Is it daft to agree to have a smart meter?

SO-CALLED ‘smart’ meters (Letters) are a flop and a con. Npower spent seven man hours fitting mine over two visits and it still did not work. As regards telling you how much power you are using, it’s obvious that if you turn your electric kettle or gas central heating on you’ll use more. The con is that these new meters — which send readings to your energy supplier via wireless signals — will let power companies sack meter readers (and pressure customers to have a smart meter installed) to increase their already excessive profits. Renationalise all utilities not owned by the man-in-the-street (as promised when shares were first sold) but by large, mostly foreign, companies.

Douglas Parish, rowley regis, West Midlands. I Know when I’m using energy and where the off switch is. If people want to reduce their fuel bills, then switch to a different supplier. I’m with a small supplier and, once a month, it is no hardship to provide meter readings online and then always have an accurate bill and monthly statement. I also have a spreadsheet and input the readings monthly. I calculate my charges so that I know what to expect. Having smart meter-originated bills doesn’t equate to customers taking control.

Brian DaVis, Byfleet, surrey

YOUR article suggested a change of supplier made smart meters stop working or that they would not be compatible with the new supplier’s system. We switched from First Utility to Economy Energy. Our meter is manufactured by Secure and meter readings with the new supplier took only a few days.

ian TroTT, shepperton, Middlesex