XPost: rec.arts.comics.strips   
   From: YourName@YourISP.com   
      
   On 2025-10-27 15:36:44 +0000, Paul S Person said:   
   > On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 15:35:15 +1300, Your Name    
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >    
   >   
   >> As I said (twice) we have owned the house since new and smart   
   >> meters>didn't even exist when it was built, so didn't have one. We   
   >> never asked for a smart meter and we were never told one had been   
   >> installed, so we had no idea we did now have a smart meter. Presumably   
   >> the power company went around installing them (without notice for some   
   >> silly reason) at some point so they could save on wages and fuel costs   
   >> of having real>people employed as meter readers.   
   >   
   > They told us about it in 2021, as I noted in another post.   
   >   
   > And they also allowed an opt-out, for a fee to pay for having someone   
   > come out and read it.   
   >   
   > Cutting down on meter readers should have slowed down the rate   
   > increases a bit.   
   >   
   > But different cultures do things different ways.   
   >   
   > This is unlikely to happen with water meters -- at least here --   
   > because they are mostly buried in the ground and getting a wireless   
   > signal out might be difficult.   
      
   Most water meters here are in boxes* in the garden (for houses anyway).   
   The boxes have an easily removeable lid so the meter reader can quickly   
   access them to read the dial numbers. Technically it should be   
   relatively easy to either have a cellular / wi-fi meter that can   
   connect. At worst you could run an aerial cable along side the pipe and   
   up onto the house's roof (of course, that would be easiest with houses   
   being built or major rennovations).   
      
   * "Box" is a relative term. It doesn't have a base and is simply slid   
   over the water meter as protection from weather, mowers, etc. Now that   
   the weather here is getting less wet, I'll have to remember to go out   
   and dig out our meter box so I can bury it a little deeper - the   
   plumber repair a minor mains leak recently didn't re-bury the box   
   proerpy, so it now sticks up above the ground level.   
      
      
      
      
   > Which is a pity, because mis-read/estimated water meters can cause   
   > billing problems.   
      
   We had that. Because of the mains leak, the estimated amount directly   
   after the repair had been done was higher than it should have been.   
   Lukckily the water company here gives refunds for quickly repaired   
   mains leaks outside the house when you provide them with proof from a   
   registered plumber.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)