A GLASGOW man was told by his energy supplier that his smart meter did not work because he was too “far up north”.
It comes as a new BBC Panorama investigation – set to be aired on Monday evening – found customers in Scotland were more likely to have issues with their smart meters than their English counterparts.
We told how one SNP politician said the investigation showed Scotland was being “treated as an afterthought”.
While smart meters in most of England and Wales rely on mobile technology – meaning the signal can be improved by an aerial – in Scotland and northern England they use longer-range radio signals to operate, which can cause issues.
Radio signal was used in Scotland as it was thought that the signals would be able to travel further and reach rural communities more easily.
However, one man living in Glasgow – not a remote or rural part of Scotland – is one of many who have reported issues with their smart meter.
‘I live in Glasgow, I’m not rural at all’
Hartesh Battu, a doctor from Glasgow, wanted a smart meter so he could save money and take advantage of a night-time rate that would make it cheaper to charge his electric car.
Battu told the BBC that he has had six different smart meters fitted by two energy suppliers, none of which have worked.
He said: “I just think it’s astonishingly bad in terms of the technology.
“I do feel like, ‘how could billions of pounds be spent on something so bad?’”
His current energy supplier, Octopus Energy, told him the problem was down to signal issues in the area and may be because he lived “far up north”.
He was unimpressed by their reasoning, adding: “I just thought that was a bit bonkers because I live in Glasgow, I’m hardly up in Shetland, I’m not rural at all.”
The solution is not compliant with current regulations
Octopus Energy told The National that Battu had eight meters installed, not the six initially reported by the BBC.
A spokesperson added that the meter was fixed in September, and the electric vehicle’s charging data was used to backdate the tariff, “providing the savings he would have received had the meter been working from the start”.
They added: “We are required by regulation to install this 20-year-old technology, leaving us with very limited control over the hardware.
“We are limited by the technology provided to us and highly inflexible regulation. If we were allowed to use modern technology like our proprietary Octopus Home Mini for meter readings, we would have been able to solve Mr. Battu’s issue instantly, but regulation has not moved with technology.”
Energy suppliers do not have direct control over the communication network, which is run by the Data Communications Company (DCC) and operated by outsourcing company Capita.
Four companies were awarded a contract by the UK Government in 2013 to set up and operate the DCC to provide the infrastructure needed to roll out smart meters.
Octopus Energy said while it had resorted to an “unusual solution” to fix Battu’s meter – by installing a non-compliant communications hub in his home – it may be “instructed by the DCC to remove it later”.
Octopus Energy said it currently has around four million smart meter customers, which it says is “more than any other UK supplier”.
Meanwhile, the body that represents energy companies, Energy UK, admitted there were “issues in the north” of the UK.
Chief executive Dhara Vyas told the BBC there were “live conversations” within the industry about increasing the network range in Scotland.
