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Updated on 25/08/23 by Abby_OVO

 

Types of meter faults - Your Guide

 

Worried that your meter isn’t clocking your usage accurately, is it making an unexpected noise or even worse are you off-supply? These could indicate a meter fault that we’ll need to get sorted. In all these scenarios we’d advise getting in touch with the Support Team ASAP to do some further investigations, but we’ve put together a quick guide to cover what might be causing the issues.

 


Blank Display or Meter Not Clocking

 

  • The display has gone blank and cannot be read and it cannot be turned back on by pushing buttons.
  • This is the most common type of meter fault and has many different causes. Unless it’s a smart meter, we will not be able to bill you accurately (we will have to estimate usage)  until we have completed a faulty meter exchange.
  • Another common type of meter fault where the meter will stay on the same reading and not register any usage.
  • The removal reading will be recalculated using either readings prior to the fault, new meter consumption or usage averages. More info here


Inaccurate Meter

 

  • If you believe your meter is clocking too fast or too slowly you can arrange to have a meter accuracy test (MAT) or an OFMAT for gas. There is a charge for the test which is refunded if the meter is proven to be faulty. The charges are £149 for MAT or £157 for the OFMAT. More info on costs here. 
  • If a meter accuracy test has determined that a meter is clocking too fast by at least 2.5% or slow by at least 3.5% we will need to complete a faulty meter exchange. Please note that for OFMATs, the gas meter is replaced as part of the OFMAT appointment.
  • If the meter is deemed faulty and once the faulty meter exchange has been completed we will be able to re-bill your account, factoring in the results of the MAT test. We do not recalculate the removal reading if the meter is confirmed as slow. :blush:


Negative consumption (clocking backwards) due to solar panels

 

  • Solar panels can cause older meters to start clocking backwards. This is because the electricity generated that has gone back to the grid causes the meter to clock backwards (breaking the meter) and the meter will need to be replaced.
  • We recalculate the removal reading by using your generation readings for your solar panels to estimate how much the meter has back-clocked. If we are unable to obtain these readings then we estimate a removal reading using your new meter consumption. More info here


Loss of power

 

  • For a guide on what to do in a power cut, see this guide 
  • For a gas outage or emergency, see this guide


Broken Timeswitch (Electricity Meters)

 

  • If you have a two-rate meter, sometimes the timeswitch that controls the timing of when the registers clock can break. Normally one register stops clocking resulting in all consumption clocking on the other register. In some cases however both registers clock consumption but at the incorrect times.
  • Once the meter exchange goes ahead, we redistribute the removal reading across the two registers using either your annual averages prior to the fault or new meter consumption depending on which is most appropriate. Redistribution is not required if you’ve been charges the same prices for both registers the whole time. 


Noisy gas meter

 

  • There are two common issues that can occur in a gas meter to cause either a constant or an intermittent noise. 
    • The first is the when the regulator is faulty, causing a "humming noise" to come from the meter
    • The second is when the diaphragm in the meter is faulty and causes a "mechanical noise" to come from the meter (using a high-pitched screeching sound)
  • Both of these faults are deemed to be safe but can cause disruption for the household.
  • To diagnose the fault we will need a video of the meter so we can diagnose the sound. Email this to hello@ovoenergy.com. 
  • The recalculation of the removal reading for noisy meters is not required unless there is confirmation the meter is clocking consumption inaccurately as well.


Noisy Electricity Meters

 

  • Occasionally you may think your electric meter is making a beeping a noise. In these instances it's always recommended to check any carbon monoxide/smoke detectors around the meter to check if they are low on battery as this is most likely to be the issue. 
  • If a meter is heard to be making either an arcing, vibrating or zapping noise then this could be the meter arcing which will need to be booked in for an emergency meter exchange. Call us to get this done: 0330 303 5063. 


Smart meter communication issues

 

  • If a smart meter has any of the above issues, it will likely need to be replaced, however if there is a communication issue only, please see this guide for a Secure Liberty smart meter, and this guide for an Aclara or Honeywell/Elster smart meter.

 

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

 

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

 

No worries! Glad I could help.

As a Forum Volunteer, I don’t work for OVO and can’t access anyone’s account myself. However, we can answer an absolute TON of questions and give a pretty wide range of advice - or at very least, point you in the right direction. We aim to please! :D

If you need a hand with anything else, feel free to swing by again. The Forum is open 24/7/365, but we do tend to get some sleep overnight because we’re not robots! :)

Hey @Malkymagic, 

 

Welcome to the Forum 🎉

 

I see you have met one of our resident meter experts and volunteers @Blastoise186! You’re in good hands.

 

Feel free to keep us updated once your meter is exchanged and your bills are recalculated. It can help people in similar situations who read the topic understand your journey better. If you need anything reach out anytime 😊

Will do. Thanks. One thing worth noting is that citizens advice state backbilling rules limit billing historical usage beyond one year assuming some basic behaviours have been adhered to. That makes matters much less risky. 

Hey @Malkymagic 

 

I can share our back billing policy with you that may help give you some context what we look at and consider as a supplier. I know this may be different for your current supplier but it least it will give you an idea of what the process looks like. Hopefully it’ll help shed some light on it for you! 

 

What is a backbill?

 

We send a backbill, or ‘catch-up’ bill, when we haven’t charged correctly for energy use. This can be through inaccurate bills or not being billed at all. Backbills can be for any amount, and may be a result of:

  • A technical or human error on the customer's account has resulted in a delay in receiving a statement within the usual timeframe
  • The customer has supplied a reading that exceeds the previously estimated readings used in their statements
  • There is a discrepancy between the information OVO has and the current meter setup, such as crossed meters (where multiple properties have been billed for each other's usage) or a meter exchange not updated before joining OVO, which requires a corrected bill to be issued.

 

What is a Backbill Write-Off? 

 

Where we've issued a backbill for usage over 12 months old, not covered by payments made at the time and the reason for the delay in this billing is not the customer's fault, we'll apply a write-off. This backbill write-off will be a credit applied to the account to cover the difference between the updated usages and the payments made at the time.

The main situations where we'll write off usage prior to 12 months ago are: 

  • We haven't billed the customer
  • We've billed an account but not for all usage at the property i.e. only one fuel was billed
  • We've billed the customer inaccurately due to a technical or administrative error

Charge Adjustment Write-Off 

 

If we discover an account where we realise a customer's previous bills are incorrect this can sometimes mean we have to rebill a customer's usage that is older than 12 months. In these situations, once the account is correct and ready to issue an accurate statement, we'll look to bill the customer back up to date. However, for any usage over 12 months old (from the date we fix and statement the account), we'll need to review the customer's eligibility for a write-off.
 

12+ Months Write-Off

 

There are occasions where a customer hasn’t been accurately charged for a period longer than 12 months. Although we work hard to ensure this doesn’t happen we have a process in place to rectify this when it does come up. In these situations, once the issues that prevented us from billing are resolved, we'll look to bill the customer up-to-date. However, we'll need to review the customer's eligibility for a write-off.

If we find the charges of our write-off statement would not have been covered by the payments made (or payments leftover), we write off the difference. If the charges have been covered, following backbilling guidelines, we're not required to perform a write-off. Once we’ve added (or not added) a write-off transaction, we then run the write-off statement. Afterwards, we run an up-to-date bill to the most accurate reading available for the customer's usage within the last 12 months. 

 

 

Ofgem rules

 

You can also read Ofgem's explanation of the back-billing rules, covering these topics:

  • What are the back-billing rules
  • If you get a back bill
  • If you haven’t had an energy bill in over a year
  • If you can’t pay a back bill

Hello, we had a power cut in the area recently and when the power came back on I discovered the meter display was blank. 

I contacted OVO to report the problem but they can't help because they no longer fix traditional meters and my current meter is not compatible with a smart meter.  It is an ace9000 kbd meter. I'm also on economy 7

I'm really concerned about getting a large bill for my electricity once this is all sorted and I have no idea when my current meter will be compatible. Can I top up my meter even though it is blank? 

