Had notification from Scottish Power that they are about to roll out 'smart meters' in our area Not sure I want one, but I suppose it won't make any difference.

One question, if Scottish Power pay for the installation of meter, they will be recouping the costs back from customers, but does this mean it will be more difficult to change companies in the future , to one that hasn't yet installed 'smart meters'?

Hi granny, we have had a smart meter for over a year it was installed when we used British gas, we now use the collective site through eon, the meter works to degree giving you readings and power usage via the display module they give you, but this info is not compatible with eons system, so we still have to send meter readings to eon ourselves.

Thanks for that, Casper.

Hi Granny. I too am with Scottish Power and had a Smart Meter installed recently for free.It was mainly so as not to have to send readings and having visits from time to time.

I am on a deal with them and quite happy.Have never had a problem since changing to them on a dual fuel deal and their staff I find friendly and professional.

Even if another Company was cheaper I would not change as price is not always my first consideration. If it works do not fix it as they say.
My previous Company was dreadful and I took several days off work to get their meter removed
.They just did not turn up and I was fuming to have to stay in all day to no avail losing days of holiday entitlement.

Heard a few calls on radio merseyside discussing these smart meters. I always thought they would be a good thing but having listened to some of the concerns raised I'm not so sure now. There are some issues with health, hacking and really a lot was said to worry me. You are not obliged to have one and there is a site you can go on to find out all the alleged risks associated with them. Sorry don't know what it was though. Worth having a look into them though before you get one Granny.!

The site is called stopsmartmeters.com can't put it up like you clever folk do sorry. Worth a read.

i put a thread up similar to yours granny about 1-2yrs ago? i still havnt took the plunge to get a smart meter and i think i made the right decision as recently its come to light that there are problem and its best to wait a while yet x

Thanks for all the answers. Pax, Unlike yourself, I am not duel fuel with Scottish Power, and I have not had any issues with them so far, but I have been thinking about doing so and not sure which is the best deal as yet..

Cools I have had a look at the website, and interesting info to take on board. Same with videos from Sunnyside.

It's all worth listening to, and accessing. If we don't have to have them, then maybe there is a good reason for that.

Sorry, Rocks, missed your post, and my last line is on the same thoughts as you mention.

There's some UK-based info available from Which online. Seems to be a problem with stopsmartmeters website.
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/do-i-have-to-accept-a-smart-meter

Smart meters do exactly what your mobile does when it sends a text, except it is a very short text.

As it is many feet away from you, it poses no greater threat than a passer-by sending a text as he walks past your home. Anyone who claims that smart meters are a health risk is an idiot or a rogue.

A little thought applied to these fears is enough to dispel concerns. Some friends of mine were concerned about a phone mast being built near them. Although they and their children were users of mobiles, they worried that the phone mast's 'more powerful' transmissions would subject them to more radiation.

When I pointed out that as phone transmissions are two-way, there is little point in the mast transmitting any more powerfully than an individual phone, they felt a little easier. And as both phones and the mast transmitters reduce their power to just enough for good communications, they and their children would receive far less stray radiation from their own phones when connected to a nearby mast, the effect of a mast fifty yards away would actually be to REDUCE their exposure, they became quite relaxed about it.

As to concerns about people 'hacking' these meters I think it is unlikely with the existing ones. They transmit data, not receive it, so there is little way anyone can take them over. The worst that can happen is that someone might monitor your power consumption, but what o earth they can do with this data is beyond me. They might determine whether you are in or out, but even that is unlikely. An increasing number of home appliances are left on 24/7 - such as fridges, freezers, Aquarium pumps, TV's on standby, computers in 'sleep' mode etc. that it is difficult to tell whether there are occupants present or not.

As to cost, the meters cost no more than dumb meters, perhaps even less as more functionality can be compressed into a single microcontroller, given modern technology, than older dumb meters.In addition, once installed, they continue to save the cost of employing meter readers forever, which must yield an annual saving. The result should be less expensive power not more expensive power. It is significant that three or four price comparison sites identified the same supplier in my case, who are happy also to install smart meters.

Ideally, I would like to be able to monitor consumption at my convenience, and pay a bill for exactly what I use every month, and not have to cover the cost of a meter reader or read the meters myself. Smart meters offer all of this and are as safe as houses. We should all sign up for them, and ignore these ill-informed luddites.

And here endeth the lesson according to Excoriator!! This is a discussion regarding Smart Meters and their pros and cons and anything new I feel should be investigated. Why be so aggressive about it just because you don't agree! I daresay say they are safe but I won't be accepting one in a big hurry so I suppose in your eyes I'm a Luddite! By the way spare a thought for the meter readers who will be out of a job.

Usual tinfoil hat brigade nonsense.

There are people keen to make a name for themselves by attacking anything new, in the knowledge that the unfamiliar is always treated with suspicion and their claims will be believed by those too idle to investigate properly and make their own minds up.

We've seen the same things with CFL lamps (They contain mercury - shock, horror!). So do ordinary fluorescents, but the opposition was only to compact ones. I have even seen opposition to LEDs on the grounds that they contain Arsenic. This is true, but in quantities measured in parts per million in the silicon as a dopant. You would have to chip open hundreds of them and swallow the silicon to get anywhere near a detectable dose, and even then it would pass through your body quite safely, being deep inside the material of the chips and would not be absorbed.

I'm sorry if my post has offended anyone. I feel strongly about wilful manipulation of people's fears, but my point stands. if you are scared of smart meters, you should be bloody terrified of mobiles, which are going to subject your head to FAR more radiation than your smart meter. And you should certainly dump your 'smart' phone. It is far more superbly equipped to spy on you and what you are up to than any box screwed to the wall under the stairs!