The smart meter at your house sends a data file using the cellular network (usually 2G) to a party called the Meter Equipment Provider (MEP) every day. The MEP usually will pass this data file on to us within a day or two. This Daily data file contains how much power was used at half-hour increments and a reading taken at midnight of the running total of consumption at the property. We use the half-hourly data to calculate your bills but now and again there could be a communication issue that interrupts this process:
- A lot of meters communicate on old cell phone networks so anything that might temporarily or permanently interrupt cell service could also affect your meter communicating.
- Some meters communicate in networks with each other called a mesh network, information is passed from one meter to another to where it is collected. If one of the meters in this network stops communicating then this can cause communication issues for other meters in the mesh network too.
- A data delivery issue that might prevent the delivery of data from the meter company that owns your meter to Flick.