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nils_aksnes
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January 10, 2024
Solved

THTC meter - Removal Request

  • January 10, 2024
  • 240 replies
  • 7845 views

Hi folks,

 

I am trying to have a redundant THTC meter removed from my house and OVO seem to be refusing to do this. Can anyone help explain what I should do? Some background info below:

 

We moved to a property in March last year in the west of Scotland. The property has two meters with a THTC setup running storage heaters. We are getting the storage heaters removed in February and an air source heat pump installed. 

 

Once this work has been carried out there will be nothing running from the RadioTelemeter (THTC) meter.

 

I have contacted OVO by phone yesterday to request that this meter be removed once it is no longer in use. The person I spoke with said that OVO would not do this because doing so would stop the other (ordinary) meter working. They weren’t able to explain why this would be the case. After some time on the phone I was told that if I emailed OVO with evidence that the THTC meter would not powering anything then they could arrange for it to be removed. This seemed like a positive outcome although it was not clear why we were initially told in the call that removal wasn’t possible.

 

I sent an email last night attaching the quotes from our electrician and heating engineer for removal of storage heaters and replacement with heat pump etc. I got a positive response this morning:

I am Stephen from account management at OVO energy after reading your email we can go ahead and do that for you but i am going to give you extra information so to proceed with this job there is a charge due to the nature of it I would like to clarify that your okay with that and if you are i can go ahead and get you a price and and book the job for you.

 

Again this seemed positive and I asked Stephen to go ahead and give us a cost. I then had response email from Nahim:

Apologies for the confusion form what Stephan said but as of right now, appointments for removing THTC meters aren't available. We appreciate you gave us confirmation the property's heating system is no longer dependant.

However we are working on a new meter type that'll basically replace the current two meters and you'll get one meter. The meter will reveal at Spring and you'll get an email when your free meter upgrade is ready

 

As far as I understand it the ‘new meter type’ mentioned has been in development for years and has been repeatedly delayed. I have little to no confidence that it will arrive in spring as promised above. It isn’t clear why we should be expected to wait for this.

 

Ontop of that our experience from speaking to neighbours and friends locally is that smart meters are useless in this (rural) area since they are not able to connect to a radio mast for communication. Any smart meters fitted simply operate as ‘dumb’ meters in this area.

 

Can anyone give us some hope that it is possible to get the redundant THTC meter removed as we have requested? Is there any technical reason why this wouldn’t be possible?

 

Failing that at least any good reason why we should have to wait for the new meter to be developed and rolled out? It seems in this instance that whilst waiting we’d have headaches if we wanted to switch supplier etc because we’d have a strange setup with a redundant meter and two MPAN numbers associated with the property. This could go on indefinitely since the new meters are not yet launched.

 

Below is a photograph of our current setup incase this is useful:

 

 

We’d really appreciate any help on this!

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Best answer by Nukecad

They may well ask for consumer feedback later; once those initial proposals have been refined by industry discussions.

However at the moment that isn’t what they want or need.

So it’s best not to clog up their email with unwanted stuff that just takes up their time to deal with.
(There’s a word we all use for unwanted emails - spam).

Wait and see if they do ask for consumer feedback/opinion, but TBH there may not be time.
The clock is counting down and contingency plans need to be in place for when it reaches zero in June.

240 replies

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Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
September 2, 2024

It might not be public - I can’t find that exact reference anywhere.

Switching to deep scan - please bear with me, this may take a while.

Nope! Doesn’t seem to be public. Sorry

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
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Rank 4
Cassie511
Rank 4
September 2, 2024

It might not be public - I can’t find that exact reference anywhere.

Switching to deep scan - please bear with me, this may take a while.

Nope! Doesn’t seem to be public. Sorry

It's on a Facebook "THTC customers" page. It is a private group. 

Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
September 2, 2024

Ah yeah, that’d explain it.

Feel free to signpost that user here - we might be able to advise. Arguably, this Forum is a better place to get help with THTC stuff now - we have better access to resources than any Facebook Page/Group ever will.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
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Newcomer
monster9
Newcomer
September 2, 2024

The “forum elsewhere” I mentioned is the “THTC Customers” Forum on Facebook and the post from 4 days ago stated…

UPDATE: I’ve spoken to a different agent at OVO this morning who has now confirmed that THTC meters are being replaced with a dual circuit smart meter which will only energise the off-peak circuit at lower cost periods. Let’s hope he knows what he’s talking about better than his colleague

Shads_OVO
Retired Moderator
Shads_OVO
Retired Moderator
September 3, 2024

Hi @monster9,

 

Thank you for your response. 

 

I’m going to double check this with our smart meter expert and I’ll be back as soon as I get a response.

Shads_OVO
Retired Moderator
Shads_OVO
Retired Moderator
September 3, 2024

Hi @monster9,

 

Our smart meter expert has responded and said:

 

“A dual circuit meter is a duel element meter. We're not fitting 'dual circuit' meters and it’s not a term that we should be using with customers. The meters we're fitting are going to be programmed to the tariff the customers are going on, the heating and water will then be aligned accordingly.”

