Smart meters in England are suddenly switching to Welsh language displays, much to the confusion of owners.
Several people report that the meters, made by energy provider Bulb, are spontaneously opting for Welsh instead of English, sometimes after freezing and being restarted. This would be unhelpful even for many residents of Wales, but the problem has been seen as far east as West Sussex.
The issue is fixable, although choosing the right options is easier if you speak a bit of Welsh. Anyone remember the fun of switching your mate’s Nokia to Finnish language menus?
This seems to be the latest in a string of issues suffered by Bulb, although to be fair the firm is not the first to be stumped by the stupidity of smart meters.
Last month it updated customers who were having problems with the meters’ “In-Home Display” – a small screen connected to the meter that is meant to show electricity usage and costs. Bulb now reckons 85 per cent of these devices will link to the meter immediately: “And the majority of those that don’t connect first time can now be fixed remotely.”
It is also dealing with a problem of automatic, monthly readings not appearing on accounts by taking daily readings, which apparently have a different process.
Source: Bulb smart meters in England wake up from comas miraculously speaking fluent Welsh • The Register
Robin Edgar
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