Reply to post: Re: OK, but why ....

Shocker: UK smart meter rollout is crap, late and £500m over budget

Adrian 4

Re: OK, but why ....

I never understood how this was supposed to work.

I've got nothing against something that pauses certain electricity uses until later - storage heaters, obviously, but maybe also freezers, washing machines, etc.

However, how's it supposed to work through a meter that's only got control of the whole house ? Thanks, but I don't want my CPAP machine turned off along with everything else because it would be convenient to run it during the afternoon instead. Or my dishes washed after the meal, that I had to eat with dirty plates (I cook on gas).

The original 'smart meter' concept was one that negotiated the best price amongst several suppliers and bought the next hour's use from a preferred supplier. It seems to have mutated into something locked into a single supplier and providing a level of control that only permits a reduction in cost of meter reading and a cheap easy cutoff if the bill isn't paid. There's only one entity I can see gaining from this.

Even the meter reading cost argument is ridiculous. Pay by capacity, not by usage. Far cheaper to administrate - you just rent a sealed fuse of a specific size.

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