Smart meter left woman, 87, scared to turn heat on

An 87-year-old woman lived in an "icy cold" home all winter because she was so afraid of high bills caused by a suspected faulty smart meter.

Diana Bowen resorted to living in one small room within the house, with a portable heater and electric blanket in order to keep warm.

Despite this, she continued to pay the gas bills of hundreds of pounds a month for her home in Llangynwyd, near Bridgend, because she was "scared" of the consequences.

Her supplier Octopus Energy said Mrs Bowen’s old and new meters "have been working correctly" and her energy usage was in line with previous years, but it had now replaced her old meter and cleared her remaining debt.

Mrs Bowen first realised there was an issue last June, when her account balance reached £600 despite the warm weather at the time.

High monthly bills then continued into the winter months, and when she contacted Octopus Energy, she was told it would cost her £200 if a check found no fault with the meter.

"I was just absolutely shocked and didn’t know what to do," said Mrs Bowen.

Eventually, she stopped using her gas heating and appliances altogether in an attempt to keep the bills down.

"It’s affected my shopping and eating habits, because I was determined I wasn’t going to use my gas hob," she explained.

She also largely confined herself to one room, using electric appliances to keep warm.

"I hate it. I’ve been comfortable in my home all my life, but suddenly… it’s like I’m being controlled by a computer," she said.

"I’m sure there must be people worse off than me in many instances. I’m very fortunate because I’m a bit tenacious and I have taken them on.

"There are older people who are perhaps a little bit more infirm at the same age, and it must be awfully hard for them."

Her son Martin said the family realised only in January how bad the situation had become, as black mould started to appear in parts of her house.

"I said ‘Mam, you can’t live like this, you’ve got to put the heating on’, and she point-blank refused," he said.

"Anyone who’s got an elderly mother like my mother will know how determined people are, and how terrified people are of the bill."

Last month, figures released by the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero suggested almost four million smart meters in Britain may not be working properly.

Although Mrs Bowen has had a new smart meter fitted, she is still waiting for her next bill to see whether that has led to a reduction.

Her son said energy companies should take their duty of care towards customers more seriously.

He said there were similarities to the Post Office scandal, where postmasters had been unaware of a widespread fault in the IT system being used.

"Four million [smart] meters must equate to an awful lot of people who were having the same problem as my mother, but I’m not sure that any one of them knew that they were having the same problem," he said.

"I’m annoyed about that, because this should have been sorted before the really cold weather over winter."

Earlier this year, Octopus Energy founder Greg Jackson acknowledged that there were issues with faulty display units for smart meters, saying some were "so bad".

In a statement, Octopus Energy said although both Mrs Bowen’s old and new meters "have been working correctly", they would do additional testing on the device.

"To ensure that Diana does not worry about using her heating in the meantime, we have wiped her £305 account debt to put her back on a zero balance," said a spokesperson.

The company has offered Mrs Bowen an electric blanket, and a new Octopus Home Mini device to measure energy usage which it said "is more reliable" than in-home devices (IHD) found in other homes.

Citizens Advice offer a smart checker service for those who may be experiencing issues, and say consumers should contact the energy ombudsman if suppliers have not fixed the issue within eight weeks of concerns being raised.

"Smart meters can bring huge benefits," said Gillian Cooper.

"But when things go wrong we know it can be incredibly frustrating for energy customers, whether it’s a bigger than expected bill or issues when your smart meter goes offline."

Rachel Bowen, the older people’s commissioner for Wales’ director of policy, added some vulnerable customers could be “severely impacted” by malfunctioning smart meters.

“Energy providers must therefore work to understand the needs of older people at risk of high energy bills and provide the right support to ensure that people do not find themselves in fuel poverty, faced with unaffordable bills, and forced to reduce spending on other essentials in an effort to make ends meet, putting their health at significant risk.”

Note: This article was amended on 5 April to clarify that Greg Jackson’s comments were referring to IHD units, rather than smart meters.