They've not said how they're planning on tapping in to the new meters to allow remote readings, but I can already see high tech criminals gaining access to the usage of households and breaking in while people are known not to be in.

As someone else as already said, the flat rates we're used to will soon become tier based, with anyone using over a certain Kw being punished for not being energy efficient enough. Much like the broadband ISPs are punishing us for using "too much" bandwidth and either capping the speed or adding a fee for excess usage.

Spend more then £10 a week on either gas or electric, you get bumped up to the next level and are charged premium because you're using too much. Like the idea of making a coffee, and watching daytime TV. So does everyone else, and they'll charge you extra for congestion 'extra power output' charge. I can see it coming a mile off. Same thing happens already with people who've been forced to use water meters.

I bet once again, pre-pay customers will get shafted more then direct debt.

in some respect it could be quite good, there are many people in the world that really do care about the earth, and do there best to reduce there waste,

but then there are people like my sister, and definitely my mother, who leaves lights on, throws toilet rolls away even though there's still about 30% left, and the best one, leaves the hot top running whist she's talking to some one on the phone and the hot water is just going down the plug hole. and all we get out of her, well i pay the bill, so it doesn't matter, (as if paying the bill was just the problem)

the problem is, in general the average consumer, is not very smart,
these smart meters are designed from the ground up to be smart.

yes there will be finance involved, but only the people who are negligent in there consumption behavior will be penalized,

it's a bit like all the drivers that moan about traffic wardens, and how the governments are making a fortune from these speed cameras,

errr!, don't waste energy, don't speed, and don't park where your not suppose too, man it's not very difficult now is it, but this is what the government is trying to resolve, it's these kind of people that needs smart meters, because like i said, people in general do tend to waste, in fact the human species is still very wasteful, it's quite strange, we are the smartest living thing on the planet, and yet we are the most hurtful, wasteful, and awful living creature on the planet. if you ask me, smart meters may just be too little too late, the planet is dying, and humans are solely responsible, no one else, we are a very wasteful species, but at least we are starting to learn, in some area's our efficiency is growing profoundly, and our intelligence is starting to show.

a car engine (72 miles per gallon)
a light bulb that can last 12 years, use 12Watts of power but has an output of 40Watts,
isn't it strange how a light bulb that lasts 12 years, use's less energy, saves you a fortune, but is not liked because it take's 2 minutes too charge up to it's 40 or 60w output.

or how people will happily pay for a lighter that can't be refilled,
or buy's pens that is sealed and onced used has to be thrown,

this list can go on, these things are a good sign, that humans are starting to make things stretch and last longer,

i do hope that they pick a good smart meter, as with all things, smart meters have been out for a while, and there already on 3rd generation meters now, lets hope the government pick's the right one. and not a early simple model.

"isn't it strange how a light bulb that lasts 12 years, use's less energy, saves you a fortune, but is not liked because it take's 2 minutes too charge up to it's 40 or 60w output."

The point of a lightbulb is to produce light.
A lightbulb that take 2 minutes to produce sufficient light is useless.
Technology advancements are meant to make life better and not worse.
Specifically, advancements are meant to improve an area without adversely affecting the other areas of a product.

For example, electric cars take far too long to charge and are not viable. Hydrogen cars are viable.

The rest of your argument is ok, if a little OTT.

Who is to say how much is wasteful, certainly if you see what and why a household is using so much you can judge, but the smart meters only how how much is being used and not what for.

I suffer from bad hay fever, and it will kick in next at the start of next month. From then on, I'll be taking 2 types of tablets, a spray and eye drops multiple times each day.

On bad days, when I return to the house, I have to wash my cloths, and dry them in a tumble dryer, then take a shower. I need to have air con to filter out the pollen at night. It annoys me no end that I 'waste' this much power, but there is little else I can do, and that brings my power consumsion back up to around the same levels as Dec/Jan again.
I'll be punished for waste.

I'm sure there will be lots of other reasons why useage is higher then normal, and leaving things like TV on standby does add up, but not as much as people who need to have slighty higher useage anyway.

"I need to have air con to filter out the pollen at night."
Really? Or could you pay for Hayfever (presumably) tablets instead?