 

Thank yous for any help offered

Hi @Sammacd93 ,

To help us provide more accurate advice, please post photos of your current meter. It probably just needs a reset - which OVO can arrange. However, I need to see what you’ve got first.

Thanks!

 

Thank you for your reply, hopefully a reset is all it needs. 

Here's a photo of the meter 

Ah yes, as I suspected. It’s gone into Free Vend Mode. You temporarily have unlimited credit and will NOT be disconnected at this time. The meter is still tracking usage and will collect it after the reset as a debt payment.

Please tell the Support Team it’s in Free Vend Mode and needs an engineer reset. If you get stuck, let us know here.

Hey @Sammacd93,

 

It looks like our volunteer @Blastoise186 has your issues covered here. If you contact the pay as you go support team on 0330 175 9669 Mon-Fri 8am to 8pm they will arrange for an engineer to come and reset this for you. 

 

You can find similar topic posts like yours as it’s something we’re familiar with:

 

Please let us know when you get this sorted 🙂

Thank yous for your help, I messaged the support team and they cannot reset it and it will need replaced unfortunately. I will just need to wait now to be able to get a smart meter installed but there is no time frame for that.

Hi @Sammacd93,

 

It may be worth calling the team on the number provided above, as your meter is faulty an appointment would need to be made to replace it as soon as possible. They’d be able to look into this for you further.

My meter is showing a display of all 8s even though electricity is being used. I have been told by Ovo that this is normal when no electricity is being used, however electricity is being used. Is my meter faulty? 

What type of meter is it @Janieb ?

Can you show a picture?

That does sound like a fault to me, but I agree. I need photos to be able to check.

Thank you. I’ve now managed to contact OVO again and they’ve agreed that the meter needs replaced. 

You’re welcome. It wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve heard stories of a meter frying itself.

It’s unfortunate, but it does happen sometimes. Hey, I’ve even heard of one case of an L+G E470 getting fried pretty rapidly after install - I conveniently had direct access to OVO’s internal Smart Meter experts for that one, because I was literally in the Bristol office a couple of days after the thread got posted, so we were able to have Insert Sekrit Smart Meter Friend Here take a look at the Forum thread and give his take.

Here we go! I found that thread again.

It’s worth mentioning however, that this is fairly rare and I have seen maybe only a handful of these cases at best. However, the sooner you report it and get the issue resolved, the lesser the ultimate impact will have on your bills.

I have started getting an intermittent beeping noise, seemingly coming from under the stairs where the electricity and gas smart meters and comms hub are installed. Because of its intermittent nature, I haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly where it is coming from. The beep is actually a two-tone noise - a long low note followed by a shorter high note. Is this the sort of noise which may come from one of the meters, and if so, what does it indicate?

Hi @Cliff C ,

That’s a warning tone and it can come from the meters. If it is coming from them, either you’re running low on credit - assuming you’re in Prepayment Mode - OR there’s a fault so I’d say check the display to see what’s up.

Can you show us photos of the meters please - especially with the displays lit up?

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

I’m not on pre-payment, and unfortunately I can’t get decent photos of the meters.

On the electricity meter, the top line of the display reads :

Rate 01 Act Imp 

and the bottom line shows 3 bars for signal strength, and the current meter reading.

On the gas meter, the display took a long time to appear, but eventually it came back (after three attempts); the top line reads :

Meter Index

and the bottom line shows the current meter reading.

Hmm… Sounds normal to me…

I suspect the beeping might be from elsewhere?

Hi,

Thanks for the response, and I suspect you may be right. The hunt goes on…

 

can i get a normal electric meter replaced if the old one is fawlty.

Yup! You can indeed. You are ALWAYS entitled to have faulty meters replaced for free. Just contact Support via https://ovoenergy.com/help and they’ll sort you out.

Please note that by default, the replacement will be a Smart Meter.

Smart meter not sending readings since July today was told it would require an engineer then after an hour on the  phone was cut off what now??

Hi @Meter ,

Try doing it via https://smart-meter-help.ovoenergy.com - this should get the engineer booked in if needed.

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