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News & Blog

Lovely Rita

Posted: 4th September 2020

“Lovely Rita, meter maid
Nothing can come between us
When it gets dark, I tow your heart away”

(The Beatles)

Okay, so these words are to do with parking meters and not electricity and gas meters. But now I have got your attention, this week’s blog is more of a Q & A than a storyline., with me providing both the question and the answer – so don’t worry, it’s not a zoom quiz.

Hopefully, one or two of the answers below will be helpful to you

How to read a meter?

Just ignore the number in the end box, it is a fraction.

Or you might have a two-rate meter, like this

This is because you get cheaper electricity either during the night or in the evenings and weekends. You need to submit both readings

Digital displays often don’t have fractions, in which case submit all the numbers in the readout

Old dial meters can look like this

The reading here is 15649

The above information was taken from The Citizens Advice website here.

How often should I read my meter?

Up to you, but a good habit to get into is a simple spreadsheet with monthly figures. You can then see month to month and year to year figures. It also helps for control and budgeting

Do I have a smart meter?

The simple answer is this – if you no longer have to give meter readings and don’t get estimated bills then you have a smart meter

If I change suppliers will the smart meter work?

Yes and no. if your smart meter was installed in 2017 or before you will likely have an earlier model. It might not send in automatic readings to your new supplier. However, all earlier models will get updated remotely and should be completed by the summer of 2021.

In the meantime, it still works like a standard meter until it reverts to a smart meter after the update.

I have a meter, but I don’t know who the supplier is?

Get in touch with Mycos, we can find that out for you

What is an mpan that suppliers go on about?

It is the number for your electric meter, this is not the same as your account number with your supplier. It is 13 digits long and at the bottom part of your supply number.

E.g.    03   801   100

18 0001 0002 123

The number beginning with 18 is your mpan and both the bottom and top line together make up your supply number

Is an mpan the same as the serial number on the meter?

No, the mpan is a unique number to identify a certain meter at an address

The site address for the meter is wrong, can I get it changed?

Yes, you can, contact Mycos and we can sort

Final Question:

Do I have to know this stuff and other related energy technical details?

No, and the answer is Mycos can sort this and many other things for you

Business Comment

Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.
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