"errr!, don't waste energy, don't speed, and don't park where your not suppose too"

the difference is speeding and parking in some areas are illegal; "wasting" energy is not. i should be able to do whatever i want with my life as long as it's not illegal. Forcing people into these Smart meters is a really bad idea. if they did it in America, you can sure bet there'd be millions of pissed off folks ready to hack em or trash em

What gives the government the right to determine how i use my energy- that im paying for with my own money? The government currently thinks it knows better than the actual people of the countries. they couldnt be further from the truth. there's will always be stupid people, poor people, and energy wasters.

now, move on and stop pushing your BS on the rest of us that still believe in freedom.

The earth has about 90 years of oil left, 90years, that's it, done,
And people in general are not willing to sacrifice waiting 2 minutes for the light to charge up too full watt output.

If people are unwilling to bare small sacrifices for the benefit of our planet, and our future's generations, then it is the responsibility of our governments to force those changes on us,
it is there duty and there sole reason for having absolute power, too make decisions that we may not like but are for the good of the whole body like making cigarettes very expensive, yes they make money, but it also makes people quite, because people like yourself, are everywhere, the kind of people unwilling to think beyond there own existence, the kind of people that know our oil is running out, but don't quite understand the ramifications of what will happen to the human society when the oil does run out,

without oil, the chances of world war 3 happening is highly probable, we have to give technology a chance to come up with a solution, and that mean's extending the life off what resources we have now, and that mean's making small sacrifices like waiting for a measly 2 minutes for a light bulb to charge up (and it's not as though the whole house needs one of these bulbs anyway, just rooms where instant full luminescence isn't needed the moment the switch is activated). Come on, hear yourself, too hell with the earth’s resources, I want light as and when I choose to have it, come on, this is the kind of attitude we can no longer afford any more, it's no longer about freedom, or finance, it's gone way past such little squabbles, like who pays the bill's, it's about the planet we reside on, can no longer support us because of our such wasteful attitudes,

these smart meters are here to penalize people that take the piss, the meters will have to be setup fairly, and no doubt there will be teething problems when they first come out but given that the whole country is going to have them, it is not as though the government will get away with any underhand dealings going on, if they try any snide, the people, we will know and complain.
I think it’s good, and once again put’s UK at the front line of dealing with our resource problems now, because it now we have to make the changes, not tomorrow, TIME IS RUNNING OUT. And just because we won’t see it, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to fix it, for our children’s sake, we owe it to them to make what we got last longer,

And your right, America would not tolerate it, but please, don’t compare UK to such a young country, it’s humiliating at best, we have nearly 2,000 years of history,
we have learnt to make sacrifices when the time calls, and we know how too show strength and when too show humility, UK has always been a strong contester for green, U.S. has not, UK faces our resource problem head on, even if it means going against there own people’s wishes, U.S. does not, U.S. are afraid too go against there people, I mean come one, they still have not made guns illegal, a 18 year old with no training at all is allowed to have a gun as long as he has no criminal record,
Again, please don’t compare us to a U.S. we are completely different countries, U.S is a very loud country, there size of there country matches there ego, they may have a lot going for them, but as a whole, they are still very young, and only time brings wisdom,
UK should be compared to other 1st world countries of equal age, that would be fare,

all s*** aside, it's like this,

the planet has put up with a lot of s*** from the human race over the last 150 years,
can't we now make small sacrifices to help the planet that can no longer put up with our s***,
earth now needs our help, our government knows this, and one way or another, we are going to reduce our waste weather we like it or not, the ones that fight it, will be penalized,

Well, yeah, i do. Two different types on perscription to help with it, but I can't use the nasal spray or eye drops while im a sleep.
the result is excess mucus in the throat from the nose and that causes throat infections after a while. I am rarely able to see after I wake up in the mornings (need to have eye drops and 1st tablet) as it looks like i have conjunctivitis and can sometimes develop blisters on the surface of the eye, this is after I get fresh bedding, a shower, taken all my hayfever meds.

I realise I have it quite bad and most people can just get along with taking a '1 a day' tablet from the chemist.

uhhhhhhhhhhh Big Brother much? you cant tell me they wont try to put ceilings on energy prices and then prosecute "excess offenders". these people want to control you through any means necessary. it's all a power grab and has nothing to do with saving the environment

Ummm....is anyone else thinking this is just fancy marketing talk for installing a meter that's inevitably going to charge you MORE?

Particularly that last line. A different age? An age where it didn't matter if you were undercharged by half a unit? Yeah, I don't think so.

It is NOT your imagination. Yes, all this is just an elaborate effort to be able to charge you more money at the times when you actually need to use energy. The obvious result of this is that people will use less energy.

LOL, I love how its "climate change" now that global warming has been completely debunked. The socialists will never give up.