Digital Meter Upgrade

[JohnPobiega]

My premises current have an "Anytime" and a "Controlled Load" meter.
I have been advised of an upcoming digital meter upgrade with a possible tariff change.
My questions are:
1) Will there be 2 digital meters or 1 combined meter?
2) Will Controlled Load be measured separately?
3) What is the likely change of tariff, bearing in mind that tariffs are already expected to change on August 1?

[jaydee]

I wouldlike as I had before meter,my account also had Controlled Load,this was not adjusted into meter at time the meter was installed,agl offered to install for $152 YOU are joking it was part and parcel of my previous plans,bad enough when I look at what is owing on this account so far,I need to have the controlled load updated,why oh why would I have installed solar H/W and then ignored the savings of controlled load,this needs to be remedded.cheers Jack Discombe

[jimmey]

I too are a bit nervouse of this email going around from agl saying they will change meters to a digital meter. I get the impression that"Digital meter " dosnt necessarily mean "Smart" but a smart meter does mean digital.

I believe from past experience that this " requesting , take a photo of your current non digital meters and send them " that the is a fault or problem in the system/program of actually reading those photos, so then a digital meter might or might not be better, probably the better. However , i dont believe this has been looked into and hence i am still a bit nervous that when the meters get read on the day the new digital meter get installed the will still be problems with my next bill due shortly after that day sep 11 supposedly. Is the anyway i can be assured agl will be more careful and assure me this will not happen. oh and just becouse agl puts in the new digital meter they do not own them so if one encounter problems the is No obligation to stay with the same provider.

[jimmey]

my Gosh the seems to lots of common things on this indication that its a good idea to cancell the digital meter change over, im tempted to do so too. ?As the shouldn't be a big change to the pricing. This change over seems to be quite negative.

[JohnPobiega]

In response to various comments made in recent posts...

You will normally be advised of the date when the installer is scheduled
to change your meter(s).
Make sure you take a photo of your existing meters so there's no dispute
about the accuracy of the readings.
Your new meter should already be pre-set to zero.

In theory there shouldn't be any change to your tariffs and no cost to
you when changing to a digital meter.
If there's any change then keep hassling your retailer until they get it
right.
Of course your billing details may become totally unreadable when
there's lots of readjustments made, as I mentioned in an earlier post.
Thankfully, things should settle after a few billing cycles.

You're under no obligation to stay with your current retailer unless
you're under a specific contract.
Even though I was with AGL, it was actually an independent installer
named IntelliHub who installed the digital meter.
Installation time was only an hour or so.

Personally I haven't had any problem with meter readings.
Readings are automatically sent to your retailer every half hour or so
(or so I'm told).
The AGL website shows your daily usage which can be quite useful for
determining trends in your electricity usage.
I found this quite useful.

Unfortunately for other reasons, I am no longer with AGL.
I'll keep this post open for as long as it lasts.

John.

[Woodchopper]

 Can you please advise me if my rates and controlled load will change if a smart meter is installed . Thanks. Pm if required

[JohnPobiega]

Hi Woodchopper,

See my post from July 26.

Your rates shouldn't change, but make sure you take a photo of your old meters before they're removed and if you have Controlled Load then make sure your retailer hasn't changed your CL1 tariff to CL2 like they did with mine. If there's an unexpected tariff change then keep hassling them until they get it right. Otherwise I have no problem with the Digital Meter or its installation. AGL's online account has a nice feature which shows your daily usage so you can keep track of any unusual trends in your electricity usage. However I'm no longer with AGL as I found a better deal elsewhere, particularly after my 28% pay on time discount was no longer available.

Best of luck.

[Woodchopper]

Thanks for the info. Who you with now?

[jaydee]

Hi hope you made a good choice,I have had 9 months of getting agl to include the CL in my plan as it shows connected on the meter but I have no idea what they are charging for the CL they still have not put it into my plan,I have been with agl for 9 years and made in my opinion a bad decision on installing meter,,I have had emails they do not answer,impossible to talk on phone when you ask you would like to talk re my billing and plan they disconnect you,the latest on the APP is a new invoice from February to September,no one is interested in checking this out cheers Jack

[JohnPobiega]

With respect to the AGL Neighbourhood Forum, I think it would be unwise
to nominate a competitor's name.

[Lm08]

I would also like to know what my tariff changes will be after my digital meter is installed. At the moment I intend to cancel the upgrade as no one can tell me what the changes will be.