THTC meter - Removal Request

Hi @Blastoise186 

Can I ask if you’re formally representing OVO on this forum? Or are you simply a well-informed forum member?
Thought I’d better check before quoting your advice.

🙂

Hiya! Sure thing, I can answer that for you.

I’m considered to be a Forum Volunteer here. All views and advice I give are my own personal answers. However, some of my answers may be supercharged from information OVO and/or an industry contact gives me directly - I usually tell folks when that’s the case.

As for quoting me, you’re more than welcome to do so. All I ask is that you credit me and link back to the original source.

Thanks @Blastoise186 
You’re advice is very welcome.

I am presently pulling my teeth out trying to get ANY meaningful response from OVO.

It’s been ~6 weeks since I first posed the question whereby if I don’t care about storage heaters, immersion heaters, cheap overnight tariffs, etc can I get a Smart Meter.

I wouldn’t have thought it was such a difficult question, but it seems to be beyond OVO’s abilities to answer.

However, the fight continues (now with my local MSP and the Minister for Net Zero being updated on “progress”).

And there you go… was just on Web Chat with the “Support Team” and they sent me the usual message that “We can’t update a THTC mater to a Smart Meter at the moment” and then killed the Chat - completely disregarding the fact I have mentioned on multiple occasions that I don’t want my THTC meter upgraded to a Smart THTC meter - I want to go to a Single Tariff with a Single Meter.

The incompetence and wilful negligence is truly world class.

The best thing to do is migrate to a THTC capable Smart Meter and then switch to single-rate afterwards. It’d be the least messy option in terms of wiring and would retain the drop-in replacement element.

Sadly, at the moment (*and for the foreseeable future), there is no such thing as a “THTC capable Smart Meter”

It is coming soon however. OVO has been keeping me updated with the occasional update whenever something interesting has happened. However, I can’t always talk about them publicly.

The current plan is to get them out before the RTS Shutdown date. I’ll reveal more when I’m able to.

You’ll have to excuse my cynicism, but I was told in August 2022  (a year and a half ago) that they were “imminent”, so not holding my breath.

… and today, I’ve just been told that to simply replace my 2 meters with a single Smart Meter and to move to a non-THTC tariff would happen “hopefully this year”.

The Electric Heating Team will reach out when the time is right.

In the meantime, I’ll just carry on keeping busy with waiting and hoping.

Just joined this forum and read the posts. My new neighbours have bought the old Croft next door. Apparently Octopus are arriving tomorrow to install a new smart meter. Heating was previously THTC storage heaters, these were removed by new owners. It will be interesting to see if they can proceed! 
I also have THTC storage heaters and will follow this thread for updates. 

Octopus doesn’t support THTC very well - be prepared for a possible job abort.

They’re installing underfloor heating. No radiators and wood burning stove 

I’ve just received this reply today. 

It’s probably pointed back to one of the guides I’ve written, or one that a Forum Moderator wrote. Those guides are basically the best information currently available.

Would be very interested to hear how they get on!!!

I would as well - I want to see the end of the legacy THTC Meters. But realistically, only OVO and Scottish Power are confirmed to have the ability to do anything with them - other suppliers might not.

Yes, I’m extremely interested in what Octopus will do tomorrow! New owners have informed them that the storage heaters are all in the local skip and the meter isn’t being used. 

So it’s SSEN that have turned up this morning to move cables. Apparently they were difficult to make any arrangements with to coordinate with Octopus. 
Appointment with Octopus to install new meter is in another few weeks. 

I thought that might happen...

I hope they manage to have it sorted. Meanwhile I’m still stuck on THTC with OVO on an expensive tariff. I have reduced the hot water thermostat to a whiff of heat, turned off storage heaters when possible and increased the use of log for my wood burner! Being a WASPI woman doesn’t help, there are many other women like me out there! Seems like the ombudsman is going to receive many more complaints!

The Energy Ombudsman can’t speed up the replacement of these meters. TBH all that’d do is just jam up their staff and slow down the case handling for everyone else.

So what can we do?