Smart meters don’t make electricity cheaper

SIR – It would have been better if the Advertising Standards Authority had objected to the headline assertion that smart meters (Letters, November 6) will “save you money”.

The two churches of the parish of St Mary’s, Lynton with Barbrook, both have smart meters. Suppliers (two in the past two years) estimate bills more than half the time, for “operational reasons”, whatever those are. They ask for photographs of the meter if one protests that bills have been estimated.

Our parish would dearly love to save money, but the electricity costs the same, smart meter or not. Smartness has no influence over whether we turn on the lights if it is too dark or boil a kettle for tea afterwards.

Mary Woolley

Lynton, Devon

SIR – I have noticed, over the past few years, how much off-peak tariffs have increased. At first I thought it was due to the “cartel effect” of the big six suppliers, and this may be the case.

However, in the days of yore (before Economy Seven), regional energy suppliers were obliged to offer reduced night-time rates, to create meaningful competition to the suppliers of oil and gas, particularly in the respect of central heating systems.

Since privatisation, the differential between the night-time and daytime rates has been eroded to the point where it will not be long before they abolish the night-time rate. My current supplier has pushed the off-peak rate up by 60 per cent.

With a drive to get everyone into electric cars, customers with “attractive” night rates will obviously not be allowed to benefit. Anyone with electric storage heaters would enter into fuel poverty, overnight.

Philip Incledon

Mark, Somerset

SIR – We recently had a smart meter installed at the request of our energy supplier. Our monthly energy consumption seems about the same as last year, but the meter does make us think before leaving lights on.

Tony Rice-oxley

Denmead, Hampshire