This is really all about saving a few pence on the meters.

The so called "smart meters" are dumb smart meters. They are transmitting all the time and that's what the issue is about there radiation (E/M radiation). There is no need for this. There is no need for them to be transmitting except when the truck is out there to receive the reading once a month.

A REAL smart meter has a receiver, not just a transmitter. The receiver is on all the time (except when the meter is tranmitting). The truck drives up, signals the meter, the smart meter receives that signal and transmit the information to the truck and then goes back into listen mode.

EVEN if you assumed that this took 30 seconds (a ridiculously long time) that's just 1/100,000th the radiation of one of these dumb smart meters.

Emails from Ecotricity, May 2011...

=== 1===

Dear [Customer]

We will soon be changing the meter reading agent that we use to read your meter. We feel that this will be a positive change as we will have more control over the service provided by our new agent.

From May, your meter will be read by G4S Utility Services (formerly known as Accuread). You can find more information about this company here.

Please remember it is part of your energy supply agreement with us that you allow us or our appointed agent reasonable access to your property to obtain a meter reading.

We schedule the date that we produce your bill in line with the date that your meter is read to ensure that your bill is as accurate as possible. This change of agent may alter your meter reading schedule and as a result we may need to change your billing date accordingly. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but this will ensure more accurate billing in the future.

You can always help us to keep your account up to date by supplying your own meter readings too. We have found that many customers who supply us with regular readings become more aware of their own consumption and this allows them to reduce their bills. If you would like to supply us with a reading at any time, call us on 0845 555 7 400 or go to www.ecotricity.co.uk/meterreading.

If you have any questions about this, or any other issue, please contact us on 0845 555 7 200 or e-mail us at  home@ecotricity.co.uk.

Kind regards

Daniel Leyfield
Customer Service Team

=== 2 === (the response)

Disappointed to see that you've chosen G4S to do this. I switched to Ecotricity because I felt that you were the most eco-friendly and ethically-grounded power supplier, but your choice of G4S makes me question this.

G4S seem to have a fairly shaky record on the ethical front - they currently face potential corporate manslaughter charges over the death of Angolan asylum seeker Jimmy Mubenga on a deportation flight last year, and they manage the Tinsley House immigration centre in Sussex, where young children are routinely imprisoned for no crime other than 'being foreign'. The company is also at the forefront of controversial efforts to take the UK prison system into private ownership, so they can profit financially from depriving people of their liberty.

I understand that the meter-reading wing of G4S is technically a different company from the security services and immigration sections, but I am surprised that Ecotricity is happy to procure services from any part of this business.

Is there any chance you would reconsider your decision?

=== 3 === (their response)

Thanks for your email.

As a small independent supplier, it is difficult obtaining the level
of geographic coverage we need from a meter reading service provider
in the UK and there are very few practical choices available to us.
The ‘Big Six’ suppliers tend to monopolise the meter reading services
market and seek exclusivity, which limits our options even further.

This is only likely to get worse with the rollout of smart meters
towards 2019, as the need for physical readings will diminish and the
physical data collection role will be taken over by remote data
centres. So the whole industry is currently in a transition period,
while the type & technology of new smart meters is agreed and
installed before the government’s ambitious 2019 deadline. As a
result, the big energy companies have been pulling out of this
activity for some time, and taking their metering services in-house.
EDF, nPower, E.ON and BG have all pulled out and now Scottish and
Southern have as well.

We’ve also been working happily with a meter reading company called
Accuread (originally set up by BG) for a number of years, which was
recently bought out by a company called G4S Utility Services. So in
that sense, we didn’t choose G4S, we inherited them and they continue
to operate as an entirely separate part of the business. We’re
therefore working with the same guys but under different ownership,
and we have invested a significant amount of time and effort in their
performance and therefore the results they deliver to us. They have
always provided us with an excellent service, one that we certainly
did not get when we have tried alternative providers, in part because
of their work with some of the big suppliers which gives them the
volume of work to be able to offer good geographical coverage.

They are also one of the few who will be able to support the industry
when it starts to implement smart meters, so while ethics are crucial
to us, we also have to consider the practical impact on our business –
and our customers – if we switched to a different provider now. So
because of these practical considerations, we have chosen to continue
to use G4S Utility Services for the time being in order to maintain
the quality of service we’re able to deliver to our customers.

We have raised our customers’ concerns about the practices of other
parts of the G4S company directly with them, and made them aware that
we expect them to work to the same ethical standards as our customers
expect of us. They have responded, assuring us that they, “operate
within the strongest possible ethical framework, in what can be
difficult and complex situations.”

So we completely recognise your concerns about their parent company,
and we will monitor our ongoing options. Should a more suitable
alternative provider become available to us, we will review our
position.

I hope this at least explains our historical relationship with
Accuread/ G4S Utility Services, and you continue to be with us during
what is something of a transition period for the entire industry.

Kind regards


The Ecotricity Team
ecotricity
tel
0845 555 7100
email
 home@ecotricity.co.uk
www.ecotricity.co.uk

They will shortly be taking the nationwide contract for Scotish Power meter reading!!!Bet scot power management are thinking what have we done!!