 

I apologise that you’ve been misadvised. 

Firedog
Super User
FiredogSuper User
Super User
September 3, 2024

 I’ve had a look at the Facebook post @monster9  referred to, and I’m increasingly convinced that what the poster referred to as a ‘dual circuit smart meter’ is just a five-wire SM feeding two wiring circuits: one for 24 hour use, the other only for off-peak usage. They’re sometimes referred to as constant and switched. 
  

The newest post there makes for pleasant reading, for a change, so I’ll reproduce it here (lightly edited):
  

We had our THTC meters replaced today with a smart meter and it seems to work perfectly. The storage heaters and water have been ‘off’ until 14:30 and have now switched ‘on’ after this time. So I’m optimistic all will be well. Much relieved.

The appointment was made after OVO sent an email to ask us to change because of the impending switch off of the radio signal.

The house is in IV4 … . The engineer was organised and a pleasure to deal with.

Notes:

  • The Economy 10 times seem to have been pushed forward 1 hour by BST.
  • He could not test the smart signal before full installation but he checked it would work by commissioning the meter using a temporary connection, before removing and replacing the old equipment.
  • The house is in a small hamlet in the countryside, but there is a good mobile signal. I gathered that the new meters will use mobile if WAN is not available.

 

The last bullet point is interesting: I wonder if she has one of these, or the engineer was just telling her about an innovation in the offing.

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
    Shads_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    Shads_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    September 5, 2024

    Thanks for looking into this @Firedog, this is useful to know. 

    M
    Newcomer
    monster9
    Newcomer
    September 10, 2024

    Update on my expected Ovo appointment… Case **removed by mod**

    I had an appointment booked for today with an Ovo engineer to perform a Site Inspection.

    Here’s how it went, starting last night….

    Engineer Message 1: Hi it's [name redacted] from OVO Energy,  This is just a text just to remind you of the 12-4pm appointment tomorrow to fit your new electric smart meter. If you could please text me back to CONFIRM appointment that would be greatly appreciated. Please make sure the meter location and fuse box is clear and accessible for myself as the meter itself is to be swapped. I also need access to your fusebox. If working from home please note the power will need to be turned off in order to change the electric meter. Thank you see you tomorrow

    Engineer Message 2: Ive tried ringing [Me: why no missed call on my phone then?]  im not sure if this is going to work as been booked in incorrectly im going to ring my boss see what he says

    Me: Thank you for your message. I can confirm I will be available for the appointment tomorrow.

    Engineer Message 3: I sent a message to our office because its been incorrectly booked and its been removed and cancelled i believe will get confirmation tomorrow no ones getting back to me. It needs booking in correctly its quite complex the thtc so everything on the admin side needs to be correct otherwise it wont work

    Engineer Message 4: Hi sorry yes this job wont be done today as its been booked incorrectly. The correct team is going to ring you and talk you through your options then book it in correctly.

    Me: Thanks for the update. I will pass this information on to the complaints team.

    Engineer Message 5: No problem i said its part of a complaint i think thats where its gone wrong as these thtc jobs need to go through a specific team and it hasnt.

    The correct team will liase with the complaints team to sort

     

    Couple of things…

    • The appointment was for a Site Inspection, not to fit a new meter. According to the Advanced Resolution Specialist working on my case who I spoke to this morning, this was stated in the booking details. So, quite why the engineer thinks he’s installing a new meter is a mystery to me.
    • The Advanced Resolution Specialist doesn’t seem to understand how to get a THTC appointment booked
    • The booking system is apparently experiencing problems, so no new appointment can be raised at this time.
    • I had booked the afternoon off work. This represents a loss of income to me. The Advanced Resolution Specialist advises me that there’s no claim I can make in respect to this financial loss which is entirely due to Ovo’s failure to honour their appointment. Why not?

    Ovo not exactly covering themselves in glory here.

    Chris_OVO
    Community Manager
    Chris_OVO
    Community Manager
    September 10, 2024

    Hey @monster9,

     

    I’ve been in regular contact with your Advanced Resolution Specialist since we raised the complaint to them. He did reach out to me this morning to make me aware that the appointments been cancelled and i’ve been speaking with our infrastructure team and a lead engineer to find out why this was cancelled as it was booked as a site inspection to determine whether WAN is available or not. I’ll continue to work with them on how we can get this resolved for you as soon as we can. We’re trying our best to try and work on this so as soon as we know more I will ask Chris to give you a call/email to discuss it with you. 

     

    I’m sorry that it’s still an ongoing challenge for you! I’ve asked Chris to look into raising a Guaranteed Standards of Performance payment for the missed appointment and he’ll pick this up with you. You can find more information on this here:

    https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/guaranteed-standard-of-performance-gsop

     

    We’ll reach out to you as soon as we have an update on this. 

    Renewable energy jokes never get old.
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    OVO Energy Ltd, Floor 5, Crescent, Temple Back, Redcliffe, BS1 6EZ, (Company no. 06890795) registered in England and Wales.

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    OVO (S) Gas Limited is part of OVO Group Ltd