Luxor4u

....that's what the hand written note stated on my front door. My friend, after a short investigation discovered it was from the electric company, they told her that I'm now required by the new laws to let the meter reader in to read the meters, she suggested that if they rang my bell I would know that someone was there. Apparently Egypt's electricity supply has now been taken over by the army and they require every meter to be now read every month, not every when ever they can be arsed like in past years. Failure to comply will lead to high estimated bills, so again, same same as past years.

Shock!!! Horror!!! No smart meters yet? OMG what a catastrophe. I'll suggest to Octopus that they reach their tenticles out there.

crewmeal wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:29 am Shock!!! Horror!!! No smart meters yet? OMG what a catastrophe. I'll suggest to Octopus that they reach their tenticles out there.

“tenticles” ??

Or do you mean testicles?

I’m with EDF who are forever trying to swing a smart meter on me. Nooooooo thanks!!

Is there really such a thing in Egypt as a smart meter

Smart meters are for dumb people similar to smart motorways, smart fridges, smart watches inc: phones.
If energy companies are trying to promote them You know it's only for
their benefit and their investors, don't be fooled!........

Or do you mean testicles?

lol no I don't think Octopus have those. I was refering to the energy supplier spreading its tenticles!!!!

Smart meters. No chance.

I have lived in this house for 22 years and had my electric meter changed 2 times.
Coincidentally my electric bills went up after each change.

For 2 years, my current provider keeps pestering me to get a Smart Meter.

They are free, they say.

As I pointed out to them. Nothing is for free, someone ends up paying for them, and the installation cost, all I would be doing is adding to the costs of you providing me with a meter and one way or another you will make me pay for it eventually. I don't recall Shell Energy being a registered charity...

It saves electricity they say, as you can see via a remote display the electricity you are using.

No, you adverts say. Customer intervention required for that to happen.
In other words you have to turn something off.


I waste nothing in this life, so by not leaving my bedroom lights on while I'm downstairs or running the oven just for the hell of it, then that makes me smarter than a smart meter.
QED...

I'm in the process of moving into a flat that has already been kitted out with a smart meter. Having done a little bit of shopping around, bur probably not enough, I decided to stay with the same energy provider as the previous person.
Unfortunately, I've had a problem in the bathroom because there has been a leak from a pipe in the upstairs bathroom. They didn't know about it, but I've managed to get it repaired for them, whilst I in the meantime am still having to use a dehumidifier before my bathroom ceiling can be repaired. Until this piece of equipment arrived I could see I was using barely any electricity - I'm not using lights, or any equipment other than charging up my phone if needs be, and using my laptop, during the 2 or 3 hours I'm there in the week. Now, the cost has shot up at least 3 times what it was per day. Now I know that's still not a lot of money in the great scheme of things, but it is a little scary when you can see it building up.
What have I learnt, the dehumidifier is an amazing and effective, if costly piece of equipment. I just hope that it has brings out all the moisture from my ceiling sooner, rather than later.

My new apartment I moved in about 3 years ago, everything in it is smart, and A energy efficient I am loving it, roughly with the standard charge, I am paying 79p a day, I use my TV in the living room all the time, i have got a fridge freezer, ps4 which I play a lot, electric cooker, electric kettle, air conditioning, washing machine, microwave, desktop pc, TV in bedroom, 2 smart speakers, android box, tablet and smartphone charged each day, oh and a air filtering system throughout the apartment to switch stale air with fresh air 24hrs a day, nothing is switched off at the plug, all things are on standby, its at least 3 times cheaper than I paid on a normal meter at my previous apartment.
Oh and the water meter is smart too, average bill is £56 every 6 months and I have a shower everyday, use the washing machine twice a week, use water of course each day to wash-up, and maybe 1 proper bath per week, plus using the toilet.

I am very impressed with smart meters

The fact that the Electricity companies are constantly pestering you to have a smart meter should tell you all you need to know.

The meter itself doesn’t affect your energy consumption. It simply allows you more insight into how you use it....and makes it easier for the energy company to collect promptly what you owe and reduces THEIR costs.

Which reduction they’ll pass on to you ....of course......

