New Heating System

OVO do E7 tariffs, did they give you any reason why “ …. at the last hour it was no.” ?
Was it perhaps because of not being able to change the meter? You said that there was a problem with accessing it because it was in a “cupboard” but never came back to us with further details of if that is a communal meter cupboard or what it is:

Note that if there is a problem with accessing the meter to replace it with a multi-rate meter then that will be exactly the same problem if you switch to a different supplier.
Switching supplier won’t magically make that problem dissapear.

As an example of an OVO E7 tariff here is just one of the E7 plans currently available at my postcode in Cumbria:

If you do want to switch suppliers then you do have to pay off any outstanding debit with your current supplier first.
You can switch with up to £500 debt as long as both the old and the new company agree to allow it, you then owe the debt the the new company.

PS. You might want to talk to your landlord about the extra cost that you ran up having to use electric heaters because your previous oil-fired boiler system was broken.
As your landlord is a HA (or I think you previously said the council?) then they will have a Welfare Team who may well be willing to help you out with that extra cost.
That’s  part of what the Welfare Teams are there for.

That’s a very good point ​@Nukecad - the cost of installing storage heaters must be less than a heat pump would have been so it’s only fair that the landlord stumps up that extra expense. 
So glad you have heating again​@Viv1966 the heat pump idea didn’t seem the right way to go in your case. 

I’m not sure if the current state of things but previously, OVO couldn’t switch you to a multi-rate tariff (like E7) if your account was single rate .. even if the meter is capable. Our meter is capable of all sorts of tariff options but OVO couldn’t offer me anything when I was looking, hence I’m currently with another supplier.

Obviously look at the points both Nukecad and Juliamc have made but as already mentioned above, OVO do have E7 tariffs.

Hi ​@Nukecad, ​@juliamc, ​@BPLightlog.

Nice to hear from you all again!  I have to apologise for not getting back about my electric cupboard. I think big eruptions were going on with my housing association and it went out of my mind. My electric cupboard isn't communal as we live in a very small bungalow. Ovo said it wouldn't be possible as i don't have enough "tails" on my meter. I hope i have that bit right and they won't change the meter. However i have spoken to someone there this week and they have reffered me to "Squad 70' Can you enlighten me about what they would do please?

I’ve looked back at the other threads ​@Viv1966 but I couldn’t find a picture of your meter. It would be helpful to see where it sits and what’s around it.

The engineer would need enough space, including length of the tails (cables that connect your meter to the rest of the system), so that they could flex to connect and position any new meter. There’s also the footprint of the new meter to consider.

Squad 70 has been working to look at unusual situations, particularly in Scotland where they’ve had to replace lots of complex meters. There’s also a specialist who has visibility on the forum who might be able to help if they can see the current situation.

No i will try to take a photo of what i can see and upload it for you to see.  ​@BPLightlog  who is it i need to speak to on the forum regarding this and thank you for your explanation.  Can i email Squad 70? There is nothing around my electric meter it sits in a cupboard on the wall of my bungalow

With the photos, someone will be able to point you in the right direction - at the minute I’m not sure which will be best/quickest for you.

​@Viv1966 wrote: “i don't have enough "tails" on my meter.”

An ordinary meter has four tails - Line in, Neutral in, Line out and Neutral out, often in that order. They are often marked 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Economy 7 (E7) meters may have five tails, the extra one being a Line out to the dedicated circuit for storage- and immersion heaters. This dedicated circuit is then controlled by the meter, switching it on only when an offpeak period starts and off again when it ends. Some E7 meters don’t have this extra tail, but instead a much slimmer control cable connected to an external contactor which does the same thing. 

In either case, the meter must have an internal switch that does the controlling, and electricity used while the switch is on should be recorded on an offpeak register. If your meter doesn’t have this internal switch (known as an ALCS), E7 may not be possible and you’d have to have a new meter installed. 

This will with any luck become clearer once we see photos of your meter.

Ok will upload 3 photos i took earlier. The last one is so you can see where its situated with nothing around it just in a cupboard

It looks like there are 4 cables connected underneath the meter 

Is that right ​@Viv1966 ?

Yes it looks like it. Do you want me to see if i can get a better photo ​@BPLightlog?

Don’t worry if it’s a problem - we can see the meter (Kaifa MA120) - and if there’s 4, not 5 cables, that’s useful to know.

The larger box (last photo) looks a lot larger than the meter. Is there something below the cables and the meter?

​@BPLightlog  thats just the cupboard that houses the meter. I will take another photo tomorrow to see if i can get a better idea of whats underneath it. Would that be helpful?

Yes - it’s looking at the area around the meter (as well as what cables are connected at the moment).

That helps to see if/how a replacement could be fitted if needed