On Tuesday 21st July 2015 two members of the TEC team attended a pay as you go smart meter workshop hosted by Plymouth Energy Community (PEC) and presented by the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
The aim of the day was to learn about pay as you go (payg) smart meters which will eventually replace existing pre-payment meters for gas and electricity. We also learnt a lot about ordinary smart meters along the way.
Here’s what we found out:
- PAYG smart meters can be topped up online, via text or by visiting a local shop to purchase credit.
- The PAYG meters are intelligent and offer a bit of grace if you run out of credit at a critical time. So, rather than shutting you off overnight they’ll make sure you wake up warm and cosy the next morning.
- PAYG smart meters should narrow the price gap between existing credit meters and pre-payment meters though they will still be slightly more expensive to use.
- Smart meters will come supplied with a wireless display to tell you exactly how much you’re using at that instant, what it costs and what you’ve used in the past.
- There will be no more estimated bills and you’ll be able to switch supplier instantly.
- Your own micro generation i.e. solar panels, can be measured by the meter so you’ll know exactly what you’re exporting to the grid.
Everyone should be offered a smart meter from their supplier by 2020.
In the meantime if you’d like to have a play with a smart meter check out Utilita’s website for a demonstration: http://www.utilita.co.uk/smart-meters/utilitas-smart-meters
We’ll be producing a volunteer briefing pack to summarise our learning at the workshop, and support anyone.
If you have a smart meter installed and would like to share your own findings with us please get in touch: