[SEW]

We're thinking of changing to Economy 7 meter as we both now have electric cars. Just wondering if now that the prices are about to rocket if that is a good idea, whether we should fix them or wait to do that? And I suppose pretty importantly, how quickly can we get a meter fitted. I understand for this type of tariff you need 2 x meters. We currently have old meters so would qualify for free smart meters anyhow. Do we still have to pay for the economy 7 meters?

We have had terrible problems with our electric for the last 20 years being in this house. I live next door to my sister whose electric bill is half mine and there are less people living there. We really can't work out where its all going as we are pretty vigilant about what we're using. Often think I need an expert of some kind to come and find where its leaking to. Last months electric alone was £286.27 (actual readings) with the gas being 157.62. There are only 4 of us in the house 3 of whom are out of the house working full time. I am the other, and very conscious of not wasting energy. The heating is off during the day, even during these last few months - I have given in only once or twice as I am out a lot myself. Friends and family are very shocked when we tell them how much we spend. We are clearly doing something wrong or there is something very wrong within our house.

Many thanks,
Sandra

[theunknowntech]

Hi @SEW,

I'm theunknowntech, probably exactly the kind of expert you're after.

Firstly, I can confirm that with Smart Meters, it's possible to have just a single meter that works for Economy 7 and flat rate tariffs without a further meter exchange. If your current meters are getting pretty old, it's probably time for an upgrade anyway but I can help you check that. Please post photos of your current meters in your next reply and I can help you figure that out. When it comes to getting the upgrade, how fast that can be done really depends on how fast you can get an appointment booked in and there's no cost to upgrade. However, if you choose to refuse smart meters, you could be charged for a non-standard install if you get traditional economy 7 meters installed instead.

As for whether Economy 7 would be ideal, that's a really tricky one to be honest. To make it work at all, you'd need at least two thirds of your total electricity usage each day to fall within the cheaper Off-Peak hours. If you can't do that, then it's better to stay on a flat rate deal.

I'm also suspicious that there might be a meter fault, so I'd like you to run a Creep Test to see if that's the case or not. Old meters can start to lose their calibration or might start to clock phantom usage, so this test helps to figure out whether that's the case. Here's what you need to do. I don't like to copy/paste much, but I have to for the Creep Test as it's otherwise a lot of effort to type it out every time.

Before you get started, I strongly recommend only doing this test during daylight hours for your own safety and you may want to have a torch handy just in case. Please also make sure to safely shut down and turn off any sensitive electronics and gadgets like your computers, TVs, games consoles, Wi-Fi Router, Smart Home gadgets and anything else that might be affected by having the power suddenly go off. You can leave the fridge/freezer on though and keeping a couple of lights on is helpful so that you know when you're done.

If you're happy to go ahead, here's what to do. These steps might sound a bit tricky as I generally copy/paste them directly from what Blastoise186 gave me, but they should work.

1. Locate the electric meter and fuse box/consumer unit
2. Take a quick meter reading and note it down - you'll need it later
3. If you're on Prepayment, please make sure you've got some credit and you're not in Emergency Credit - otherwise it can disrupt the test. If you don't have much left, now is a good time to top-up!
4. Turn off the power to the entire house using your consumer unit - it'll only be for a few minutes so don't worry about being off-supply for a long time
5. Observe your electric meter for about five minutes. the red metrology LED (or the spinning disc in older meters) should stop completely and the meter should not clock any usage after the first 30 seconds or so
6. After five minutes, take another meter reading and note it down
7. Turn the power back on
8. Compare the two readings you took at the start and finish of the test

If the meter is not faulty, the two readings should be about the same. However, if they're massively different and/or you noticed the metrology LED (or spinning disc) continue to run and/or the meter was still clocking usage despite the power being off, then there's almost certainly a fault with the meter itself. In this case, you'll want to request a Meter Accuracy Test. It'll cost around £160 upfront and you'll get this back if the meter is confirmed to be faulty, as well as having the meter replaced and a refund issued for the lost credit once E.On has managed to figure out how much it's thrown into a black hole. Please bear in mind that the test fee is not refunded if the meter is found to be working correctly. With that being said, if it failed the Creep Test then that's already a very good sign that the meter probably is faulty - the MAT is still required to make it official but doing the Creep Test first might save you wasting £160.

Let me know the results of that test and I can help advise on the next steps.

Thanks