This deadline wasn’t some unknown thing suddenly sprung upon energy companies, this deadline has been known about for a long time, why have they left it this late? Were they just expecting the government to keep extending the deadline?
Warning RTS electricity meters in 300,000 homes could stop working
I think that it’d be more likely that electricity companies that don’t conform to their mandated deadline get fined — surely there’s some form of penalty attached to the deadline? — and the funds used to continue this longwave service for a second extension, or the same happen with just government funds, as has already apparently happened once.
The issue isn’t the funds, it’s the practicality. The transmitter needs two obsolete valves to operate, and the BBC bought the entire world’s supply in around 2010, which still amounted to less than ten. When one of the final pair blows it’s the end regardless of money.
Hmm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droitwich_Transmitting_Station
The long-wave frequency used was 200 kilohertz (frequently referred to by the wavelength, 1,500 metres) until 1 February 1988[13] when it was changed to 198 kilohertz, and the power is currently 500 kilowatts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longwave_radio_broadcasters
According to this, there are only three other longwave transmitting stations in the world at least as high-power as this station: one in each of Morocco, Algeria, and Poland. So I guess that it’s a pretty esoteric sort of hardware.
Wouldn’t it be possible just to replace the valve transmitter with a digitised version that sent out the same signal?
It would cost millions to design and build it and, as it would be the only one in the world ever built, it would again rely on bespoke components, for a service the BBC has been wanting to close for nearly 20 years anyway and is purely being kept open for the last stragglers to be herded onto smart meters.
Surely cheaper than enforcing mass installations. (Although it’s customers doubtlessly picking up this cost.)
The installations have to happen. Why spend hundreds of millions of licence fee payer’s money the BBC doesn’t have on a temporary kicking of the can?
And why can’t the power companies pay for this out of their eye-watering profits? I don’t understand why you think the BBC needs to be involved any more. (People I know have only had issues with smart meter installations that have caused just unnecessary stress. I’m pretty much waiting until I hear that they actually work better than half the time and that there are mechanisms to verify readings before I sign up.)
So still costing hundreds of millions, and not broadcasting audio, just the trigger signal? Sounds like an even more colossal waste of resources.
The vast majority of people have switched to smart meters without issue. For those where there are technical barriers, some sort of fallback should be provided. But the stubborn and bloody-minded should be left to it.
What if I don’t want to change it? I’ve seen my sister’s bills double since she got a smart meter so why the hell would I want to do that? I’m more than happy to keep giving them a manual reading.
What are my options?
I hate this world.
… Then the original meter must have been faulty?
All the smart meters do is make it easier to collect the readings (end enable fancy tariffs). The ones in this article are effectively dumb meter versions of the day night tariff options.
I’m willing to bet that, since their sister got a smart meter, everyone’s bills have doubled.
Why would her bill double from another meter if her consumption doesn’t change?
This is specifically only for meters that can switch between peak and off peak rates. Not all “dumb” meters do this.
Then good luck as you embark on your new life without electricity.
Haha thank you!
