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Updated on 06/12/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:

 

Moved in to a new house and getting to know a dual-rate meter for the first time? Or maybe you’ve made a change to your usage patterns (saying Hello to a new Electric Vehicle or Bye to some old storage heaters perhaps?) and want to hear more about an Economy 7 setup - We’ve got all your commonly asked dual rate questions covered!

 

Is an Economy 7 plan right for me?

 

The main advantage of an Economy 7 plan is a much cheaper unit rate for any electricity used during your off-peak times. This can often be several pence cheaper per kWh than the standard unit rate. It’s worth bearing in mind that to compensate for this cheaper off-peak rate, an Economy 7 plan charges a more expensive daytime or peak unit rate than the standard anytime rate. Therefore in order for this type of plan to be beneficial you’d need to use a certain percentage of your usage during these off-peak hours. This percentage will vary depending on the tariff prices available at the time.  

 

Can I get a smart meter with an Economy 7 plan?

 

We’re now installing Aclara SMETS 2 meters which are compatible with an Economy 7 plan. If you’ve got night storage heaters which need to be controlled via a time switch we’re also able to fit a 5-port terminal version of this meter. Previously we installed the Secure SMETS 1 meter, which were also compatible with a dual-rate plan and storage heaters. There’s more info on the Economy 7 smart meter compatibility on this topic. Need any more convincing - read more about the benefits of smart meters here.

 

Can I switch from an Economy 7 plan to a single rate plan?

 

Unfortunately, we don't currently have the functionality to change Smart Meters from Single Rate to Economy 7, or vice versa. This is something we are looking to make possible in the future and we’ll keep you posted with any further updates here on the Forum! 

 

Although we're unable to physically change the functionality of meters right now. We can offer an Economy 7 to Single Rate plan! This means you’ll be paying the same rate for each register.

 

If this is something you’re interested in, please get in touch with our Support Team.

 

Can I change from a single rate plan to an Economy 7 plan?

 

We’re not able to offer this change due to technical limitations. We’re working on introducing this in the near future though so do check back in later in the year.
 

How do I read my Economy 7 meter?

 

On a traditional meter sometimes the readings will be labelled - high and low or day and night-  which is easier to determine which reading is which. In your case the registers are labelled rate 1 and rate 2. Usually rate 1 refers to your day register but not always so it’s good to check before submitting your meter readings. You might be able to work out which reading is which by checking the current reading against your reading history on the ‘Meter Readings’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS).

 

If you’ve got a smart meter this will depend on which type of smart meter you’ve got installed, check the instructions for each model type OVO installs below.

 

SMETS1 ‘Secure’ 

 

There’s a slight difference between the the S1 meters we installed. To take a dual (day/night) reading for Secure Liberty 110 S1 smart meters (which are designed to work best with storage heaters), press 9 on the meter’s keypad. If you’ve got a Secure Liberty 100 S1 smart meter, press 6 to confirm the Day and Night meter readings (pressing 9 will show the reading if you’re a single rate member with this meter).
 

SMETS2 Aclara, Flonidan, Honeywell or Elster

 

  Aclara (Elec) / Flonidan (Gas) Elster (Elec) / Honeywell (Gas)
Reading the meter
  • Elec: Press A three times until TOU Rate 1 then TOU Rate 2 appears.
  • Elec: Press the top button once or twice

 

 

Landis+Gyr 

 

If you’ve got a dual rate version of this meter press and hold down the ‘B’ button for roughly 5 - 10 seconds  - then tap the ‘A’ button. This will toggle between the ‘R01’ reading and the ‘R02’ reading as demonstrated in this handy video:

 

 

 

 

How do I tell my day and night readings apart?

 

If you’re unsure which reading is which sometimes the readings will be labelled - high and low or day and night. If not you might be able to check the current reading against your reading history on the ‘Meter Readings’ page of your online account.

If you can’t work it out using these methods the next step is to carry out a Load Test​. This involves taking two sets of readings at midday and during the afternoon. Only one reading should change between these times which will be your daytime register. 

 

 

When are my peak/off peak hours?

 

If you have a Smart meter installed by OVO, the off-peak times can be worked out using your Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN). You can find your MPAN on the ‘Plan’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS)

 

MPAN is shown at the bottom of the electricity column

 

Then use this table below; the first two digits of your MPAN is the ‘Area ID’; the ‘Off peak’ times are on the column second from the right:

 

 

Please be advised that Secure, Aclara and Honeywell smart meters don't adjust for British Summertime. This means during summer your off peak times will be an hour later than advised above. 

 

If you have traditional meters or smart meters that were not installed by OVO, the off-peak hours may vary. The best way to find out in this case would be reaching out to your supplier (or our Support Team if you’re an OVO member)

 

Can I switch suppliers with an Economy 7 plan?

 

Of course! You’ll need to check that the supplier supports an Economy 7 set-up first, as not all suppliers do offer a compatible plan. If you’re not an OVO member yet - Check out our Economy 7 plans here.

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

Smart meter not communicating with OVO? Fill in this Online Form- the results will go straight to the right team!

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

Sounds like you’re either using the heaters incorrectly, OR you’re on an unsuitable tariff.

