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The Energy Blog Smart Pay As You Go Meter roll-out accelerated

Vulnerable prioritised with remote charging meters in response to COVID-19 crisis

Jersey Electricity is accelerating the final stage of its Smart Meter roll out in light of the Coronavirus crisis to enable Jersey’s 4,500 Pay As You Go (PAYG) key meter users to be able to top up their electricity meters remotely without leaving their homes if necessary.

JE’s meter installers, classed as essential workers in the current lockdown, have already converted over 700 households to the new Smart PAYG meters. The meters’ remote charging capabilities mean friends, relatives or JE’s Customer Care Advisers can top up a housebound customer’s meter almost instantly without having to visit their premises with a key.

If circumstances allow, JE plans to convert the Island’s remaining key meters over the coming weeks by moving qualified electricians from other areas of the business to bolster this important project and enable the installation of around 50 meters a day.

JE has already been prioritising PAYG customers on its Extra Care Register, along with other customers identified as vulnerable who have no one to top up for them. The utility is now working with Government agencies, charities and parishes to ensure that group continues to be prioritised.

Around 70% of key meters are located outside or in communal areas and therefore do not require access inside all homes. Where access is needed, JE’s Metering Technicians will be following stringent measures to ensure the protection of household members and themselves.

The new Liberty meters mean keys, which have been in use for over 25 years, are replaced with a Smart Card, the size of a typical credit card, that carry a premise’s unique meter number.  

As well as providing the convenience of there being four times as many top-up locations than the old system, the remote charging capability means friends or relatives of sick or housebound customers will be able to top up their meters on their behalf without travelling to and from their home with a key. The new Smart Cards also offer added benefit because they do not actually hold any money or have any monetary value if lost.

JE’s Head of Customer Care Brian O’Gorman said: ‘A trial involving around 150 Andium tenants went well and customer feedback on the installation and information they received was positive. Now over 700 of the new meters are in operation but we are now prioritising the vulnerable who are forced to self-isolate with no one to help them to top up. Anyone with a key meter who finds it impossible to get out to top up, can access help from our Customer Care Team by calling us on 505460.

‘All of our off-peak tariffs are available under the new PAYG system and the meter installation is free. Any credit on a customer’s current meter will be automatically transferred to their new Smart Meter.’

The new meters will be automatically set with £5 credit, which will be recovered in stages as the customer tops up. When they do, they will be given a receipt containing a 20-digit code so that if in the unlikely event the meter did not credit automatically, they can charge the meter manually by entering the code on the meter keypad.

JE will be writing to every customer before commencing the new meter installation notifying them of the date and whether their technician will need access to their premises. Customers can change the appointment if it is not convenient or postpone it. The technician will deliver the ‘Smart Card’ and information pack to each household as the meters are changed out.

JE CEO Chris Ambler said: ‘The replacement of our aging Pay As You Go key meters with the latest Liberty Meters is the final stage of this project. It brings benefits to both customers and the business and in these uncertain times the remote charging capabilities will bring extra peace of mind to our community’s most vulnerable. I’d like to thank all those involved in the project, including Andium Homes for its support during the trial and the roll-out.’

Find out more about Smart PAYG Meters here or watch our video guide

Your Customer Number

Your 5 character Customer Number can be found in the top right and bottom left corners of your bill.

Example electricity bill with the customer number highlighted

Daily Service Charge

The Daily Service Charge covers energy support services such as metering, billing, Customer Care, safety obligations and other energy support services.

Off-peak

Off-peak means not at the most popular time. Some of our tariffs provide discounted rates at off-peak times - for example, during certain periods at night.

Off peak charging times

Our current off peak electric vehicles times are from 00:00 to 06:59.

Dedicated supply circuit

A dedicated supply circuit is an electrical circuit that is set aside for a specific purpose, such as powering a boiler. It will work with a single appliance only.

