Fury over £40k electric bill for one day after smart meter fault

A SMART meter reading claimed a customer used £40,000 worth of electricity in a single day, it has emerged.

Paul Davies from Scunthorpe, Lincs, unplugged his meter after it alerted him to the enormous charge.

Energy provider EDF warned the 46-year-old that his monthly payments would rise by £400, to meet the extra cost, he said.

However, when Mr Davies turned the device back on, it had clocked up an additional £25,000 electricity bill for another day’s usage, as well as £960 on gas. He said it was only after repeated complaints that EDF identified a software fault.

“They kept telling me the amount was right and that I must have used that much. How the hell does one person use £40,000 worth of electric in one day? At one point they told me a smart meter is never wrong,” he said. “It was only because I kept talking to them that I got the problem sorted, otherwise it may have persisted.”

A spokesman for EDF said: “As with any technology, from time to time, things sometimes go wrong. If a customer is experiencing problems with their smart meter, they can get in touch

with us via our website and we will investigate it for them.”

Smart meters have proved hugely controversial since the rollout began in 2012. An overhaul will mean energy suppliers automatically receive updates on how much power households use every half an hour.

The energy regulator, Ofgem, is set to gain legal powers next month that will allow suppliers to use the data to change prices as often as 48 times a day.

The move is claimed to be able to save households money but could lead to customers getting bigger bills for using appliances at peak periods.

Energy companies have warned that households will pay for the new meters via their bills which rose by £693 on average this April when the price cap increased, amid a widening fuel crisis.

Jeremy Buxton, a Daily Telegraph reader, from Berkshire, said his fixed rate rose by 350 per cent this year after he was blocked from updating his last meter reading before the April 1 price increase.

He said: “Instead of giving current consumption levels, all that my smart meter is doing is showing a message extolling the merits of having a smart meter.

“Consequently, I have been unable to update my last reading in time.”