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nils_aksnes
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January 10, 2024
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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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Bradley_OVO
Community Manager
Bradley_OVO
Community Leader
February 12, 2025

​@monster9 Just an FYI that I removed the feedback section and the link provided from your comment as this wasn’t meant for general consumer feedback. 

Thanks,

I'm not lazy, I'm just in energy saving mode!
Firedog
Super User
FiredogSuper User
Super User
February 12, 2025

 

The Call for Feedback about the new proposals is NOT to or for consumers.
At this stage Ofgem only want feedback from “Stakeholders” ...
 

I should have thought that consumers in danger of having their supply turned off were those holding the biggest stake in this game. Charities and consumer groups will no doubt wring their hands as usual, but Ofgem would certainly benefit from real-life feedback from those likely to be affected by their proposals.

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. |
    Nukecad
    Super User
    NukecadSuper UserSolved
    Super User
    February 13, 2025

    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.

    I said, Hey - Watts going on.
    M
    Newcomer
    monster9
    Newcomer
    February 13, 2025

    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.


    I responded.
    Time has run out.

    M
    Newcomer
    monster9
    Newcomer
    March 24, 2025

    Emailed this to Ovo on 12 Feb 2025…
    Sadly, but predictably, I’ve had no response.
    Can anyone here advise when/if these meters are available yet?

    Inquiry About 4G Smart Meter Availability

    Ovo

    I am writing to inquire about the availability of 4G smart meters in my area. I understand that 4G-enabled smart meters are being rolled out to replace older meter types, including RTS meters like mine, and I want to ensure I am prepared before the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is switched off in June 2025.

    Could you please let me know when 4G smart meters will be available for installation at my property?

    Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response.

     

    Nukecad
    Super User
    NukecadSuper User
    Super User
    March 24, 2025

    I'm afraid that your ‘understanding’ is not correct. You appear to be conflating two different things.

    Nobody is ‘rolling out’ 4G connections to replace RTS meters in the North of England and Scotland

    2G/3G is used for smart metering South of a line roughly through Manchester and that is in the process of being updated to 4G as 3G and then 2G will switch off.

    North of Manchester it's a long wave radio signal that is used for smart metering - but a different one than the old RTS used.

    RTS meters will stop working the same as they used to when the radio signal that they use stops being transmitted - either when switched off or when the last custom (4-foot tall) radio valve, which is now in use, fails so the RTS signals can no longer be broadcast.

    There are no current plans to roll out 4G conected smart meters to Scotland or Northern England (the organisation that runs all smart metering doesn't want to do that) - so do not base your plans on that happening ‘specially’ for you.

    I said, Hey - Watts going on.
      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      March 25, 2025

      It might also be worth mentioning that for questions like this one, you may be able to get a faster answer if you swing by the Forum first as we’re pretty clued up. While we can’t do account specific stuff like “When is X meter type able to be installed at my Y property on Z postcode”, we can give general answers that give you a rough idea. That also frees up OVO’s agents to handle other queries as that email inbox gets absolutely thrashed all the time.

      The latest info I have is that OVO has been exploring deploying 4G Comms Hubs on a limited basis for the purposes of testing them out ahead of a wider launch. Couple of Super Important Gotchas though:

      • This trial is only available for CSP Central/South aka the Southern Territory (everything north of Manchester is CSP North and doesn’t require this stuff anyway)
      • The 4G Comms Hub Trial is NOT being used to install 4G Comms Hubs during RTS → Smart Meter upgrades at this time
      • This trial is only being done for customers who already have fully working - and fully communicating - SMETS2 Smart Meters that currently run the 2G/3G Comms Hubs
      • This trial is only available to those who are specifically invited by OVO to take part - if you’re with another supplier, please ask them about what their plans are
        • Please don’t switch to OVO purely to get on this trial - I cannot make any promises whatsoever that you’ll be invited
      • The OVO Forum doesn’t currently know when 4G Comms Hubs will become widely available as we’ve not had that information come through at this time

      If you don’t meet all of the above criteria, you won’t be able to take part right now.

      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!
        M
        Newcomer
        monster9
        Newcomer
        March 25, 2025

        Thanks for the additional detail ​@Blastoise186 

        As a Scottish RTS customer who sits outside the SM-WAN (but within the 4G mobile phone network) it crossed my mind that this may be a solution - looks like it won’t be.

        I expect I’ll be offered a Smart Meter operating in “Traditional Mode”.

        Whether I’ll be offered it in time for the switch-off is anybody’s guess. 😶
        Any word on what will happen to customers who don’t get a smart meter in time for the switch-off???

        Blastoise186
        Super User
        Blastoise186Super User
        Super User
        March 25, 2025

        We’re still waiting on that one at the moment. Latest I have is that OVO has asked me to be cautious about how I approach things at the moment so I don’t accidentally throw you off a mountain. Not one of those “you’re in trouble and you’ve gotta change track” things, more just a mutual agreement about the general strategy we’re using here combined with my preference to help manage expectations carefully.

        Once we know more, we’ll update the Forum. All I can say is that we can’t promise your RTS setup will continue to work as it does now beyond September 2025.

        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!
          M
          Newcomer
          monster9
          Newcomer
          March 25, 2025

          Thanks ​@Blastoise186 

          Do you think it’ll be possible to have a Smart Meter working in Traditional Mode pre-programmed for an EV Charging Tariff?

          Show more replies
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