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Do OVO send engineers out to take manual readings from smart meters?


A man knocked this morning claiming to be from OVO and wanting to read my smart electric meter. I told him they are not manually read. He said they have to be manually read at least once a year. I said that was not so. Who was he? Who sent him?
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Best answer by Nancy_OVO 1 May 2019, 18:58

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@GZimmermann

That sounds like a load of 💩 I have never had anyone knock at my door ever since I had my smart meter installed. I think you did the right thing.
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Updated on 07/09/23 by Abby_OVO

 

Sorry for any confusion or distress that’s been caused by the recent meter reader visit.

 

Even if you’ve got a smart meter installed, we are required to carry out certain checks on your meter every 1 - 2 years. We use ‘Morrisons Data Services’ to carry out these checks so you if you’re concerned you can ask the visiting meter reader for some ID to confirm this.

 

If you qualify for extra services as part of our Priority Service Register (for our member’s who may require extra support) you can also set a personal password so in future all visiting engineers will confirm this to you, giving you an added sense of security. Read more about this and find the application form here.  

 

Hope this helps put your mind at ease. 

 

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

 

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

 

Thanks for your response. It seems to me that meter readers defeat the whole purpose of Smart Meters. Nothing whatsoever was mentioned after their installation that they would still require to be read by house visitations. If the meters were not functioning correctly surely you would not be receiving any data! The man who knocked wanted to see the electric meter - not both. So that means yet another visit on another occasion for the gas meter.
Userlevel 5
They're not there to just take a reading, @GZimmermann, they'll do a general check up of the meter too!
Sorry to labour the point but what exactly is a "general check-up"? If you are receiving data from my meters, then they are functioning correctly. If you are receiving no data, then there is a malfunction and an investigation is required.
I am happy to provide a reading myself if that helps to check whether the data you are receiving is accurate.
Further more - you have not responded to my query that a further visitation would be required to check the gas meter. Why not do both "general check-ups" at the same time and save money and time? Also - no mention by the Govt that smart meters will still require annual visits for "check ups" or is this just an OVO thing?
Userlevel 4
@GZimmermann We don't know what the future holds for meter readers when/if all properties have smart meters, which is something the government is hoping will happen by 2020. For now, we'll continue to take meter readings as always, by law once every 2 years, but we typically do it once a year.

As for the general check up, this is just basic checks to make sure the meter is functioning and providing a meter reading. If there is a problem with the meter, they'd report back with the details, and we'd take action from there.

Thanks,
Ed
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I am glad I found this topic, because I just had a meter reading guy here. What is the point of that? Last time he only read the gas meter, and I guess now he is back to read the electricity meter. I never had so many meter reading visits before I got a smart meter. 

Anyway, I missed him. They ask for a manual reading. Is that advisable, or will it confuse the OVO metering infrastructure? In My OVO, I cannot enter manual readings, which seems much more logical. 

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Hiya @MrPuds !

That should be fine. Submitting a manual reading won’t confuse the system. With a smart meter active, you can’t submit manual readings yourself unless there’s been five days with no comms, but you can get the Support Team to help out if needed. They can pull instant readings and then submit those on your behalf by using an override.

It’s unusual that you’re getting so many visits though...

Userlevel 7

Yep @MrPuds routine visits to read your meter happen in the same way as before smart meters were about. We aim for twice a year, they’re required to be read once every two years. 

 

It’s not only to take a reading. It’s to check on the overall health of the meter, the meter board and box, to check if it’s been tampered with, or if any of the records or details are out of date. 

 

I like to think of it as a proactive measure that aims to avoid issues down the line, which might seem like a rarity for anyone working in this industry! 

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