Smart meters for energy
- Thread starter planetgeli
- Start date
discobastard
Well-Known Member
Takes me 10 minutes a year at the end of March using Uswitch.
It’s a waste of the customers’ time, but it creates jobs for people. Creates value for some shareholders (not npower’s mind you).
ETA: not supporting any part of the industry btw
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discobastard
Well-Known Member
The retailers don’t supply anything, they just buy a commodity that’s already flowing and bill it. The cheaper they can serve their customers the more money they make. That’s pretty much it.
ETA: depends on whether they own generation, which some of them do obviously. Was referring to the ‘anybody can set up an energy company’ bit.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
npower (it's npower, not Npower or nPower or NPower) has been fucked for many years - pretty much ever since they were acquired by the German utility RWE in fact. The recently cancelled merger of their Retail division with the Retail division of SSE was their last opportunity to turn the business around. In my humble opinion, of course.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
Retailers are called Supply companies. As opposed to a Generation or Distribution companies.
It was all set up during the 1997 deregulation of the energy market in the UK.
discobastard
Well-Known Member
My point stands nonetheless.
They can disconnect, therefore can be called suppliers. But the company you interact with simply bills you. Unless they own generation, but that’s how those arms make their money.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
Well, it doesn't really stand.
a. that's a generalisation which can be applied to *any* business
b. "that's pretty much it" completely overlooks their trading/hedging activities which account for a significant part of their profit/loss. And when I say "significant" it can represent *all* a Supply company's profit.
Unless something's changed I do not believe that Supply companies can own generating assets. Parent companies, however (e.g. EoN, RWE, EDF, etc.) can own Supply and Generating businesses.
discobastard
Well-Known Member
That’s pretty much what I was saying. Maybe I didn’t make it clear. But we’re both right.
discobastard
Well-Known Member
That’s pretty much what I was saying. Maybe I didn’t make it clear. But we’re both right.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
OK, we may well both be right.
However the Supply industry is ludicrously complex which is the real reason most Supply companies fail IMO.
Generation and Distribution companies are governed by largely by laws of physics and mathematics; Supply companies by the whims of politicians and capitalists.
However the Supply industry is ludicrously complex which is the real reason most Supply companies fail IMO.
Generation and Distribution companies are governed by largely by laws of physics and mathematics; Supply companies by the whims of politicians and capitalists.
A380
How do I change this 'custom title' thing then?
Bulb ‘s customer service is good. All on line and it works, I just update my meter readings on line. They sell renewable and nuclear ie low carbon electricity- I am happy with the nuke element, others will have to make their own mind up.
I think I might have a code for them so if people sign up we both get £50 off our bill.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
Bulb were the recommended one by MSE.
First to PM me their code gets £50....possibly
First to PM me their code gets £50....possibly
A380
How do I change this 'custom title' thing then?
Just sent you the link... happy to share with anyone else thinking of joining.Bulb were the recommended one by MSE.
First to PM me their code gets £50....possibly
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
Signed up to Bulb today. Took about 30 seconds. Cheers A380 for the link.
I also have one in case anyone's interested.
I also have one in case anyone's interested.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I was going to go with bulb, but when I actually put in the numbers tonic could do it cheaper and there is no lock in fee.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Have been with Ecotricity for a few years, who've been really good. They say "100% green electricity and frack-free green gas". (Non-nuclear I think)
I see that they also say "Is your energy animal free?" Vegan energy supply
. So they've clearly done away with all the disgusting forced labour of pack animals having to rotate the electricity generating wheels. Free the gerbils!!
I see that they also say "Is your energy animal free?" Vegan energy supply
. So they've clearly done away with all the disgusting forced labour of pack animals having to rotate the electricity generating wheels. Free the gerbils!!
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
The trouble with these small providers, they have a growing habit of going bust, the 9th in a year has just gone down...
Economy Energy collapse leaves 235,000 in the lurch
Economy Energy collapse leaves 235,000 in the lurch
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Doesn't really leave you in the lurch though does it. Click bait headline.
