energy prices vary by location.
Utility supplier gone bust.
- Thread starter Venod
- Start date
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energy prices vary by location.
Dolorous Edd
Senior Member
Yes. The cost of electricity or gas generated doesn't vary much, but the transportation cost of getting it to your home (transmission and distribution) does, depending on how far it has to be transported from where it is generated.
(The reality is slightly more complicated because generation prices will adjust for this, to a degree, spending on where the generation is located).
- Location
- London
I am with Octopus - a low gas user and my DD has always been low - they make it very easy to alter your DD online - you don't get the third degree. I lowered mine a while ago (will have to go up again I suppose) and they accepted it straight away with no grilling. I think as long as they can see that they will be covered they are fine.
I would sit with Octopus for a quarter or so, make sure they get regular readings, and then just go online to tinker with the DD amount.
stoatsngroats
Legendary Member
- Location
- South East
Last year, as we started in to spring, I reduced my DD with Octopus online, and requested a refund of £300, and received this amount back into my account within a week or so.
It certainly was hassle free.
I’m really happy with them, and hope that they art financed well and continue in this market.
All the correspondence that I’ve received during the process has been exemplary. They come across as a well run company with good regard for their customers. I’m happy to stay with them, and their proposals for the uses of “ Smart Metering” look promising.
- Location
- London
I keep resisting their texts to go onto smart metering,being a tad mistrustful of smart meters. Besides I like doing their free roulette spins when I give them readings, not that I have ever won anything.
Dolorous Edd
Senior Member
Lizards
I'm a " Smart Meter " sceptic. They patently don't " save you money " as the false advertising would have you believe, they purportedly achieve that by " making you aware " of the energy that you are using. I already have an " OWL " energy monitor and display which gives me that information, and most people are very aware of their energy consumption via their fuel bills.
I've not dug too deeply but I saw one mention of " demand pricing " where you pay a lot less for energy consumed when there is an excess being generated by the grid, a sort of contemporary " Economy 7 " The downside would be possible exposure to "surge pricing " where shortage of generating capacity sends energy prices soaring. Still It's an interesting option, I'll be digging deeper into the small print once my transfer to Octopus has completed.
Some of the innovative pricing that Octopus (for example) are doing would be impossible without a smart meter.
I find it odd how certain sections of society have seized upon distrusting smart meters. In a world of new technology with plenty of other things to distrust, they pick smart meters.
It smacks a bit of the guy in the pub who goes "I'm going to research this vaccine fully before I allow it in my arm"
See also "I don't trust paying for stuff with my phone or watch" * despite using cash or an NFC enabled card instead.
*I have seen this very example twice, most recently in a post office. A member of staff saw me pay on my watch and immediately started sucking through his teeth. I asked him what was wrong, he goes "I don't trust that, it's not secure". I've retired, but in my last few years I worked for a bank in penetration testing, we'd spent months trying to figure out a way to prove it wasn't secure, but failed. So I challenged him "I give you my watch, you give me your debit card; the challenge is (as we're in a shop right now) is to buy something with each other's payment device
Funny old world 🤷♂️
Edit: Sorry for off topicness. I just like facts instead of conjecture.
I find it odd how certain sections of society have seized upon distrusting smart meters. In a world of new technology with plenty of other things to distrust, they pick smart meters.
It smacks a bit of the guy in the pub who goes "I'm going to research this vaccine fully before I allow it in my arm"
See also "I don't trust paying for stuff with my phone or watch" * despite using cash or an NFC enabled card instead.
*I have seen this very example twice, most recently in a post office. A member of staff saw me pay on my watch and immediately started sucking through his teeth. I asked him what was wrong, he goes "I don't trust that, it's not secure". I've retired, but in my last few years I worked for a bank in penetration testing, we'd spent months trying to figure out a way to prove it wasn't secure, but failed. So I challenged him "I give you my watch, you give me your debit card; the challenge is (as we're in a shop right now) is to buy something with each other's payment device
Funny old world 🤷♂️
Edit: Sorry for off topicness. I just like facts instead of conjecture.
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I had to reply to this, I'm very pro technology, I mainly bank using my phone. I use Apple Pay, I'm fully jabbed ( had my booster yesterday ).Some of the innovative pricing that Octopus (for example) are doing would be impossible without a smart meter.
I find it odd how certain sections of society have seized upon distrusting smart meters. In a world of new technology with plenty of other things to distrust, they pick smart meters.
It smacks a bit of the guy in the pub who goes "I'm going to research this vaccine fully before I allow it in my arm"
See also "I don't trust paying for stuff with my phone or watch" * despite using cash or an NFC enabled card instead.
*I have seen this very example twice, most recently in a post office. A member of staff saw me pay on my watch and immediately started sucking through his teeth. I asked him what was wrong, he goes "I don't trust that, it's not secure". I've retired, but in my last few years I worked for a bank in penetration testing, we'd spent months trying to figure out a way to prove it wasn't secure, but failed. So I challenged him "I give you my watch, you give me your debit card; the challenge is (as we're in a shop right now) is to buy something with each other's payment device
Funny old world 🤷♂️
Edit: Sorry for off topicness. I just like facts instead of conjecture.
The point I was trying to make was that the vast majority of Energy companies are just using Smart Meters to send in meter readings. That's without the ludicrous situation of the SMETS1 meter debacle. I applaud Octopus's use of Smart Metering to offer reduced price energy in off peak periods, if that is what they do. I'd need to ensure that the pricing model isn't used to raise prices excessively in times of high demand. The possibility of remote disconnection is also of concern, and as that facility exists, the opportunity for technical glitches, or even remote " hacking " is a real possibility.
That's fair enough. But remote hacking would be difficult, since the network is over cellular data and the IP addresses aren't routable over the internet. It would need someone inside a carrier, with skills, motivation and a vulnerability to exploit.
I might add some screenshots later that clearly illustrate the benefits of smart meters for those reading, for us moving into a new house with little understanding in how the house 'worked' WRT to timings of kit coming on and off, water heating times etc etc we saved a lot of money by examining the easy to read data and tweaking accordingly.
I have a room stat with programmable timer. I know exactly when my heating and hot water come on, and for how long. It has a " Holiday " setting. It can fire up the boiler earlier or later depending on the external temperature. I also have lighting and appliances that I can control remotely using my phone, even when I am away from home. None of this requires that a " Smart " meter be fitted. I'm afraid I don't share your optimism with regard to the integrity of the network, be it from malicious actors, ransomware, or technical failure.
Can't beat the at-a-glance view you get from seeing your data on a web page. But if you prefer it the way you're doing, that's great. I'm not here to change your mind, but I was interested in actual tangible issues wrt to smart meters. All I've heard so far is "distrust". I worked in Information Security for almost 30 year, several of them with government agencies in a pretty little town in the SW, then I did 20 years in a bank leading a Red Team, so far I haven't seen anything to make me decide against smart meters. But if that day comes, I'll change my mind.
