Electricity 'Smart' Meters

[Legends of 2017]

Hi all. Was wondering if anyone has had these installed yet and if you have had any problems. I just received a letter informing me that I will be notified of a 10 day period where one will be installed. Not looking forward to it. My electricity bills have gone through the roof already, without using any more power than I have been. In fact, I've been using less. I have no faith in the previous government their claim that I will be better off. I'm just wondering if my worries are misplaced and people are actually better off.

 

[Streak]

I had one when I lived in Perth. FWIW, my father is an electrical engineer, and he thought it would definately be worthwhile in our situation.

I imagine they are situation specific in terms of the benefit derived. In our situation

- we had fully programmable reverse cycle air-conditioning that used 3 phase power.
- we had processes where the power usage could be set to run at night (pool cleaner).
- given we both worked odd hours, we actually used comparitively little power during peak periods.

Keep in mind, we did not pay for the meter. We got it for free because we had to have the 3 phase hooked up (man did that cost some money) and we also were switched to underground power at the same time (which also cost us a lot). So I think they took pity on us (yeah right ). Actually, I think we qualified soley on the 3 phase connection.

I have to admit, I never paid the powerbills, my wife did. She said that the power company for a while sent us a bill showing what it would have cost us with the normal meter, as opposed to what the cost was with the smart meter. The saving was usually around the $10 per month level, which was significant back then (1995).

Not sure if that really helps, just our experience.

 

[ssstone]

Hi all. Was wondering if anyone has had these installed yet and if you have had any problems. I just received a letter informing me that I will be notified of a 10 day period where one will be installed. Not looking forward to it. My electricity bills have gone through the roof already, without using any more power than I have been. In fact, I've been using less. I have no faith in the previous government their claim that I will be better off. I'm just wondering if my worries are misplaced and people are actually better off.

just say NO, your bill will increase,and that is fact

 

[Legends of 2017]

just say NO, your bill will increase,and that is fact

but can you? I would like to, but my meter is accessible and I'm not home during the day. So is there anything to stop them?

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Have had one for 10 months. The installation was quick and unobtrusive, but my bills seem to have rocketed upwards ever since. Have been meaning to sit down and analyse my usage over the last few years to identify the cause; $400 per quarter as a sole occupant seems excessive. Other than my PC running pretty much 24/7, I don't have any unusual usage patterns.

 

[Streak]

just say NO, your bill will increase,and that is fact

How is that a fact?

In our experience we saved money, so to just say no without looking into it is ignorant. I'm not saying it is for everyone, but I think it would pay to do your homework.

I think you have to look at your power consumption to know whether it will be right for you. Ring the electrical company and find out when your peak demand charge times are. Then look at your power usage and the things you use power on and see if you can adjust your power usage into non-peak times. That is how you save money.

You might find the power company can even run a simulation to show you how much you might or might not save, based on previous bills.

 

[Streak]

Have had one for 10 months. The installation was quick and unobtrusive, but my bills seem to have rocketed upwards ever since. Have been meaning to sit down and analyse my usage over the last few years to identify the cause; $400 per quarter as a sole occupant seems excessive. Other than my PC running pretty much 24/7, I don't have any unusual usage patterns.

Do it L2R2R. Might be you can make it work for you, might not.

 

[ssstone]

How is that a fact?

In our experience we saved money, so to just say no without looking into it is ignorant. I'm not saying it is for everyone, but I think it would pay to do your homework.

I think you have to look at your power consumption to know whether it will be right for you. Ring the electrical company and find out when your peak demand charge times are. Then look at your power usage and the things you use power on and see if you can adjust your power usage into non-peak times. That is how you save money.

You might find the power company can even run a simulation to show you how much you might or might not save, based on previous bills.

streak are you a power company employee? every single person that i know that had this done prior to the libs comeing to power have had thier bills skyrocket,so to save money i need to vacumn at midnite?

