Re: Energy: SMART Meters
Remember peeps
No energy supplier can FORCE you to have a smart meter installed on your house. It IS and has always been YOUR CHOICE whether to have one.
British Gas have already been fined I believe for fraudulently telling their customers that smart meters are mandatory.
They are not. No-one has to have one. period.
That said, Mups is entirely correct when she says that the companies will do "something" if we don't accept their smart meters.
In the USA the companies have a "No Meter Tariff" which is a high rate tariff. They put people on it if they refuse a meter.
Customers must then decide whether to cave in, in which case their bills will likely triple over time, or to switch suppliers to one that doesn't insist on smart meters.
With all the competition I would guess that for some time to come, there will exist suppliers who are happy for us NOT to have a smart meter. They will use that selling point to get us to switch to them. In the end though the costs associated with manual meter readings and debt collection might see them go for smart meters eventually.
It's up to the nation to take a collective stand on this whole issue. Inform as many friends as you can.