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RadioFox
Rank 4
RadioFox
Rank 4
August 6, 2026
Solved

Extra meter reading added to my readings history list

  • August 6, 2026
  • 18 replies
  • 216 views

I've just opened the OVO website to input my meter readings, which I do on 6th of every month. I noticed that on my electricity meter reading, another reading has been added (not by me) on 13th July. It says "Network actual". Does anyone have any idea where this came from or why this was added? It is actually less than the reading I sent a week earlier. This is the first time I have ever noticed this.

 

    Best answer by Ben_OVO

    ​@RadioFox ​@snic I have the answer to this now, so can clear everything up for you:

     

    The reads have been added as part of the process of changing you to Market Wide Half Hourly Settlements.

     

     

    What is the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Programme?

     

    The MHHS Programme is a major initiative in the UK electricity market to move all electricity meters to a half-hourly settlement basis. This means that instead of relying on estimated consumption or annual readings, energy consumption data will be recorded and used for settlement every 30 minutes.

     

     

    What is the primary objective of MHHS?

     

    The primary objective is to improve the accuracy of settlement - the process of reconciling the electricity generated with the electricity consumed. Currently, Smart electricity data for settlement is based only on monthly readings. This allows suppliers to see how much energy has been used but not when used. 

     

    Moving towards half-hourly settlement will help suppliers forecast the energy customers need more accurately, and buy electricity to meet that need in advance. As a result, they’ll only buy the necessary amount of electricity for their customers, and encourage customers to shift usage to cheaper times of the day.

     

    This will help stabilise the grid, reduce carbon impact, and ultimately lower the cost of energy for UK consumers. Better forecasting will allow purchases from renewable sources rather than expensive, carbon-heavy generators.

     

     

    If you have traditional non-smart meters

     

    If you don’t have smart meters you’ll still be changed to MHHS. You won’t notice any change but, if you do ever have smart meters fitted, then the smart meters will provide the half-hourly settlement data.

     

    ​@RadioFox  ​@snic  - as part of this change, a reading had to be entered on your accounts on the day the change took place, and the reading was entered so that it approximately fell in line with your reading history. No engineer has taken this read - this is purely administrational. It won’t happen again, and won’t make any difference to your billing.

     

    Apologies for any alarm or confusion caused, and I hope this clears everything up.

     

    More info on the change to MHHS can be found here:

     

     

    18 replies

    Abby_OVO
    Community Manager
    Abby_OVO
    Community Manager
    August 7, 2026

    Hey ​@RadioFox 

     

    That does seem slightly odd, I might have thought a Morissons Data Services meter reader had perhaps been round and read the meter but given it’s lower, and the gas one hasn’t been done I wonder if there’s been some kind of mistake somewhere.

     

    Have you been in touch with the Support Team about this yet? I would definitely suggest getting in touch with them about this so they can take a look. They’ll likely ask you for a photo of the meter with the current reading visible so they can raise a case, so if you’re contacting them via webchat, I’d suggest having that ready to.

     

    Do let us know how you get on.

    Currently Playing: She's Electric
    RadioFox
    Rank 4
    RadioFoxAuthor
    Rank 4
    August 7, 2026

    ​@Abby_OVO  Thanks for the reply. The strange thing is, I had a card through the door on the 17th July from Morrisons, as I was out when he called. But that only had the Gas box ticked. As I didn’t know if I would be in during “the next few days”, I wrote down both gas & electric readings on the card & left it taped to the window on my door. I took it down yesterday.

    I haven’t contacted the support team yet. But I will do, out of interest. I don’t think it will affect my actual bill amount in any way as it falls in between my own July & August readings, so I assume it will just be ignored anyway. 

    Chris_OVO
    Community Manager
    Chris_OVO
    Community Manager
    August 10, 2026

    Hey ​@RadioFox,

     

    Please keep us updated. As ​@Abby_OVO mentioned, it seems you had a visit for meter readings. They were able to read your electric meter, but not your gas meter.

     

    Let us know what our Support team says when you talk to them.

    Renewable energy jokes never get old.
    S
    Rank 1
    snic
    Rank 1
    August 12, 2026

    This has also happened to me, and I would like answers.
    I raised a post on this just now 

     

      Ben_OVO
      Community Manager
      Ben_OVO
      Community Manager
      August 13, 2026

      Hi ​@RadioFox and ​@snic, I hope you’re both well.

       

      This is a strange one, but don’t worry - it won’t make any difference to your billing so long as you keep providing reads as normal.

       

      I’ll ask internally about this, and will get back to you both when I have an update.

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      Ben_OVO
      Community Manager
      Ben_OVO
      Community Manager
      August 13, 2026

      ​@RadioFox ​@snic please could you log out of your app / online account and log back in again. Then check the meter reading history, and let me know if these readings are still there.

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      RadioFox
      Rank 4
      RadioFoxAuthor
      Rank 4
      August 13, 2026

      The spurious meter reading is still there.

