23 Jan 2020

And Then I Relented...

...and had ‘em installed. Man, what’s he gibbering on about now I hear me say. Smart meters. Yup, we had ‘em installed a few days ago. Why? Well, after that attack on my heart and the realization as to how uncertain our exit time is, I’ve been doing wot I can to make my departure as stress free as possible for my little nest of vipers. Okay, she’ll probably go home but there will still be a goodly period when she’s here, home alone. With all the important stuff taken care of meter reading sprang to mind and now they’re installed that’s  everything on automatic for her; including automatic payments for everything covered for a couple of years. How cool is that then? She can now relax and concentrate on her extensive colander collection.

Anyhoo, the smart meters? At time of typing all the electrical and  gasical stuff still works as it did before.

The thing that struck me was when the engineer rolled up. It’s an age thing I know but I expected to answer the door to a grizzled old guy exuding years of experience. Wot was standing there was a fellow who looked like he was bunking off school... but giving that no never mind in he came and had the job snuffed up within a couple of hours with no fuss – no muss. Let’s not forget the natty little handheld thingy wot shows meter readings, wot you’re using and wot it’s costing – and most importantly, the Co2 you’re humble home is pumping out. This climate ‘calamity’ is relentless from all angles is it not?

Interestingly, as part of the service, the engineer was obliged to pass on energy saving top tips and these I’ll condense and pass on to you all. Bottom line? If you turn everything off and never turn it on again, the savings on your energy bills can be quite dramatic. Who knew?

Quote;  Scott Adams.

“Normal people... believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.”

2 comments:

Ed P said...

Better stock up with back-up generator & fuel, for when your supply is turned off remotely (as you've given them the ability to do this - the real, unstated reason for these "smart" meters). A 3000W generator will keep the fridge and freezer going, also the gas boiler if you have one.
Good luck.

Mac said...

Ed P,
I hear wot you be typing and all I can say is I discovered a little something while renewing gas boiler breakdown cover. I did that via phone and the guy mentioned that I was down for
Smarts.
He then asked if any elderly were resident to which I replied, yes, me. He then asked about any medical conditions to which I replied, yes, me. He then announced I was now on their endangered species list and thus was flagged for priority for any repair call-out and also guaranteed continuity of supply other than a situation they had no control over. Take all that with a sack o’ salt but we can only do wot we can do.