[meldrewreborn]

@Beasel

once you have access to the downloaded information the it will be possible to reconcile your charges with the consumption data at the appropriate times. So it will be comparatively simple to add up (in excel it’s really simple once you know how) the consumption at the off peak times and compare that to your billing. If the off peak consumption exceeds the amount of your off peak billing then that’s proof positive of meter malfunction in its recording on the two registers. You should also see spikes in consumption when your storage heating kicks in. If it doesn’t then the switching of the 5th terminal is a prime suspect.

you bills are driven by your consumption during the peak and off peak periods. If we can get that right the billing will follow.

[meldrewreborn]

@geoffers

agreed except the consumption data is being received by bright/glowmarket all the time, and download by a customer doesn’t trigger a pull of data. Suppliers can pull readings for billing but the rest is just sent automatically. DCC controls their system very tightly and data protection would prohibit third part bodies from pulling data.

[alankh]

@Beasel Do check that the local time held on your smart meter is correct. I had a situation last year when my old EDMI meter as 4.5 hours out which played havoc with my TOU tariff. It appears that not all meters do a time sync daily, but I was very pleased to find that my new L&G meter did. EON's daily usage figures match Glowmarkt 30 minute data perfectly.

[geoffers]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@geoffers

agreed except the consumption data is being received by bright/glowmarket all the time, and download by a customer doesn’t trigger a pull of data. Suppliers can pull readings for billing but the rest is just sent automatically. DCC controls their system very tightly and data protection would prohibit third part bodies from pulling data.

@meldrewreborn - I don't think you quite understand the process : you'll find that Hildebrand/Glow are are a SECAS (Smart Energy Code Administrator) approved "DCC Other User" and as such have the authority (requiring your approval) to access a subset of data from your meter.

There is a "refresh" option in both Bright; Glowmarkt data-download webpage and also the Glow API, which triggers a call to DCC to request the latest consumption readings



Once this request has been satisfied, another call to the API (either Bright app/webpage download/Glow API) will return the latest meter readings

[meldrewreborn]

@geoffers

OK I stand corrected. The data is from the DCC? Does the DCC contact the meter?

[geoffers]

@meldrewreborn - from what I understand there a several different access categories allowed, including the Energy Supplier; G/ESME equipment suppliers; DNOs; CSPs (communincation service providers) and approved "third parties".

Only certain access commands are allowed depending on which security category each belongs to.

The DCC are the central broker for these commands, which are processed using secure SMKI (Smart Metering Key Infrastructure) keys to access the meter via the CSP, and if valid/successful the relevant action is taken, be it a meter upload or data read etc



According to the smartDcc website

The DCC network never sees or keeps the data, it transports it securely straight to the energy supplier

[meldrewreborn]

@geoffers

Am I right that the customers has to give consent to their data being accessed in an identifiable way, (so by giving consent in Bright) and without that data is anonymised?.

[geoffers]

@meldrewreborn - yep: when you set up your Bright access you're essentially giving authority to allow 3rd party meter access.

Not sure what you mean by "without that data is anonymised" - no one else has access to the data > You can only see it if you're one of the approved DCC sources, and can only see relevant data depending on which source you are.

When registering for Bright you enter your MPAN, and have to provide the GUID of your IHD (which only you have knowledge of). This can be then validated against the GUID which is already registered to the Comms hub on the original meter installation.

Then, when you want to access the meter data via the Glow API you use your Glow/Bright login credentials to generate a JSON security "token" valid for a limited time, which can then be used by various API calls to extract the required information from the meter.

Also - if you purchase a Glow IHD/CAD : before they send it you they will send a command to register its GUID remotely to the meter's Comms hub (they already have your MPAN), so that when you receive it it will automatically connect to the HAN/meter/comms hub

[meldrewreborn]

@geoffers

I was thinking about the other parties to whom we don’t give our authority. Presumably they don’t have access to our full data?

[geoffers]

@meldrewreborn - Other authorities will have access to the necessary functionality which they require for the whole smart metering system to function ... maybe have a read of this National Cyber Security Centre report, which is where I found some of my info https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/...etering-system