In reply to gethin_allen:
> The worst bit I can see so far is that if you are on a credit meter and miss a payment they will remotely switch your meter to a prepayment meter to recoup their losses
I think this is the whole point of them. It's much cheaper when the customers pay for the pre-pay hardware in advance (via increased bills to everyone) and you don't need to send a sparky round to a house when they're months in arrears. It's the only reason I can see for a gas smart meter other than potentially cheaper readings.
I would have said "at least it saves customers from running up months worth of debt" but that's tempered by what a rip off pre pay is.
It's also why anyone who tells you the smart meters can't be remote instructed to disconnect a customer is wrong. They can't officially do it in normal mode, but switch to pre-pay mode and they rather obviously can. The hardware is always present and under software control, with none of the hardware or software in either the meters or the data centre subject to open security testing.
Post edited at 16:43