In your dreams

If monitoring how many times you use your kettle floats your boat.....fine. Personally, I find I have more to worry about during the day than considering whether my fridge is set too high, or whether I should switch off the telly rather than have it on standby.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for cutting down on energy wastage, saving the planet, and think Greta Thunberg should be made a saint.

Or at least given a Nobel Prize.

Maybe I’ll start a Petition ....they seem to be all the rage nowadays.

To be honest I was dead against smart meters, but had one installed through Octopus Go tariff. I drive an electric car and charge it up at night on a cheaper rate of 5p per kw. It's the equivlant of the old economy 7 tariff. I've not noticed any price increase, infact the opposite. Previous energy suppliers such as British Gas, EON were charging extortionate rates.

I doubt whether electricity bills are very high in Luxor considering the amout of times it's cut off!!!

crewmeal wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:32 am

I doubt whether electricity bills are very high in Luxor considering the amout of times it's cut off!!!

You’d be wrong.

I have it on good authority that Egypt’s electricity supply is charged to consumers, whether or not they use it...or even receive it!

The advantage in having everything in Arabic means the foreign johnnies haven’t a clue of what’s going on.

Totally agree with Newc's above comments.
But, I have found a bit o' backsheesh goes a long way or, find a friend who has a friend in the
'leccy office....

"The advantage in having everything in Arabic means the foreign johnnies haven’t a clue of what’s going on."

Give over! It's only countries like the idiot UK which send out bills in every language under the sun. Why shouldn't foreigners in any/every country make the effort to discover what they're paying out for? (Of course there's always those who have too much money and don't really care one way or t'other!)

Teddyboy wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:12 pm "The advantage in having everything in Arabic means the foreign johnnies haven’t a clue of what’s going on."

Give over! It's only countries like the idiot UK which send out bills in every language under the sun. Why shouldn't foreigners in any/every country make the effort to discover what they're paying out for? (Of course there's always those who have too much money and don't really care one way or t'other!)

I’d be amazed if there were sufficient foreigners living in Luxor, capable of reading Arabic script, to make up a game of bridge.

When I used to take my bills to the electricity company to pay, even they couldn’t understand them!

Fortunately I was one of those who “don’t really care one way or t’other”

Eleven years ago when negotiating the rent of the place where I still live, I insisted on having water and electricity included in the price. Having heard too many stories, I would rather risk paying a little too much each month than being swindled like so many others. The landlord accepted and we signed. I had expected him to suggest an amount on top of what we had agreed, but he thought that I meant included in what I considered a very fair rent.

Though I have been away from Egypt since Christmas and not used electricity at all, I am still happy with the arrangement.

When someone knocks on the door downstairs, I cannot hear them, but the neighbours will call the landlord and I am not even involved.

You must comply ? really ?.......


"I am not a number ! I, am a human being..
Mind You....'If I was a number, it would be 5446, that's my number!!!.....


Enjoy...."and oh and 'pump up da volume....

Don't ask me why ? but this just popped into my head....
And I still know every line and the inflections of Ronnie's voice ..brill and there's a lot of lines...


Battle of New Orleans
Johnny Horton who's original version topped 'Billboards' No1.

"In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip'
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We looked down a river and we see'd the British come
And there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Old Hickory said, "We could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye"
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and gave 'em
Well, we fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Yeah, they ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs 'n' powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Yeah, they ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico..

"So, no dementia setting in anytime soon,
It's all to do with breath control.....
Another classic..


Not bad for a scot from East Ham.....he had 3 marriages...

I love Lonnie Donegan, and have quite a bit of his music. My favourite is him duetting with Van Morrison singing "Midnight Special". Watch it on Youtube. (I positively loathed "My Old Mans A Dustman" though.......)

The only problem with any meter in Egypt the tariff is set for you, my 2 flats are on the highest setting, when I first moved in it was charged at 100Le per 1,000 units, more that 2.5 times that now so god only knows what tariff they will set for these new dumb meters. At least they will end the free wiring from the nearest lamp post and a sudden rewind of the diles. My friend always scrutinises my bills she even reads the little box on the upper left hand corner that tells you how much you have under paid, but never overpaid lol.