Money Saving Experts article is more informative to customers.
I would just take screenshots of your bills and balance after each DD to ensure your credit is right, and let ofgem deal with it from there. I've used plenty of small providers and even the shit customer service ones if it comes up cheapest, I use it, them going bust is really of no concern to me other than to switch again once Ofgem have provided a SOLR.
The clean green energy thing though, it comes down the same pipes regardless of who you use, so how can you guarantee what it coming into your household is green fuel?
Economy Energy stops trading
Money Saving Experts article is more informative to customers.
I would just take screenshots of your bills and balance after each DD to ensure your credit is right, and let ofgem deal with it from there. I've used plenty of small providers and even the shit customer service ones if it comes up cheapest, I use it, them going bust is really of no concern to me other than to switch again once Ofgem have provided a SOLR.
The clean green energy thing though, it comes down the same pipes regardless of who you use, so how can you guarantee what it coming into your household is green fuel?
Economy Energy stops trading
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
I was watching the Martin Lewis Money Show last night on the telly and he was getting people to switch live, and Bulb came up twice. He said they're actually a medium size supplier so not likely to go bust anytime soon and he recommends them.
keybored
Well done. You remember cat good.
Googling the term 5G smart meters reveals there are a lot of wallopers out there who seem to believe the government is poisoning us all using radiation emitted from smart meters or something.
This was one of my favourites, they are feeling ill from the 5G smart meter they have had installed in their home for a while. Even though we do not have 5G in the UK yet.
This was one of my favourites, they are feeling ill from the 5G smart meter they have had installed in their home for a while. Even though we do not have 5G in the UK yet.
discobastard
Well-Known Member
It isn't green 'fuel'. It's all the same gas or electricity that comes down the pipes and wires, just generated from different sources. Energy suppliers are audited on how they generate.
The more people that opt for green energy, the greener the UK fuel mix. Supply and demand.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Had an argument about this with someone recently. Discussing how to minimise the carbon emissions for your own energy use. I was saying that it can make sense to use gas rather than electricity depending on the country-wide electricity mix. They were saying that if they are signed up to a 'green' tariff that uses zero fossil fuel generation then they should compare the carbon emissions on that basis (which automatically leads to deciding to use electricity instead of gas). In my view if you switch to a 'green tariff' you can maybe claim some responsibility for reducing the harm of your own energy use - but it shouldn't have any impact on deciding whether to use electricity vs gas. That decision should be made on the basis of the actual energy mix that goes into your supply.
It all gets a bit complicated now that we purchase electricity from continental Europe of course... so it's not as straightforward as just the UK National Grid generation mix.
It all gets a bit complicated now that we purchase electricity from continental Europe of course... so it's not as straightforward as just the UK National Grid generation mix.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
why does that not surprise me?
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I'm planning to actively do this sort of thing when I move to the sticks as an OAP.
NoXion
Craicy the Squirrel
Fucking idiots. Where the hell do these serial bed-wetting types get such absurdly ignorant notions from?
The frequencies used by smart metres, Wi-Fi etc are NON-IONISING. That means that the individual photons do not have the energy required to break chemical bonds, which is what makes gamma rays, X-rays and UV light so harmful. The only way for non-ionising radiation to damage organisms is through sheer power, i.e. dumping enough of it to heat things up. Since the maximum legal transmission power of Wi-Fi equipment is 4 watts, or about half the power of a human turning a hand crank, I don't think anyone has any good reason to be concerned about thermal effects, which would be distinctly noticeable in any case.
The real issue with smart metres is not radiation, but privacy. These things are yet another "smart" device that hoovers up all kinds of data and ships it off to who-the-Hell-knows to do God-knows-what in order to make a profit.
Hence why if my supplier offers a smart metre, I'll be telling them to fuck off.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
I insisted my energy supplier installed a Smart Yard. I'll have none of this new-fangled fancy Metric stuff here, thank you.
