My energy firm won’t replace my ‘dumb’ smart meter due to loopholes in rules
BAFFLED EDF customer Jeremy Lister has tried everything to get his ‘dumb’ smart meter working again.
The retired electrical designer, 65, has complained to the energy giant and even took his case to the ombudsman – but a loophole in the rules means he’s hit a brick wall.
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Jeremey, who lives in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, said: “It’s infuriating because I’m not getting any of the supposed benefits of having a smart meter.
“I have to manually report my electricity readings to EDF.
“And I can’t understand how I use my energy because my in-home display (IHD) which tells me how much my usage for each day costs is completely redundant.”
Jeremy complained to EDF three times, before escalating the issue to the Energy Ombudsman.
But he was told that his complaint could not be upheld because of a rule set by regulator Ofgem, which says all smart meters need to be operational by 2025.
This loophole means that EDF isn’t liable to fix or replace his smart meter until this date and it means that Jeremy could be waiting another two years.
He’s not alone. Around 3.8 million of the 30 million smart meters in homes across the UK are operating in dummy mode.
The gadgets were first introduced in 2011 to homes and initially, the government gave a target of having one in every home in the UK by 2020.
This deadline has since been pushed back to 2025.
The benefits of a smart meter can be seen on your energy bill, which is increasingly important as gas and electricity costs soar.
A smart meter could save hundreds of people every year, as it gives people a better visualization of their energy use.
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