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Smart meter rollout problems and delays...

AJJewsbury
Since zoomup doesn't seem to be around, I'll do the honours....


It appears that there are still some significant problems with the supplier-independent network that SMETS 2 meters need to communicate - especially in the "North" where it seems that some special radio system is being used rather than piggybacking on the mobile system. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49680943


Then a day or two later the government announces a delay on the smart meter rollout programme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49721436


Does anyone know where the boundary between the "north" and "south" networks is?


Why is the UK so bad at implementing projects (starting with coming up with & approving a design that couldn't cope with people changing suppliers)?


Looks like I'm going to have to wait even longer for my immersion controller that cuts in automatically when electricity is cheaper than gas.


   - Andy.
  • 0
    Does anyone know if they have a solution to the issue of smart meters in flats where the meter is buried deep within the building or else in a steel cabinet in the car park.

    It seems obvious that the owner of the building should be consulted on how to coordinate many meters in the same location but the onus is currently on each tenant to do their own thing which is a recipe for confusion.
  • 0

    Chris Pearson:




    Sparkingchip:

    The Channel Islands are the furthest south,  but their electric meters probably have to speak French as the electric supplied is imported from France for the larger islands.




    Do the smaller ones generate their own?


    Should be plenty of solar, and from my sailing experience, plenty of wind. Mind you, it was a glorious sunset (again this week) over the Solent with barely a ripple.


     






    A big dirty diesel generator supplies Sark assuming no one has turned it off.


    A small set up that demonstrates all the problems of running an electrical generation and distribution company.


    If people on the island have intermittent supplies from their own generation such as solar PV it will make the problems even worse for the generation company as that big Diesel engine will have to be kept ticking over just in case someone needs it without the company being paid anything.


    Instead of the Sark customers having smart meters it would be better for the generation company if they just paid a significant daily standing charge and little or nothing for metered usage.


    Andy Betteridge 

  • 0

    Sparkingchip:





    A big dirty diesel generator supplies Sark assuming no one has turned it off.


    A small set up that demonstrates all the problems of running an electrical generation and distribution company.


    If people on the island have intermittent supplies from their own generation such as solar PV it will make the problems even worse for the generation company as that big Diesel engine will have to be kept ticking over just in case someone needs it without the company being paid anything.


    Instead of the Sark customers having smart meters it would be better for the generation company if they just paid a significant daily standing charge and little or nothing for metered usage.


    Andy Betteridge 


     




     

    On Orkney, they have shut down and decommissioned their diesel power station.  The islands are now powered by wind and solar, with islanders being encouraged to buy batteries to even out the demand.
  • 0
    Electric suppliers are looking further north than Orkney for clean electric supplies With a proposed 930 mile cable from Scotland to Iceland.


    If it does go ahead it looks like the cable could be made in Germany rather than on Teesside,  here in the UK,  due to a lack of government support.


    Andy B
  • 0

    Simon Barker:




    Sparkingchip:





    A big dirty diesel generator supplies Sark assuming no one has turned it off.


    A small set up that demonstrates all the problems of running an electrical generation and distribution company.


    If people on the island have intermittent supplies from their own generation such as solar PV it will make the problems even worse for the generation company as that big Diesel engine will have to be kept ticking over just in case someone needs it without the company being paid anything.


    Instead of the Sark customers having smart meters it would be better for the generation company if they just paid a significant daily standing charge and little or nothing for metered usage.


    Andy Betteridge 


     




     

    On Orkney, they have shut down and decommissioned their diesel power station.  The islands are now powered by wind and solar, with islanders being encouraged to buy batteries to even out the demand.

     




    What ever happened to the incinerator powered generators that were supplying the electricity on mainland Orkney?


    Legh

  • 0
    When I was still school back in the 1970’s we were told that by now electricity would be so cheap to produce in nuclear power stations that it would not be worth metering and charging for actual consumption, we would merely pay a standing charge to have a connection.

    Apparently in Orkney production is at 120% of consumption  and the issue is what to do with the surplus. The locals cannot afford to put in a new cable to export it and no government help is forthcoming. So the plan is to produce hydrogen to run the ferries and other things with engines.


    So is there a point where the cost of metering supplies makes it pointless, think in terms of an all inclusive deal like you can get for your mobile phone, a set fee for unlimited usage within a “fair usage policy” or will the smart meter system be so cheap to run once it’s established that supplies will always be metered?


    Andy Betteridge 

  • 0
    I would expect it will always be metered, but priced instantaneously according to demand. A peak generation of 120% of consumption doesn't allow for much fluctuation throughout the day, so you need incentivise people to use it during the low periods. 


    I don't think that will be limited to Shetland either. Personally I have always thought that was the intention of the "smart" meter rollout in the first place.
  • 0
    Following Legh's, post, I think a major problem is lack of joined up thinking relating to blocks of flats with meter rooms buried deep under stairs or in steel enclosures.

    It seems nonsensical to leave the responsibility for smart meter installation to individual tenants and the suppliers. The government should consider in a requirement that the DNO and the landlord set up at a minimum the communication infrastructure so that suppliers can plug the smart meter into them if and when a tenant requests a smart meter.

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