Electricity meter going backwards!
Discussion
Looking for a bit of advice.
My electricity meter is going backwards. I wondered what the supplier is likely to do and what if any liability I might have.
I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
When I checked the photos of the meter when the last tenant moved out and today, the meter is lower now (both cheap rate and normal). It is an old mechanical meter.
They have agreed that the bill must be wrong but are bemused by the meter.
I suspect that the solar install (commissioned by my deceased mother and installed by some dodgy company that has long since gone bust) might be the culprit. The seal on the meter looks fine to my inexperienced eye.
By way of background:
My electricity meter is going backwards. I wondered what the supplier is likely to do and what if any liability I might have.
I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
When I checked the photos of the meter when the last tenant moved out and today, the meter is lower now (both cheap rate and normal). It is an old mechanical meter.
They have agreed that the bill must be wrong but are bemused by the meter.
I suspect that the solar install (commissioned by my deceased mother and installed by some dodgy company that has long since gone bust) might be the culprit. The seal on the meter looks fine to my inexperienced eye.
By way of background:
- I inherited my mother’s house.
- I rented it out while I waited for probate (which took 18months).
- In August the tenants moved out and it went on the market.
- For reasons too boring to explain, the sale fell through in early Dec.
- So the house has been empty for 6 months.
- The estate agent was supposed to pass on post to us but didn’t so I found a pile of unread mail, including these bills.
- I have never had a contract with that supplier.
Edited by AstonZagato on Monday 17th February 18:01
I've seen it mentioned loads of times with old meters. Surprised the supplier doesn't know.
Quick Google finds this: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/feed-in-tariffs/ar...
Quick Google finds this: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/feed-in-tariffs/ar...
It's due to the solar export and (presumably) lack of electricity use in the last period. What should happen if you have a solar installation is a smart meter is fitted to record the export separately, however if the smart meter can't work (e.g. due to lack of 2G mobile signal) then the house may have been left with the old meter instead. I know of a recent remote domestic PV installation where this happened but the electricity provider was fairly keen to get the meter eventually upgraded for a working smart meter instead.
Alternatively, the PV installation may have been a cowboy job and no attempt was made to upgrade the meter at the time....
Alternatively, the PV installation may have been a cowboy job and no attempt was made to upgrade the meter at the time....
Check this image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/MLVNK55XL82R/...
Note the cog and block? Does your meter have that on it anywhere? If yes, then your meter shouldn't be capable of going backwards. If it's not on there, congratulations, you've got an old/rare meter that's capable of negative readings.
Note the cog and block? Does your meter have that on it anywhere? If yes, then your meter shouldn't be capable of going backwards. If it's not on there, congratulations, you've got an old/rare meter that's capable of negative readings.
It’s an old mechanical meter without a backstop to prevent it going in to reverse if you are generating more than you are using. If the house has been empty, your usage will be near zero so this could be quite a big jump back.
The only fix is to report this to your energy company and they will replace it with a smart meter. Sorting out what the true consumption should have been will be tricky, and they can’t bill you for anything older than 12 months.
There should also be a separate generation meter which gets read for your FIT payments.
The only fix is to report this to your energy company and they will replace it with a smart meter. Sorting out what the true consumption should have been will be tricky, and they can’t bill you for anything older than 12 months.
There should also be a separate generation meter which gets read for your FIT payments.
AstonZagato said:
My electricity meter is going backwards. I wondered what the supplier is likely to do and what if any liability I might have.
I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
If the meter is going backwards you should be in credit not debit...! I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
General Price said:
Many years ago our meter would go backwards when we were using an old oil filled welder.One month we built a farm trailer and had to stop about a week before the end of the month or we would have been negative usage.
Have you been using an old oil filled welder?.
Do you still have the welder? Asking for a friend on a high tariff.Have you been using an old oil filled welder?.
Chrisgr31 said:
This happened to me when our panels were fitted. It took some time for the electricity company to realise, and to be fair I hadn't either. When they did they just changed the meter, no attempt to charge me for any of the time it was going backwards
well in fairness they did get the benefit of the elec you put in being sold to other people, its not like you used stuff you weren't paying forSimpo Two said:
AstonZagato said:
My electricity meter is going backwards. I wondered what the supplier is likely to do and what if any liability I might have.
I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
If the meter is going backwards you should be in credit not debit...! I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
AstonZagato said:
Looking for a bit of advice.
My electricity meter is going backwards. I wondered what the supplier is likely to do and what if any liability I might have.
I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
When I checked the photos of the meter when the last tenant moved out and today, the meter is lower now (both cheap rate and normal). It is an old mechanical meter.
They have agreed that the bill must be wrong but are bemused by the meter.
I suspect that the solar install (commissioned by my deceased mother and installed by some dodgy company that has long since gone bust) might be the culprit. The seal on the meter looks fine to my inexperienced eye.
By way of background:
I fitted solar in 2001.EDITED it was 2010My electricity meter is going backwards. I wondered what the supplier is likely to do and what if any liability I might have.
I found this out when they tried to stiff me for a £2300 bill for 6 months when the house was empty.
When I checked the photos of the meter when the last tenant moved out and today, the meter is lower now (both cheap rate and normal). It is an old mechanical meter.
They have agreed that the bill must be wrong but are bemused by the meter.
I suspect that the solar install (commissioned by my deceased mother and installed by some dodgy company that has long since gone bust) might be the culprit. The seal on the meter looks fine to my inexperienced eye.
By way of background:
- I inherited my mother’s house.
- I rented it out while I waited for probate (which took 18months).
- In August the tenants moved out and it went on the market.
- For reasons too boring to explain, the sale fell through in early Dec.
- So the house has been empty for 6 months.
- The estate agent was supposed to pass on post to us but didn’t so I found a pile of unread mail, including these bills.
- I have never had a contract with that supplier.
Edited by AstonZagato on Monday 17th February 18:01
When I applied for the FIT there's a declaration "does the meter go in reverse"?
I answered yes and they (Scottish Power) replaced the old disc meter with a digital one.
Sadly the only thing they have EVER done quickly and effectively.
So householder likely to be at fault. The installer will/should not have completed the tariff documentation on their part.
It was nice to see it going in reverse
Edited to say. I just got a digital meter. NOT a smart one.Export is assumed to be 50%. I really can't be bothered with a "smart" meter.
Edited by loskie on Monday 17th February 21:21
Edited by loskie on Tuesday 18th February 12:49
Mikebentley said:
General Price said:
Many years ago our meter would go backwards when we were using an old oil filled welder.One month we built a farm trailer and had to stop about a week before the end of the month or we would have been negative usage.
Have you been using an old oil filled welder?.
Do you still have the welder? Asking for a friend on a high tariff.Have you been using an old oil filled welder?.
Ours did this. And we export more than we import. I wasn't allowed to keep it, the supplier soon fitted a twin meter which read forward and reverse.
https://youtu.be/uPBNk2wIcTs
https://youtu.be/uPBNk2wIcTs
Shame OP, you're losing a good source of cheap power.
A friend of mine has solar and a meter that goes backwards, been like that for 10 years. He has to run electric heating in the winter to move it to a positive number. He has been avoiding a smart meter for years. He's also on the original FIT, earns over £1K a year in feed in.
A friend of mine has solar and a meter that goes backwards, been like that for 10 years. He has to run electric heating in the winter to move it to a positive number. He has been avoiding a smart meter for years. He's also on the original FIT, earns over £1K a year in feed in.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff