Identifying smart meter issues on your online account or OVO app

Good Afternoon Emmanuelle

*edited by moderator*

Thank you for your reply. I attach the screen displays I am getting as at today. I can confirm the meter serial numbers do match the meters and the invoices, but there is no mention on my statements what the read schedule is.

Good luck.

I have tried to send 3 screen displays. 1 for gas, 1 for Electricity and 1 for both. I hope you have received them all

Kind Regards

Hey @John1Lill1an2,

Thank you for sending those photos across.

I have a feeling your reading schedule may be monthly or there’s an issue with the online account. It does seem to suggest that your gas meter isn’t a smart meter?

I think for this one, your best bet is calling the support team. 

@John1Lill1an2

Sorry to hear that, I am just a customer like you. 

What are you seeing on these pages

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/electricity

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/gas

Are there daily readings with the word smart next to them? 

Also you could try one of the ofgem regulated 3rd party apps to see if they can see the 30min readings.

https://hugoenergyapp.co.uk/

I have contacted OVO this morning and they have finally found the issue and as of this evening corrected it. Thanks for your advice Jeffus for your assistance as well.

Hi @John1Lill1an2 

Glad to hear the Support Team were able to resolve the problem!

Feel free to come back to the Forum any time with any questions you may have in future.

I unfortunately I spoke to son. OVO did put on all daily gas and both usage figures up to and including October 17h but no data thereafter. I shall have to contact them again on Monday and see if this issue can be finally solved. Wish me luck. 

My family and I were on holiday for a week in October and when I checked the energy usage in Myovo, we were still using £2 per day! This seems an awful lot! Is it? Any advice? Thanks!

Hi @JFenton do you have working smart meters set to 30min readings?

I don’t have a smart meter - my readings just get sent straight to ovo…. Or do you mean I should be able to see a more granular breakdown on Myovo? Sorry to be a bit thick - I’m not great at this! 

Ah - I found the half hour breakdown but it’s saying it can’t find the data for October! However, I’ll keep investigating. Thanks!

So it looks like on 1st Nov (earliest I can get the half hour data for) we were using 0.5 kw every half hour during the night (so same baseline as when we were on holiday) - hellish!! By 1st Dec it’s normal again - about 0.05 kw every half hour. Can’t think of anything we are doing differently! 

Hi @JFenton , it’s worth checking if those readings were actual or estimated. 
If you normally provide readings then it’s possible that things have been estimated to populate the usage charts. These don’t formulate the bill - it’s only the meter readings that do that. 

@JFenton Can you post a picture of your meter?

If you are seeing 30min data on this page these are always actuals. OVO don't estimate 30 min data on the Day tab.

https://account.ovoenergy.com/usage?datePeriod=daily&unit=kwh

They do estimate data on the Month tab if they don't get any data from your smart meter.

I wonder if someone inadvertently left a heater or immersion heater on?

You are only actually billed what appears on this page

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings

Hi all,

My consumption readings keep getting topped up at the end of the monthly payment period. Is this normal? The difference is really high.

Thank you.

Hey @Gracenkatha9,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community, 

Are you able to post screenshots of the meter readings, and explain a little more about what you mean by ‘topped up?’ and we can look into this for you 🙂

The first set of figures look like estimates, (too high estimates) that were corrected once an actual meter reading was supplied, giving the second set of lower figures for the same dates.

Do you have a smart meter?

If yes then how often is it set to send readings?

If not a smart meter then did you send in a meter reading on  3rd/4th December?

I see a similar thing happening from my ‘dumb’ gas meter, the estimates for each day are twice what they should be, but are then corrected (within minutes) once I send in an actual meter reading.

My smart electricity meter is set to send readings half hourly so is not estimated and always spot on.

Hi,

Thank you for replying. The higher numbers are what we are being charged. Such a massive mark up. I read the app to figure out my readings. Not very familiar with how the meter works. Help!!

Also,

The meter is meant to send readings every half hour.

Grace.

Hey @Gracenkatha9,

If your meter is sending in meter readings monthly as opposed to half hourly, or isn’t in regular communications this may explain why the readings are sporadic.

If your meter is traditional, it’ll be a mixture of estimated an actual reads. This topic may be useful:

I was assuming that as the lower set of figures that you give (with 4th Dec at the top) appear to be from a day later than the upper set (3rd Dec at the top) then the lower set were the later figures.
Is that not the case?

In the app if you set the electricity usage to show as daily, and to show a previous days usage, then that should show if your meter is sending half hourly readings.
Like this:

PS. The OVO app was updated on 6th December.
The page you have screenshotted now displays slightly differently, it now shows a total at the top followed by daily usages for the week/month; or as in the case of my screenshot above half hourly usages for the selected day.
You may want to update yours.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ovo.energy&hl=en_GB&gl=US

Personally I prefer to login to my account in a browser, I find it gives more options and details than the app does.

I left for my Christmas holidays the 18th of December and as usual, switched off all unnecessary devices. Usually the consumption would always be around 0.56£/day, as in other occasions. On my return today, I noticed the (almost) 100% increase in consumption (figure below).

I then asked the customer service: how come the 19-22 was stable/normal and inline with previous periods when I was away and switched off devices to the following days? They said that it could be leaks (as if it were gas).., but that’s not the case. 

What I also noticed was that, while before (pre-December) the smart meter was taking readings every 3-4 days or more, now is taking them every day!!! I do not want it to be every day and never asked for it (in fact, they promised it would have been weekly when installed). Even if that were the case, it’s shocking if the smart meter consumes the same as my fridge + whatever else was still on!

Anyone can explain or noticed the same? Those charges would amount to 180£/year if left unchecked!!!

If your smart meter is only sending readings periodically then I suspect that those are not actual readings but estimates, in which case they will be corrected once the actual readings are available.

My smart meter is set to do readings half-hourly, but for some reason no readings were available for 27th December.

However the monthly bar chart still shows an estimated usage for that day.

Thanks for the reply. They're actual readings, I did check that :). Besides, my case is different from yours, as I was away (no changes in numerous of devices on/off, variance,  food quantity in the fridge etc.).

Mmm, security lights on motion sensors, frost guard setting on any equipment, or in the greenhouse, anything like that?

Or to get more suspicious, does anyone have a key to your property, say a neighbour?
(Nipping round while you are away to watch your TV, feet up with a cuppa).

Hi @ronron , you could check the meter readings themselves as the chart is only a guide - it should be in line with usage but not suitable for cost evaluation. 
There are simple steps to check your smart meter depending on its type.