        Ben_OVO
        Community Manager
        Ben_OVO
        Community Manager
        August 13, 2026

        ​@RadioFox ​@snic I’m still waiting on an answer as to how this may have happened - it could just be a computer glitch. I don’t have access to accounts on the Forum, so I’d recommend that you raise a complaint about this, and send in screenshots of the reading history, and also the label on the online account / app saying ‘network actual’ (the same screenshots you’ve sent here ​@RadioFox).

         

        Once the complaint is raised and escalated, then this will be looked into, and as resolution you’ll need to be told how the read has appeared. It might be that cases have to be raised on your accounts to our back office Billing team.

         

        Our complaints process can be found here. Please keep us updated as to how you get on, and I’ll let you know if I hear anything on my side.

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        Ben_OVO
        Community Manager
        Ben_OVO
        Community Manager
        August 13, 2026

        ​@RadioFox ​@snic I should have an answer for you on this soon - just waiting for 100% confirmation.

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          Ben_OVO
          Community Manager
          Ben_OVOSolved
          Community Manager
          August 13, 2026

          ​@RadioFox ​@snic I have the answer to this now, so can clear everything up for you:

           

          The reads have been added as part of the process of changing you to Market Wide Half Hourly Settlements.

           

           

          What is the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Programme?

           

          The MHHS Programme is a major initiative in the UK electricity market to move all electricity meters to a half-hourly settlement basis. This means that instead of relying on estimated consumption or annual readings, energy consumption data will be recorded and used for settlement every 30 minutes.

           

           

          What is the primary objective of MHHS?

           

          The primary objective is to improve the accuracy of settlement - the process of reconciling the electricity generated with the electricity consumed. Currently, Smart electricity data for settlement is based only on monthly readings. This allows suppliers to see how much energy has been used but not when used. 

           

          Moving towards half-hourly settlement will help suppliers forecast the energy customers need more accurately, and buy electricity to meet that need in advance. As a result, they’ll only buy the necessary amount of electricity for their customers, and encourage customers to shift usage to cheaper times of the day.

           

          This will help stabilise the grid, reduce carbon impact, and ultimately lower the cost of energy for UK consumers. Better forecasting will allow purchases from renewable sources rather than expensive, carbon-heavy generators.

           

           

          If you have traditional non-smart meters

           

          If you don’t have smart meters you’ll still be changed to MHHS. You won’t notice any change but, if you do ever have smart meters fitted, then the smart meters will provide the half-hourly settlement data.

           

          ​@RadioFox  ​@snic  - as part of this change, a reading had to be entered on your accounts on the day the change took place, and the reading was entered so that it approximately fell in line with your reading history. No engineer has taken this read - this is purely administrational. It won’t happen again, and won’t make any difference to your billing.

           

          Apologies for any alarm or confusion caused, and I hope this clears everything up.

           

          More info on the change to MHHS can be found here:

           

           

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            RadioFox
            Rank 4
            RadioFoxAuthor
            Rank 4
            August 13, 2026

            ​@Ben_OVO  Thanks for taking the time & effort in getting this answered. It’s a pity that OVO’s own customer support couldn’t have answered it, instead of assuming it was entered by a Morrison’s meter reader. That’s why I always come here first. 

            Even though it didn’t affect my bill payment, I was curious to know where it came from. Now I do. 

            Cheers.

              Ben_OVO
              Community Manager
              Ben_OVO
              Community Manager
              August 17, 2026

              Morning ​@RadioFox, I hope you had a good weekend. Happy to help! Just sorry you couldn’t get an answer first time around. As always, fire any more questions are way should they come up 😁.

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                S
                Rank 1
                snic
                Rank 1
                August 17, 2026

                Hi, thanks for the update. I did actually raise the issue with OVO (imo the reading should have said estimate or should not have been added).

                The response I got from OVO was slightly different to your response, so is worth adding here 

                 

                  RadioFox
                  Rank 4
                  RadioFoxAuthor
                  Rank 4
                  August 17, 2026

                  For completeness, this was the email I received...

                   

                    Ben_OVO
                    Community Manager
                    Ben_OVO
                    Community Manager
                    August 18, 2026

                    Thanks for posting the replies ​@RadioFox and ​@snic - and sorry for further confusion. The response I’ve provided was from a manager in our Billing department, so I believe it to be correct. We were looking at the data together and it does, on face value, look as if the reads have been provided by Morrisons Data Services, due to the way they’re listed on the account as engineer’s reads.

                     

                    According to my colleague in Billing, the reason they’re labelled this way is because there was no other suitable criteria to label the readings under when they were submitted onto your account. This is a one-off issue that won’t cause any issues with the charges on the account.

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                      OVO Energy Ltd, Floor 5, Crescent, Temple Back, Redcliffe, BS1 6EZ, (Company no. 06890795) registered in England and Wales.

                      OVO (S) Gas Limited is registered in England and Wales (Company No. 02716495) at Floor 5, Crescent, Temple Back, Redcliffe, BS1 6EZ.

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