XPost: rec.arts.comics.strips   
   From: morrisj@epsilon3.me   
      
   On 10/27/2025 5:09 PM, Your Name wrote:   
   > 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.   
   >   
   >   
      
   Our water meter has a small black box sitting on top of it which is a   
   wireless interface. I believe they just slowly drive down to street   
   pinging each one.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)