Smart Water Meters

[sandyman]

just wondering what peoples thoughts/experiences are of smart water meters?

They were installed in our road in November 2022 and it was explained we would be told when they were activated so that we could compare metered charges with charges based on rateable value - with no obligation to change at this stage.

I've just checked and 13 months later they've still not been activated. As there are only two of us in the house now with no kids having endless daily baths I'd imagine we'd save money if metered so would like to know what people think and what's going on

any thoughts?

Edited December 28, 2023 by sandyman
update info

[Sue]

I saved £200 a year when I changed to a water meter a few years back.

I mostly live by myself, and I'm very careful with water now, but I do water the garden with a hose in the summer 

[sandyman]

18 minutes ago, Sue said:

I saved £200 a year when I changed to a water meter a few years back.

I mostly live by myself, and I'm very careful with water now, but I do water the garden with a hose in the summer 

did you request a meter and was it activated quickly? they were put in all the way up our street without us asking but over a year later they've not been activated. It's almost as if they know bills would be lower if the meters worked...

[Spartacus]

As I understand it, the meters are installed and you then get a 12 month window to compare the cost of unmetered vs metered bills and at the end of the 12 months they switch you over automatically. However if you choose to switch during the 12 month window, that years bill will be based on the meter readings, but if you wait for the switch you won't save over the 12 months if your metered bill is lower than unmetered.

So it may be that it is active but not being used to bill you yet. 

 

[sandyman]

29 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

As I understand it, the meters are installed and you then get a 12 month window to compare the cost of unmetered vs metered bills and at the end of the 12 months they switch you over automatically. However if you choose to switch during the 12 month window, that years bill will be based on the meter readings, but if you wait for the switch you won't save over the 12 months if your metered bill is lower than unmetered.

So it may be that it is active but not being used to bill you yet. 

 

Thanks - yes that's pretty much what their leaflet through the door said when they fitted the meters in the street, but it said it would be 12 months from activation and their chatbot tonight said they meters have not been activated yet. Chatbot did give me a phone number though so maybe i can get a clearer answer from a human tomorrow as to why the meters have not been activated.

Edited December 28, 2023 by sandyman

[Sue]

2 hours ago, sandyman said:

did you request a meter and was it activated quickly? they were put in all the way up our street without us asking but over a year later they've not been activated. It's almost as if they know bills would be lower if the meters worked...

Yes I did, and yes it was installed and activated quickly.

I'm sure it's not always the case that bills will be lower - it obviously depends entirely on how much water your household uses!

When I applied for mine, there was a quiz thing on their website you could do beforehand to find out if you were likely to save money, and at that time, if you weren't happy after 12 months you could go back to your old payment method ( but obviously I didn't want to!)

Have you asked Thames Water about activating the meter? They surely must have given you some information when they installed it?

ETA: Sorry, my post crossed with yours!

Edited December 29, 2023 by Sue

[alex_b]

Ours (Adys Rd) was activated almost immediately after installation. We have been tracking slightly above our old unmetered rates.  

[Moovart]

My understanding is you get a year of comparison costs to see whether you pay less metered or unmetered and during that year you have a choice whether to switch or not but after the one year period you will be switched to metered bills whether you want to or not.

When meters were installed here it took about three months before they were activated.

[Spartacus]

Have you set up your online account at Thames Water ? 

If so that's where you can see the comparison information. 

[Sally Eva]

12 hours ago, sandyman said:

just wondering what peoples thoughts/experiences are of smart water meters?

They were installed in our road in November 2022 and it was explained we would be told when they were activated so that we could compare metered charges with charges based on rateable value - with no obligation to change at this stage.

I've just checked and 13 months later they've still not been activated. As there are only two of us in the house now with no kids having endless daily baths I'd imagine we'd save money if metered so would like to know what people think and what's going on

any thoughts?

Ring them up. They assessed the household on the phone, agreed that we would almost certainly save money and activated it.

[ianr]

I don't understand.  Are these meters readable, irrespective of whether they are smart or activated?  And if so, are the readings, however they're made, used as the basis for billing?  A sight of the accompanying leaflet or other published information might be helpful.

[sandyman]

1 hour ago, ianr said:

I don't understand.  Are these meters readable, irrespective of whether they are smart or activated?  And if so, are the readings, however they're made, used as the basis for billing?  A sight of the accompanying leaflet or other published information might be helpful.

I can see that the meter is working by lifting the lid and looking at it, I presume it just isn't sending the readings that would be used for billing through. Can't be that difficult to activate. 

[sandyman]

3 hours ago, Spartacus said:

Have you set up your online account at Thames Water ? 

If so that's where you can see the comparison information. 

yes, i looked at my online account and no comparison info - i presume because it hasn't been activated.

[sweetgirl]

In the short term some of us will save money, in the long term it’ll end up just like the gas & electric currently is!