It will have its own circuit breaker in your fuse box, and no other device or appliance will be able to draw power from it. A dedicated supply circuit ensures that appliances can draw the current they need without overloading your system, blowing a fuse or tripping an electric circuit.

Invoice Number

This can be found on the top right corner of your bill here

Example electricity bill with invoice number

Premise Number

This can be found on the top right corner and bottom left corner of your bill.

Example electricity bill with premise number highlighted

Payment Slip

This can be found at the bottom of your bill here

Bill payment slip example

Peak Load

Peak load or peak demand is a short period when the demand for electricity is at its highest.

Kilowatt Hours

Electricity consumption is usually measured in kilowatt hours, or kWh for short. Each kWh of electricity equates to 'one unit of electricity' for billing purposes. A 1kW (1,000 Watts) appliance in use for one hour = 1kWh (one unit). The cost per unit used depends on which tariff you are on.

Three phase

Residential homes are usually served by a single-phase power supply, while commercial and industrial facilities usually use a three-phase supply.

One difference between single-phase and three-phase is that a three-phase power supply better accommodates higher loads. Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, rather than large electric motors.

Another important difference between 3-phase power and single phase power is the consistency of power delivery. Because of the variations in voltage, single-phase power supply does not offer the same consistency as a three-phase power supply. A three-phase power supply delivers power at a steady, constant rate.

kVA

A kVA is simply 1,000 volt-amps. A volt-amp, or ampere, (VA) is the voltage times the current feeding an electrical load.

Embedded generator

Embedded generators like wind turbines and solar panels are connected to your electricity supply and provide electricity for onsite use. They also have the capability to export back to the grid.

Smart Card Number

Your Smart Card Number is the 19-digit number displayed below the barcode on your Smart Card.

The Smart Card Number also contains your six-digit Meter Number that is also displayed on your meter. You need this to top up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter whether at a Payzone outlet or online.

Example of Smart card for meter charging

Smart Card

A Smart Card contains your unique Smart Card Number used when topping up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter.

Example of a smart card for meter charging

F-Credit

F-credit is a Pay As You Go meter display and means Friendly Credit. It is the period between 9pm and 8am. If the credit on your meter runs out during this period, your supply will remain on until 8am.

Decarbonise

The process of reducing carbon by replacing fossil fuels with fuel that is less harmful to the environment such as low-carbon electricity.

Regenerative braking

With conventional braking systems, the kinetic energy that was propelling the vehicle forward gets converted to unwanted and wasted heat by the friction of the brakes.

Regenerative braking recaptures much of the car's kinetic energy and converts it into electricity, so that it can be used to recharge the car's batteries.

In addition to improving the efficiency of a vehicle, regeneration can significantly extend the life of the braking system, as the mechanical parts will not wear out as quickly.

Power factor

Power factor is the ratio of useful power in kilowatts (kW) to apparent power, measured in kilovolt amperes (kVA). A perfect power factor would be 1.0, however in reality this is almost impossible to achieve. Office buildings are usually between 0.98 and 0.92. Bad power factor is anything below 0.85.

Electric flow boiler

Electric flow boilers are simple to install, quiet in operation, 100% efficient and integrate into most existing radiator or underfloor piped systems. Plus, with no flue or storage tank, an electric boiler is a space-saving option that can be installed almost anywhere in your home.

Approved heating system

A heating system, approved by Jersey Electricity, on a dedicated supply for use on one of our discounted heating tariffs.

To learn more about what's required for an approved heating system, view our current approved heating guidelines.

20-digit payment code

The 20-digit payment code is issued with your receipt for a Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter top-up. If your meter did not charge automatically, you can do it manually with the payment code. Press button A on your meter then key in your 20-digit payment confirmation code on the meter keypad, then press button B. Your meter will recognise the amount paid and charge accordingly.

Single phase

Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, as in a domestic home, rather than large electric motors and higher loads. Single-phase power is a two-wire alternating current (AC) power circuit.