This church puts the heating on an hour a month for its six worshippers - but since it got a smart meter its bills have gone from £15 to £1,172

Balancing precariously on the edge of a church organist’s stool, it is a challenge to read the electricity meter installed nine feet above in the alcove. Church treasurer Pam Ramsay, 68, who is married to Chris, has spent the past year desperately trying to convince the utility giant these ‘nonsensical’ bills must stop. Demands: Church treasurer Pam Ramsay, 68, and her retired electrical engineer husband Chris have seen their electricity bills shoot up from £15 a month to occasionally more than £1,000 Yet, despite a visit by one of its engineers last summer, no explanation has been given and monthly bills continue to fluctuate wildly – from as little as £14.59, when Pam complains, to £1,172. However, the church is deemed ‘non-domestic’ so the energy supplier gets away with charging 67p per kWh – raising the bill to about £8 when all ten heaters are on for an hour a month. The way the church is being treated feels as if they think we are lying.’ Interference: In the Midlands, Wales and southern England, Smart meters use cellular technology, but in northand Scotland, meters rely on radio frequencies He adds: ‘What is actually going on is hard to fathom because when the meter was installed four years ago everything was fine.