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Dear Which?
I currently have a digital electric meter which was installed in 2002, and I have been receiving letters from Eon for five years offering to install a smart meter.
I’ve always ignored these as I don’t want a smart meter. However, I recently received a more aggressive letter telling me that my meter is no longer safe and needs to be replaced with a new one that sends readings automatically.
There has been no inspection of the meter or justification for branding it unsafe and I don’t want a smart meter until it becomes mandatory.
Do you have any advice and should I be worried about this?
Glyn Smith, Watford
Put to Rights
Tali Ramsey, consumer rights expert at Which?, says:
Being told that something in your home is unsafe is unsettling, but there has been no evidence to suggest that traditional meters are dangerous.
A meter’s certification period, which is similar to a best-before date, lasts between 10 and 40 years. So, as your current meter is 20 years old, I suspect that your energy supplier wants to replace it due to it being expired.
The certification date is when the meter is expected to stop working, but when this expires it doesn’t mean that it’s unsafe. Energy suppliers do warn that expired meters may start running incorrectly and lead to incorrect bills, so make sure to stay on top of how your usage correlates to your bills.
It’s also worth remembering that energy suppliers have been asked by the government to get all of their customers on to smart meters by the end of 2025. However, this doesn’t excuse the approach taken here by your energy company.
Need to know
- You can write to your supplier explaining that you no longer wish to be contacted about smart meters.
- Understand how to read your gas and electricity meters to stay on top of any unexpected changes.
- You don’t have to accept a smart meter, but we have a detailed explanation of what they are and how they work here.
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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/my-energy-company-told-me-that-my-meter-is-unsafe-and-i-need-a-smart-meter-awSTf6S8cy6I