GEOFF'S SMART WAY TO PAY FOR POWER

Waste not want not must have been one of the first lessons life had for me. I arrived into a world of destruction and rationing. When parents weren’t trying to shoot strangers out of the sky, they were trying to feed a very young family on very little, because very little is what people were paid in the war years.

What we learn in toddlerhood seldom leaves us - look at religion, of course - so it’s probably only natural that when I leave a room, I turn off the light, and always have.

Perhaps it’s not so important these days because life is very different now. Most Britons don’t have to count the pennies, as another curious expression from those days went.

As readers of Sailing Purgatory know, a crooked justice system stole my property and life-savings.

A GOOD FELLOW

So if it’s not to be survival on the streets, parsimonious behaviour is vital.

When electricity suppliers began offering smart meters, gadgets that tell you what you’re being charged for power, you can be sure I said, ‘Yes, please.’

A good fellow arrived at the abode today and within an hour a smart meter let me in on exactly what the price is for any and every minute of the day. There’s no charge for the service, and no change to the rate I pay.

The advantage is that future bills won’t be any surprise, and that I have the choice to keep them low.

The highly skilled engineer who made a really professional job of installing the equipment is Southern-Electric’s Geoff Watson.

UNDER-GUESSING THE PRICE

The meter soon showed that I constantly under-guess the price. Turn on the kitchen lights, and that’s 5p an hour, which is at least five times higher than I thought. Boil the kettle – the meter has risen to 15p.

Continues on the blogs for my sailing adventure story, Sailing to Purgatory, at SailingToPurgatory.com