Replace smart meter with day/night meter?

Hi MichaelR, let us know how it goes.

I ended up just switching to one of the standard bord gais Dual Fuel tariff (40% gas & elec discount) even though I have a smart meter.

The Bonkers comparison website is really useful especially if you know your annual usage. A day/night meter tariff would have been slightly better value for me as a EV user, but due to the hassle of having to request a meter change to the day/night meter, I chose the next best for me, which was Bord Gais dual fuel.


Did anyone ever hear back from him about this? Im in the exact same boat
 
After enrolling your metre in the exchange programme, ESBN will send you a letter letting you know when the time has come to exchange the metres in your neighbourhood. A letter will also be sent out when the date of the exchange approaches.
 
I have received the first letter from ESB & also a follow up letter from their smart meter install agents (TLI group). I'm just about to email to inform them both I won't be providing access to my property for the purpose of replacing with a smart meter.

The Tariffs of SSE (my provider) are simply more expensive if I have a smart meter installed & select a smart tarriff, why on earth would I voluntarily accomadate higher prices? Serious question - Am I missing something here?

I'm undecided whether or not to inform them of the reason for access refusal. Higher tarriffs for smart metered electricity.

http://chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.sseairtricity.com/assets/Tariffs/ROI/Current/1YR-ELEC-10.pdf (SSE's tarrifs for Vanilla meters & Smart meters)
 
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I'm undecided whether or not to inform them of the reason for access refusal. Higher tarriffs for smart metered electricity.
I'm not an SSE customer, so this might be a stupid question. Does having a smart meter automatically mean you have to choose a smart tariff? Or can you upgrade the meter but stay on existing tariff?
 
I'm not an SSE customer, so this might be a stupid question. Does having a smart meter automatically mean you have to choose a smart tariff? Or can you upgrade the meter but stay on existing tariff?
I signed up to SSE 2 months ago and left last month in favour of the flogas offer. Both companies had no issue with a smart meter and non smart plan.
 
I signed up to SSE 2 months ago and left last month in favour of the flogas offer. Both companies had no issue with a smart meter and non smart plan.

Are you sure your statement applies to all non-smart plans?

Posts earlier in this thread suggest the companies have an issue with a smart meter and non-smart day/night plan.
 
Are you sure your statement applies to all non-smart plans?
If you have a smart meter than you do not have to sign up for a smart plan.
Posts earlier in this thread suggest the companies have an issue with a smart meter and non-smart day/night plan.
My understanding is, if you want to sign up to a non-smart day/night plan then you need to change the smart meter to a day/night one. Maybe this has changed in recent months.

I did not sign up to a smart plan this year as you could not move from a smart plan to a non-smart plan.

Not sure the powers that be have really thought this through. In terms of making smart plans a no brainer for all. They were more expensive, or at least they were last year when I was switching.
 
They were more expensive, or at least they were last year when I was switching.
All down to your usage patterns. If you have an EV you often use or other heavy loads you can move to the night, there are savings to be had.

If you get a smart meter then you will be able to access detailed usage data that you can then use to compare smart Vs non-smart plans. However the biggest issue with smart plans at the moment is that most if not all providers will prevent you from moving back to a non-smart plan at a later stage.
 
However the biggest issue with smart plans at the moment is that most if not all providers will prevent you from moving back to a non-smart plan at a later stage.

Bord Gais and El Irl told me that its the Regulator who sets the rule here and no one is allowed move back. Their intention, according to both, is to eventually get everyone to switch.

When we had a complaint some time back and were offered non-smart plans I told the rep that I understood we would not be allowed to move back. He said it wasn't a problem, went off to check it out and came back and apologised and told me that I was correct.
 
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Bord Gais and El Irl told me that its the Regulator who sets the rule here and no one is allowed move back. Their intention, according to both, is to eventually get everyone to switch.

That suggests to me that the CRU's Office seems to be working against the interests of many consumers.

But then perhaps I'm being unreasonable in expecting well-paid Commissioners (who are public servants) to actually serve the public.

(I note from the CRU website that one of the Commissioner's lead responsibilities include "empowering and protecting customers [and] supporting active customers and communities....." although presumably that excludes "active customers" who want to avail of non-smart plans! :confused:)
 
That suggests to me that the CRU's Office seems to be working against the interests of many consumers.
Short term Vs long term perhaps. It is in the ultimate interest of consumers that we have a reliable, efficient, and well-run grid. A better spread of load pushed out the need to build more peak generation capacity and the massive costs consumers would pay for that.
 
Short term Vs long term perhaps. It is in the ultimate interest of consumers that we have a reliable, efficient, and well-run grid. A better spread of load pushed out the need to build more peak generation capacity and the massive costs consumers would pay for that.

In the long term I plan to be very dead. And that's final!

Anyway, surely the best way to do that is by revising the pricing structure in such a way as to encourage (or drive) consumers towards smart packages. As a day/night electricity consumer for the past 40 years I have no intention of becoming "smart" (sic) until the calculations make it worth my while - and the evidence is that many consumers feel exactly the same way.
 
Bord Gais and El Irl told me that its the Regulator who sets the rule here and no one is allowed move back. Their intention, according to both, is to eventually get everyone to switch.

This does seem to be the consensus, but I was certain I had heard something different. Pat Kenny interviewed Karen Trant, Director of Customer Policy and Protection Commission for the regulation of Utilities in Sep 2022.

KT: You might decide you've gone to a smart tariff with my retailer. You might not like that tariff and you decide you want to go back to a 24hr tariff.
PK: You can do that, can you?
KT: you can.

See here from 9 min:

 
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