SEFE ENERGY
Whether you have questions asking what a smart meter is, how it works or how it can benefit your business, we've prepared the answers, to ensure you are informed and updated, meaning you can make good decisions for your company.
From installation and supply questions to safety and data security, your business is our priority, we want to make sure you're receiving accurate readings, giving you as little work to do as possible, allowing you to concentrate on other areas of your business.
Can’t find the answer to your question here or just want more information on smart meters and any related topics? Please get in touch with our friendly Customer Service team by visiting the Contact Us page and fill in the relevant forms or give us a call on 0161 837 3395 – we’re always on hand to help you with any queries, whatever the problem is.
If you’ve already received a letter or email from SEFE Energy offering you a smart meter, all you need to do is contact us 0161 837 3392 to progress.
Alternatively, you can contact smartmetering@sefe-energy.com or opt-in using the link on the email.
If you haven’t yet received a communication from us, you can register your interest here.
Following this, we’ll pass your details on to our smart meter providers, who will contact you to arrange an installation date.
If you need to change your smart meter installation appointment, please contact us on 0161 837 3392 or email smartmetering@sefe-energy.com, and we’ll arrange a new installation date with our smart meter provider.
The electricity meter is the primary meter on a dual fuel installation. This requires both meters to be within approximately five meters (16 feet) of each other. If this isn’t possible, additional costs could be incurred.
For sites where SEFE Energy only supplies gas, we may be dependent on your electricity supplier to install an electricity smart meter prior to us being able to install the gas smart meter.
There are various reasons why we may not be able to install a meter at your property, for example there may be an issue with existing meter.
We’re installing smart meters for microbusinesses as a priority, which may also be why we’re currently unable to fit a smart meter at your premises. A microbusiness is defined as; a business that employs fewer than 10 employees (or their full time equivalent) and has an annual turnover or balance sheet no greater than €2 million; or uses no more than 100,000 kWh of electricity per year; or uses no more than 293,000 kWh of gas per year.
There are some meters that aren’t eligible for an upgrade to a smart meter just yet. However, where we can’t fit a smart meter, we may be able to offer the installation of an AMR device.
An automated meter reading device (AMR) is the technology used for collecting the data from a meter for billing purposes. The AMR device is plugged into your gas meter and then transmits the meter readings through to one of our AMR Providers via an SMS SIM Card. The AMR providers then send those readings straight to us on a daily or monthly basis. We’ll use the month-end reading to produce your bill.
Smart meters are covered under UK and EU product safety legislation, which requires manufacturers to ensure that any product placed on the market is safe.
Public Health England provides advice and information on the health implications of smart meters, as it does for a range of technologies commonly found in homes and businesses across the UK. Further information about smart meters and health can be found on the Public Health England website.
We’re committed to keeping customer information secure so that all of your data is fully protected.
Your information is only accessed when necessary, by those who need to see it and to provide you with the services you have asked for. Further to this, all our staff members are trained on data protection and follow strict data protection guidelines.
Normally, you won’t be charged. There may be charges applied if the meter has been damaged by you or a third party in accordance with your general terms and conditions. If there’s an issue with your smart meter, please contact us on 0161 837 3380 or email us at smartmetering@sefe-energy.com.
We can then investigate any issues and resolve them for you as soon as possible.
The installation of your smart meter is free although there may be some additional costs, we’ll let you know prior to the installation if a cost may apply. Our installers will let you know of any additional costs before fitting the meter so you can decide whether you’re happy to proceed.
With your existing meter, you currently pay a very small maintenance charge which is built into your bill, this will be the same for your smart meter.
We will sometimes email you to request a meter reading, even if you have a smart meter installed. This is to ensure the meter is still working correctly and so that you’re only billed to your actual usage.
Once your account has been updated, your bill will be generated based on readings from your new smart meter.
This can sometimes occur while your account is being updated with your new smart meter information. To ensure your meter is working correctly we also arrange check readings and or maintenance visits to take place.
If you’re moving please contact us and give us as much notice as possible before your moving day on 0161 837 3392 or via email smartmetering@sefe-energy.com.
This way we can ensure that the meters are remotely cleared of all consumption data and a final remote meter reading can be taken before the new occupier moves in.
There could be a number of reasons why this happens. The two main reasons are:
No, you don’t require an internet connection for it to work. Depending on your location, the smart meter will communicate by using existing mobile or radio signals currently in your area.
There is no legal obligation to have a smart meter installed.
However, SEFE Energy is supportive of the Government programme and we’re aiming to install smart meters for our eligible microbusiness customers so that they get the benefits of a smart meter. If you’d like to read more about this please visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smart-meters-the-smart-choice
We’ll exchange the current meter for a smart meter for the service that we supply, whether it is gas, electricity or both. A standard installation will take approximately one hour per meter. Our suppliers will be able to assist you with any queries while arranging your installation.
Unfortunately, an in-home display option isn’t provided for business energy customers.
Typically, they’ll be installed in the current location of your gas and electricity meters.
It would be helpful if you could send a picture of the meter location to smartmetering@sefe-energy.com to make us aware of any potential issues during installation.
A standard installation can take up to one hour per meter, you’ll be without gas and electricity during this time. The engineers completing the exchange will let you know how long each supply will be switched off for.
Yes, you are free to change supplier if you have a smart meter, but it would be best to check if your new supplier can support the smart metering technology before you agree to switch. You can find your meter details on the meter itself, alternatively you can take a photo on your smart phone and send it to smartmetering@sefe-energy.com and we’ll be able to advise you.