I am very much against the water meters & prefer to pay what I pay now!

it’s all a big con just like all the other charges we are forced to pay!

all they are looking for is someone to pay their self created debts!

whilst things are privatised, work will always be of a lower standard, if not they’ll all eventually be out of work.

think about it 🤔🤨

[RichH]

It depends entirely on your circumstances.

After I switched to a smart water meter I paid about £5 per month for the first year as I had so much credit in hand based upon what Thames Water calculated I'd been (over)paying previously.  I now still pay around £450 less per year than I was pre-smart meter.

I requested my meter a couple of years ago and it was installed and activated about a week or so later.

[vladi]

I can only imagine that your circumstances and usage are not average.
Water consumption depends on multiple variables e.g.:-

Number of people in household.
Days of actual occupancy throughout the year.
Garden area if appropriate.
Frequency of flushing toilet(s)
Usage of washing own m/c or other arrangements.
Car washing
etc, etc.
Have yet to find anyone who is better off with a meter so it begs the question  .... why are water companies so keen to get us on to one.

Is it because they could get by with smaller storage reservoirs and so flog off the spare land for development?

[froggy]

On 02/01/2024 at 18:49, vladi said:

Have yet to find anyone who is better off with a meter

Well, look no further.  A couple of those have already posted, and I'll add my name to the list!  Glad that I'm no longer paying for those who waste such a valuable resource 😀

[Brian up the hill]

And another! My water bill is about 35-40% of what it would have been had I still been paying water rates.

As to activation, although a few years ago now, I seem to remember that I was under the impression that activation would happen automatically. After a few months of nothing, I contacted Thames Water who said I had to request activation. Don’t ask me why they didn’t make that clear from the outset! However, the money paid in water rates was used against my account so the first year’s charges were negligible. 

 

[Sue]

20 hours ago, froggy said:

Well, look no further.  A couple of those have already posted, and I'll add my name to the list!  Glad that I'm no longer paying for those who waste such a valuable resource 😀

And me!

We pay for gas and electricity according to how much we use, so how is water different?

Edited January 11, 2024 by Sue

[sandyman]

Are any of the people who are now better off on smart meters living with more than one other person? I get the impression they might be a good deal for one or two people living together but not for larger numbers. 

[Spartacus]

I think that the introduction, painful as it will be for some, is good 

An average family of say 5 would consume 5 times more water than the average consumption of a single person so it does even up the costs.

Before with a tariff set by the rateable value, there was no real awareness of individual consumption so longer showers, taps left running and other wasteful practices went on unchecked, now there is a consequence in the form of a higher bill. 

As always, there will be winners and lovers but the playing field will end up fairer as it will be based on actial consumption.

[Penguin68]

But this is being implemented by Thames Water - the very last people I would trust. The amounts of water lost by Thames through leaks is huge (more than would be needed by population growth over the next 20 years) and their repair policy and implementation  - including full replacement, is lamentable - the stretch on the South Circular outside the Horniman is regularly repaired (which has included full replacement, which took months) every 18 months or so for almost as long as I have lived in ED (35 years). Their revenues have been diverted into dividends (and debt repayment for a debt leveraged purchase) and away from maintenance and repair.

You are right that a fully occupied house with say, a family of 5, will properly use more water than a family of one or two, but Thames will use this as another nice little earner and not a way of 'being fair'. They expect to impose rationing on families so they don't have to mend their leaks.

And I would trust Thames even far less than the Post Office as regards handling computerised tariff information - 'smart meters' are very scary when Thames is handling the data crunching.

Stand by for £milllion pound bills.

[TTW]

I’m cynical about the water meters due to a recent experience- 
 

We had a water meter installed last year- I have been monitoring the rates but not switched yet. 
 

Recently Thames Water contacted me saying the meter reading suggested a leak on our property (one of their questions when they called was ‘Do you own a swimming pool?’ Lol). 
 

They sent an engineer out (6 weeks later) who determined the fault was not on my property but on the street next to where they installed the meter (hmmmmm….). I’m currently waiting (+6 weeks) for a building team to come out and dig up the pavement and fix it. 

Because of this my recent meter readings have been off the charts expensive. I mentioned to TW that I was about to switch and what could I do about the meter reading issue. I was shocked to discover that even though none of this is my fault once you have a meter it becomes is your responsibility to submit a long ‘leak claim’ form requesting they adjust your bill. I did this and still haven’t heard back from them. 
 

Be warned. 

[ianr]

Has anyone been told it wasn't possible to install a meter on their domestic supply?

[vladi]

Water metering is a  scandal that merits another ITV  drama-documentary along the lines of Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

The lobbyists who "persuaded" MPs to pass the legislation should be investigated.

I'd dearly like to know how many ex-MP's now work for the utility companies or the foreign private equity companies who bought out the water companies.