Smart meters

We had smart meters forced on us.

The cheapest "Off Peak" - lowest rates - year round are charged between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. and on weekends and statutory holidays.

Then there is "mid peak"- higher price than "off peak".
Then there is "on peak" rates- the most expensive.

On and Mid change time slots depending on the season. These time frames change when the clocks do.

Winter - the rates for the morning 7 through to 11 a.m. are "On Peak" prices - just when you need the central heating fan on your gas fired furnace to run the most. After 11: a.m. to 5 p.m. it is "Mid Peak"pricing. Then between 5-7 p.m. it is On Peak pricing again - when people want to cook a hot supper

Summer - the rates for 7-11 a.m. are mid peak. Then from 11 through to 5 p.m. they are high rates because that is when people might need their air conditioning or to run fans for some relief from the heat. 5-7 p.m. are mid rate - a lot less cooking of hot meals going on this time of year so they pretend to be doing us a favour.

Three years ago our On peak rate was what our Off peak rate is now. They give you a break for a bit and then start ratcheting up the rates on each level.

I work out of the house and have managed to shift 75% of my electric use to off peak times but I can time shift my usage fairly well because I don't have kids at home to feed hot meals to. I have only used my clothes dryer once since 2013. When all of this nonsense started I cut down, shifted, everything humanly possible and my bill is still progressively higher. All of my greenhouse and outdoor usage is strictly from my solar panels. So no play stuff runs off the grid.

It is NOT about reducing use. It is p​

unishing young working families with kids - people who have no choice but to cook supper at a reasonable hour. Or making a nice hot breakfast for the kids on a cold winter morning before sending them off to school, a costly undertaking.

It is about forcing seniors to sit in the dark during the day so that industry can eat all the power they want without stressing the power grid.

It is about paying ridiculously high salaries to the CEO's instead of having to maintain/expand the grid to accommodate our growing population. We call our CEO here in this province - "the 6 million dollar man". He makes that, plus bonuses every year.

I feel your pain.

This is not a good thing.​

 

The energy supplier we have just switched to have some interesting wording in their standard conditions - in a nut shell - we cannot demand a smart meter and they will not supply one until such time as they believe that there is benefit to their customers - a refreshing change.

The cheap tariffs we were offered were only available to non smart meter customers - so if you already have a smart meter - your tariff is paying for this. I thought they were 'free' - tongue firmly in cheek

 

I think if you are "Smart" you will tell the energy companies where to poke them.
Up their very "Smart" Ar se holes.

 

Having been offered a Smart meter recently and refused it, Mr S and I were told they will be compulsory by 2020.

 

Well they have always charged people with pay meters more than those of us on the usual types, so I dont see why they cant get away with it.

They would just come out with the usual drivel of charging LESS if you were on a shite meter, sorry spelt it wrong.
Bit like mostly you get charged less if you pay things by direct debit, yeah.