 

[ssstone]

but can you? I would like to, but my meter is accessible and I'm not home during the day. So is there anything to stop them?

yes u can leg,put a lock on your box and write a sign that u dont want one untill after the state review,and also ring them and tell them you dont want it,

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

I had no idea the smart meter scheme was bungled. It's myki all over again, except the smart meters were foisted upon us by stealth and go straight to the hip pocket. Baillieu will have to do a truly pathetic job for me to vote Labor again.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/power-bills-to-jump-another-100/story-fn7x8me2-1226034970520

 

[johnson2richo2003]

just say NO, your bill will increase,and that is fact

I recall listening to 3aw a few months ago on this subject of people,s choice of saying no.They had plenty of callers who rang in and said that if you refuse they can disconnect your electricity and then you will be charged a connection fee of $400[I think].So id look into it before saying No.

 

[Streak]

streak are you a power company employee? every single person that i know that had this done prior to the libs comeing to power have had thier bills skyrocket,so to save money i need to vacumn at midnite?

Did you even bother to read and try an understand my posts?

Nope, I do not work for an electrical company.

I don't know when your peak rates apply in Victoria, and I don't know how the whole Victorian system works, but in WA if you have a smart meter and you vaccum at low rate times you will save money because you will be charged less per unit for the power. Pretty simple really.

But I live in WA so maybe that is the difference. Smart meters for smart people who have not fully privatised their state owned power utility, just spilt it into business units and corporatised them. Our meter didn't cost us anything, because our Government apparently decided that if enough were installed, the base load generation required to meet peak demand would be lowered, lowering the total cost for electricity supply in the state.

Or maybe I was just lucky and got in on the ground floor?

 

[Streak]

yes u can leg,put a lock on your box and write a sign that u dont want one untill after the state review,and also ring them and tell them you dont want it,

I'd be careful locking the box in that you should make sure the meter reader can still read the meter. If your meter box has a small perspex window and the meter can clearly be read through it, no drama.

But if not, think again, because you might find yourself running up some nasty bills. I'm pretty sure that it used to be that if a meter reader could not read the meter, then they would typically either ask you for an interim read, or estimate your usage based on previous consumption. This could over or under estimate, but some time in the future they would require access to the meter to do a read, and they would then adjust your bill accordingly.

However, if you have private power utilities, then you might want to make sure they will not charge you some penalty for not being able to read the meter. They migh also charge you an admin fee for doing the estimation (time is money), and they might also charge you for doing a special meter read when they come back to get an accurate reading.

 

[RfC77]

...and if anyone has noticed the backboard for the meter disintegrating and wants it replaced then it is the responsibility of the electrical retailer to oversee this process - at no cost to the customer

 

[TigerForce]

I had an Origin Energy salesperson banging on the doorbell yesterday and told her where to go. These people are worse than flies.

I read today that TRUenergy have stuffed up their database. I'll be waiting for my refund.

 

[ssstone]

I recall listening to 3aw a few months ago on this subject of people,s choice of saying no.They had plenty of callers who rang in and said that if you refuse they can disconnect your electricity and then you will be charged a connection fee of $400[I think].So id look into it before saying No.

no they cant cpt.have to laugh 3aw is tabloid for the ears crap radio

 

[Streak]

...and if anyone has noticed the backboard for the meter disintegrating and wants it replaced then it is the responsibility of the electrical retailer to oversee this process - at no cost to the customer

These can also contain asbestos, so don't let it get too bad.

 

[Total Tiger]

Does anyone have the definitive answer on whether we can still say no to these while Baillieu does his investigation into it or do we have to accept them? Received a letter from my electricity provider warning that our area is about to behit.

 

[Legends of 2017]

Does anyone have the definitive answer on whether we can still say no to these while Baillieu does his investigation into it or do we have to accept them? Received a letter from my electricity provider warning that our area is about to behit.

Too late for me. Had it installed a few weeks back. Waiting to see what my first bill is going to be :'(

 

[TigerForce]

If anyone knows how to calculate this Annual Electricity Concession on electricity bills, please tell me. I've gone through most of the electricity provider websites which explain the same thing (17.5% of the electricity bill less $171.60) but my bill doesn't add up to the expected figure.