Smart energy meters
Cropped up on the BBC this morning that the government plans a roll-out of smart energy meters by 2020. Interesting that the major points regarding this plan were about cost - who is going to foot the bill; interesting to contrast with the row over compulsory water meters.
The arguments that came up for water meters were that people would stop using water and that would lead to problems in terms of public health, and yet no-one here suggested that some would start to cut back on energy usage to a similar detriment. Not cooking food properly, not washing in hot water, using candles for light.
Perhaps it's because we've always had energy meters that we don't think about it that way; perhaps it's because, unlike water, we can switch energy suppliers.
I don't know I'm in two minds about this proposal.
2 comments:
I'm obviously just soft and squishy inside. I've always thought of having a water meter = I don't have to pay for that guy down the street who keeps wasting all the water.
As for smart meters:
1. They aren't “smart”. They're not big, they're not clever, and they don't understand general relativity or neuroscience. OK?
2. It'll cost money to fit them, but it will save money not having to pay a few thousand bods to wander round the country reading them. I'll bet people get charged for the new meters, but I sorely doubt they'll see the savings…
Ah yes thank-you I'd forgotten about all the meter-readers that would be made unemployed and have to be supported by the state.
But yes like anything that affects the profits of any utility company, such as fines for leaks or overrunning road works, it'll all get passed back to us.
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