Is OVO's meter removal free?

Howdy ​@PeterHay ,

This is indeed a chargeable service, but the £141 Meter Removal Fee covers the entire job, including:

• Physical disconnection
• Meter removal/disposal
• Capping the supply
• Final bill generation
• Engineers time/Labour
• Administration processes
• Updating the national database Xoserve
• Notifying the Gas Transporter for your area on your behalf

You’ll be contacted automatically by the Gas Transporter around 6-18 months after this job to ask if you plan to restore supply. If you say you don’t want it back, they’ll do the rest.

Thank you.

Does the Gas Transporter company have the right in future to require us to restore supply, to fit another meter, remove the supply pipe, or threaten to cut off the supply from the street for good? We’d prefer to leave things as they are with the capped off mains supply pipe in place in our garage (where the meter is situated) in case a future purchaser of the house wanted to install a device requiring gas such as a hob.

Nope! That's all at your discretion.

You’ll only be disconnected from the street - at your expense - if you explicitly request it. Likewise, reconnection won’t occur unless you ask for it.

So nothing to worry about then? I can have the meter removed and the mains pipe capped off by SMS/Ovo without any concern about future unwanted intervention from Cadent?

SMS/Ovo are booked in for 11 June. I’ve had an email from Ovo confirming the booking which states there is no charge, plus your message above stating there is a charge! Confusing!

Other than any charges from OVO (which you will definitely get a heads up about), Cadent won’t charge you without your permission - that much I can confirm. Likewise, the only intervention from Cadent would just be the usual “Do you still want gas” thing roughly 6-18 months after meter removal. You can respond to that as you see fit.

Gas service can always be restored in the future if needs be. If the pipes from the street are still in place, it’s not too hard to do either. It’s only more difficult - and expensive - if the pipework has been fully removed.