppliers. Plus of course, each supplier can use a different system.
the smart meter rollout is a Government requirement, driven by a EU directive
The power companies save money by not having readers, and bumping up your estimates (often ignoring your reads, so watch them).
Also the little meter thing they give you with the present reading and the lights on is handy because it has a clock on it and tells you the right time
I can claim money back off them and also set my own direct debit, they don't have control over my bank.
No, no advantage for you, it will cost a lot more long term when the prices go up to match your usage patterns. It seems they now charge for apparent power where as previous meters did not.
no idea what ‘apparent power‘ is
Well of course they don't have control of your bank, but not everyone is astute, or savvy, or whatever is needed to keep track of this. It took me two phone calls to get my workshop bill and direct debit reduced to realistic levels - probably over an hour and a half on the phone in total.I can claim money back off them and also set my own direct debit, they don't have control over my bank.
Plus I can see how long the daughter spends in the shower.... leaving it running for ten minutes beforehand to warm the bathroom up. I’ve put a stop to that
I pay for what I have used, no idea what ‘apparent power‘ is, but the smart meter counts unit/numbers like a normal one does. I have a fixed tariff, so they can’t start changing my prices around for usage, and if they do I shall simply change suppliers.