Please post the following in your next reply, as this will help us figure things out:

  • Photos of your heaters and hot water setup
  • Photos of your current meters

Thankyou ill upload these in the morning , i have the heaters ( Gobarron ones) on at 5:30 am till 07:00am and at night 5:30pm till 7:30pm as cold then . They are 1500w heaters , meter is in garage so will take a picture of set up in morming.

Yup. Definitely not using them in a way that’s suitable for Economy 7. You are using them during Peak hours in the evening, resulting in you paying the more expensive Peak rates - and this costs MORE than the Standard Variable rate does.

Once we get those photos, we’ll see what we can recommend. This might be tricky, but we’ll give it a shot.

We are on ec7 tariff due to water tank , we took this off and went onto svr but we had no hot water as the e7 meter linked to the tank etc was then inoperative . 

Thankyou yeah i know at night is high as before midnight but not sure how to get around this 

That’s the tricky part…

TBH so far it sounds like the best option might be to switch the hot water setup to something else and then get rid of Economy 7. But I’ll ask the others to swing by when they’re next online.

Thankyou

 

These are the heaters 

 

I’d be happy with £8 per day.  I’ve averaged £12 the last few days and that’s just with 2 storage heaters on plus the immersion heater on Economy 10.  😥

Thanks for the reply ours are just electric heaters 1500w each and what is economy10 ? Similar to economy 7 . Thankyou

Hey ​@Scw123 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community, 

Do you have a smart meter? Are we getting regular readings? It might be worth checking if your bills are estimated.  

These topics may have some helpful advice:
 

 

I took out an evenings and weekend contract with Southern Electric back in 2002, and had a digital meter installed, which autonomously switched for the off-peak times during the week 1930-0730, and all weekend.

I was transferred to OVO, and was still happily carrying on with this plan.

I have just had a smart meter installed, which is capable of handling dual tariffs, but the off-peak times are not correct, last night it switched to tariff 2 at midnight, and back to tariff 1 at 0700.

I opened a chat, only to be told, that firstly it would take 4-6 weeks for the meter to update (??), and then that I was on an economy 7 contract which meant I would only get off-peak electricity 2300-0600, again, that the correct timings would happen in 4-6 weeks.

My tariff on the OVO app shows as Simpler Energy - 2 rate, and I am not sure how this indicates which plan they consider I'm on?

Has anybody experienced similar of OVO believing they are on a different plan to what they originally signed up to?

Hi ​@Pompey_Pip ,

This new setup sounds correct to me. You had a Legacy RTS Tariff - SSE Evening & Weekend by the sounds of things - that is no longer supported and hasn’t been sold for over a decade. As part of migrating to Smart Meters, you would have agreed to change to either Flat/Single Rate, Economy 7, Economy 9 or Economy 10 and it sounds like you picked Economy 7. The hours you’re seeing are therefore correct for Economy 7. The Evening & Weekend Tariff is no longer available and is thus not supported on Smart Meters.

I’m sorry to say this, but your old tariff is no longer available and you can’t switch back to it. IIRC you would have been told this upfront as part of booking the upgrade.

Part of the idea here is to simplify things and reduce the number of complex tariffs on the market. Many of them have become terrible value over recent years and it’s generally considered in your best interests to get rid of them.

Hi,

I was not told anything about having to swap to Economy 7 or 10 or that my existing plan was no longer available.  In fact it is still referenced as a plan on the OVO website https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/electric-heating/one-meter-two-rates

The Engineer installing the meter stated that I would remain on the evenings and weekend plan, so what you are stating is the first time I have heard any reference to this scenario.

As I do not have electric heating, or water storage tank, the economy 7 plan is of no use to me at all, and will actually cost me more based on what I am paying for my tariff 1, so if I had been made aware of this, I would have opted for a standard single tariff plan.

You still have that option if you talk to OVO’s Support Team. If you wish, you can ask them to migrate you to a Flat Rate tariff. Given you’re on Simpler Energy, there will be no exit fee.

But AFAIK pretty much all those legacy tariffs are going away - they’re definitely no longer sold! The article does also mention that they’re no longer supported...

You had a Legacy RTS Tariff - SSE Evening & Weekend by the sounds of things - that is no longer supported and hasn’t been sold for over a decade. 

I’m sorry to say this, but your old tariff is no longer available …
 

I’m not sure this is true. OVO still have a tariff like this available for sale in the Southern region:
  

The smart meter Pip probably had fitted should be capable of handling the evening and weekend part, but not the 24-hour heating part: the load switch is either on or off. Without this, the plan would probably be exorbitantly expensive, always supposing that the billing system could cope with it.

For an Economy 7 tariff to be worthwhile, heating would have to be by night storage heaters. If this is what Pip has, then arranging for them to charge up (and perhaps for an immersion heater to provide hot water) during the night would be a good solution. Otherwise, Economy 10 with its four or five overnight hours and five or six in a couple of slots during the afternoon and evening might work. The cheap rate isn’t quite so cheap on E10, but it would be less than the flat rate.

 

It’s worth remembering that we’re talking about a Legacy RTS Tariff/Legacy Complex Tariff here. These are exactly the type which trigger Vendor Lock-In and other issues and are precisely why they’re being withdrawn from the market.

IIRC there’s no like-for-like option with any other supplier and OVO supports them purely under a Grandfather Rule at the moment. There’s zero guarantee that support for them will continue into the future.

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