Metering the bacon

sir – Crombie Glennie (Letters, June 28) writes: “You cannot fatten a pig by weighing it or reduce your electricity consumption by measuring it with a smart meter.” I disagree.

I had a smart meter installed in 2015. Using the information the meter provides enabled me to reduce my utility bills by £100 in the first two years, despite tariffs increasing.

I used to produce bacon pigs. These need to be weighed regularly for the appropriate level of feed to be given, otherwise Mr Glennie would have a very fat rasher for his breakfast. John Summers

Probus, Cornwall

sir – Smart meters may benefit consumers who save marginally by monitoring usage.

However, for suppliers the longerterm benefits may be more significant. These include the ability to disconnect or switch meters to “prepayment mode” in cases of payment difficulties.

Suppliers could also exercise remote “peak lopping” (disconnecting supplies) if facing excessive demand. They could manage peak demand by remotely adjusting appliances such as freezers or refrigerators at peak times using “the internet of things”.

They could introduce time-of-day tariffs, raising prices during peak times to discourage usage.

Specifications for the latest smart meters make all of this possible. Peter H Smith

Whitley Bay, Northumberland

sir – Regarding your report “Smart meters to allow peak charging” (June 29), smart meters help consumers control their energy use and save money, and balance the grid as we move to a cleaner energy system.

One way of doing this is through time-of-use tariffs, which allow households with smart meters to save money by using electricity at a cheaper time of the day, such as by running washing machines at night.

Research shows that consumers who opt for these tariffs can save money on average.

No one will be forced into switching to a time-of-use tariff, and households who wish to can remain on a flat tariff where the cost of energy remains the same throughout the day. Rob Salter-church

Interim executive director, Ofgem London E14

sir – Smart meters are not being provided, at vast expense, for the benefit of the consumer.

People who have experienced the pricing policies imposed on industrial bulk energy users will know the punitive rates for exceeding “maximum demand”, often charged on half-hourly bases.

It is the suppliers’ accountants that are being smart, not the meters. Richard Atherton

Northwich, Cheshire

sir – Dr Richard Austen-baker (Letters, June 28) says that “your house does not have to have a water meter”. In our area the water company has obtained permission from the relevant ministry to make a water meter compulsory (despite our not wanting one), as water is in short supply here.

The cost of metered water is higher. Why am I not surprised? Geoff Riley

Saffron Walden, Essex