Western Morning News (Saturday)
Don’t let the meter run away with you
Smart technology is not all it’s cracked up to be, says a sceptical Ian Handford
HAVING endured the arguments for smart meters covering electricity and gas usage in our homes and survived the road dangers associated with smart motorways, now we are likely to be forced to accept smart water meters if Government licences making them mandatory is adopted.
It never fails to amaze me just how far utility companies will go, in trying to convince their customers they “could” reduce costs by using a meter – whether smart or not. The emphasis on the word “could” is appropriate.
Inevitably there are always losers as well as winners. 1990 was the year that every new home built was fitted with a compulsory water meter.
Once fitted it could not be removed, in fact for those residences built before 1990, where an owner had has voluntarily installed a water meter even this will be deemed permanent and legally cannot be removed.
Smart meters are usually associated with gas and electric supply – although the agencies and individuals telling us there was no choice but to switch were wrong. Smart meters were designed to save you money directly – no meter reader required – and indirectly if you chose to monitor your daily use of electricity or gas.
That is not possible with water meters, as they are generally situated on the main pipe in a driveway or somewhere else external to the property.
We know that currently over 60% of homes in England already have a water meter of one sort or another, which automatically records – but not always sends – water consumption details, from which your usage cost and standing charges will be calculated.
Where a meter is not fitted or not used, costs will be calculated according to the rental value of the property based on the local authority rates nil valuation and by using a formulae.
It would seem that South West Water, along with six other large water companies in England are entitled to apply for a Government licence which would allow them to fit mandatory meters.
It is believed this affects six million homes and the problem for the so called smart-meters – which they are not – is that as a general rule they increase annual costs for water and sewage services.
A typical low user in Portsmouth confirms that he was paying £107 per annum for a four-person household until after the new meter was fitted. Then his payment increased to £113.00 per annum. A second user, a customer of Southern Water in Winchester, says he paid £540 a year for a four-person household, until his new meter was fitted. His current bill is now £1,332 per annum for what he says is an identical service.
A House of Commons Library briefing paper confirms that customers currently have options of choice, by having a water meter or by paying on an un-measured and unmetered system while retaining the legal right to give their water company notice if they wish to be metered.
If a tenant they are advised to notify the home owner or their landlord before taking this action. On the other hand, water companies still have no right to introduce a compulsory meter in spite of various regions being quoted as already in “serious water stress”.
Interestingly, our South West Water Authority is one such area and as such the Briefing Paper then suggests: “It is at the discretion of the water company to decide which type of meter it proposes to introduce” – ie, whether it is a smart meter or not.
Meanwhile, a report from South West Water suggests the authority will be introducing changes, including expanding the number of households being metered and increasing the number of partnerships with trusted third party organisations, such as Citizens Advice and social housing providers. South West Water also promises they will enable customers to have more control over their water use by using new technology.
My advice today is that if you receive any correspondence whatsoever from South West Water that is of concern to you on this issue then take their own advice and immediately contact one of the trusted third party agencies as they suggest.
Ian L Handford is a former National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses and Chairman of Torbay Civic Society.
Monday: Judi Spiers has been having a little bit of trouble with customer service