Millions of customers could get compensation after being overcharged by faulty energy meters

Up to 3.9 million households across Britain may be eligible from compensation by energy suppliers if their meter clocks were faulty, a new media report suggests.

According to this media source, consumer watchdog Which? says those with different peak and offpeak tariffs, Economy 7 or Economy 10, may have been overcharged for years due to faulty clocks coming on at the wrong time.

This comes after a retired electrical engineer noticed that his meter clock was faulty, with three of his three neighbours being overcharged as well. After being overcharged by his energy supplier while away on holiday, he monitored his house’s energy meter and discovered that, sure enough, the clock was two to three hours out or behaved “erratically”.

Customers on a time-of-use tariff are typically paying a lower rate for electricity during some hours and a higher rate for others. However, a clock implemented in the meter system is required to switch between the two tariffs.

The engineer managed to get quite a significant amount in compensation for himself and his neighbours affected by the clocking issues, but believes this is a nationwide problem that has allowed energy suppliers to boost profits at the expense of customers and wants industry regulator Ofgem to take urgent action.

This proves once more that installing third-party, reliable and affordable energy monitoring solutions is sometimes a better idea than simply relying on existing meters, and this is specifically where the proven HeatingSave technology could prove its worth.

The core of the HeatingSave system is a state-of-the-art microprocessor connected to a number of temperature sensors measuring the external outside temperature, room, hot water tank and heating flow & return temperatures. The system can easily calculates the amount of fuel and electricity used each day to prove precisely just how much energy can be saved.

If you’d like to find out more about the HeatingSave Building Energy Management System and its extensive monitoring/heating control features, just contact our dedicated product team, they’ll be more than happy to answer all of your questions and queries.