Fear of Smart Meters...

hey it is CA, they must be stoned out of their minds!

 

I'm just afraid of the horror stories of people getting enormously inflated bills because the new meters didn't measure correctly.

 

I'd be sceptical too. A few years ago the water companies here wanted to fit meters (previously it was just a set fee banded off your size of house) and said it would be much cheaper if you were metered.

What a crock of ****. Why did I believe them? My water bills are much bigger than those who still pay the set banded fee and there are only two of us in the house. Can I remove the meter and go back? No.

So I quite understand the concern of these residents getting 'smart' meters fitted. If the utility company think it's a good idea then it's usually only a good idea for THEM!

 

You must use a lot of water Grumpy
Anglian water put us on a £50/month band when we moved in, there's just two of us. After having the meter we're on £16 a month.

 

This happens.. if meter has issues and doesn't emit reading. The billing system is set up to generate ridiculous charge if meter was not read, to force you to call and schedule repair. This is the case with water meters since those are indoors, should not be the case with gas/electric as those are outside anyways.

It is all part of AGW conspiracy.

 

It was about £30 month here and now our use is nearer £45-£50 a month. I use an eco, low water washer and contrary to popular southern misinformation, we do wash daily up here

I even got them to replace the meter and have been checked for leaks as the bill was just too high but it has all checked out ok. OK I might use a sprinkler on the lawn every now and then but that's not the point. lol

 

Wow, your water costs are pretty high there! I pay roughly $60/quarter except during summer when my sprinkler system runs. Then it usually doubles my cost. I've got 1 - 2.5gpm shower head for my shower and a 1.75 gpm head for the other shower. Low flow toilets, HE washing machine, and dish washer gets run every 5 days or so. Then again, there are places whose costs are 10x what mine are in this country too.

On topic, if I owned the electric company, I'd shut off their power if they blocked the meter. The meter is the property of the power company. Then again, I don't own the power company, either! I've had 2 meters installed over the past 3.5 years - one when my PV array went online and then they just switched to a new smart meter earlier this year. No issues to me, but as others have said, I'm not no Californian either.

 

That happened here. Our water authority is still trying to sort out the mess.

Tom