Thanks you @Chris_OVO 

By my calculation, you owe me £293.33

Two days ago the engineer came and changed our two meter THTC system to a one “SMART” meter system.
When this was originally discussed with OVO we were told that our tarriff would be changed automatically to economy 7 or 10 however our account plan still show as THTC 
I have uploaded the readings from the old meters which  the engineer failed to do on Friday
The meter installed is apparently connecting via wireless and transmitting our usage. 
We received no instruction as regards how to use/read the new meter or how the new meter will effect the use of our night store heating/immersion heater system
Does it have load switching capabilities?
Having examined the installation I note that there are separate feeds to lighting and power and the heating /hot water  consumer units.
Do I presume that the meter SGM1416-B ser 22MO164394 is capable of switching the Heating/Hot water circuits on and off when the TOU 3 or 4 nightime tarriff is in force or will we/our landlord need to have a timer / contactor installed to control the offpeak consumer unit ?
OVO are closed at weekends so I am left in limbo not knowing what they have done.
HELP!

 

Hi @DaveIS ,

That meter does indeed have built-in load switching - it will trigger automatically based on the configured schedule. You don’t need to touch it nor make any physical changes as it’s now all part of the meter itself - doing so would actually be considered tampering so please don’t attempt to modify any of that stuff.

As long as it’s set up correctly, the meter will switch your heating/hot water loads on and off at the agreed times for your new tariff. If it doesn’t, there’s a SMETS Command to Reconfigure ECAUL/ALCS that OVO Support can run on request to force it to update the timings properly.

You arguably don’t need to read the new meter - it’s best to let it read itself and submit readings automatically. If you want to read it anyway, it cycles through them automatically or by pressing A a few times.

Your account is probably still updating, but I’d say talk to OVO tomorrow and they can check the progress. You should see everything fully synced up within six weeks though.

Where do you see this? I’m just curious, because I’ve only ever seen TOU Rate 1 or TOU Rate 2 on meters like this. If you also have Rate 3 and 4 registers, this could indicate a major difference between tariff set-ups for THTC on the one hand and Economy tariffs on the other.

 Thanks for your interest 
When I inspect the new meter display it cycles through the registers TOU 1 & 2 show a value but
TOU 3 & 4 are at zero however I assumed that this was because our heating is not turned on and the immersion heater being well insulated does not call for heating over the night time period

 I had a long chat with OVO and sorted out my present queries!
I can confirm that the AclaraSGM1416 does handle load switching and does have Four registers 
/TOU 1 2 3 4]  which is future proofing to allow for handling whatever tariffs they may introduce
I am told today that my new meter has been programmed to the “Domestic Economy” Tariff which is suitable for Scotland ?????
The tariff gives an hour extra of off peak but looks to be expensive at peak rate and the new higher Standing Charge is not welcome!
!Economy 8 is the nearest equivalent]
I will monitor the cost and decide if this is the best tariff for our usage pattern

@DaveIS Thanks - that’s more like it! Please make sure that TOU rates1 and 2 are the right way round: 1 should be for peak and 2 for offpeak (this has been known to go awry, I’m afraid).

OVO seem to have hidden most of their tariffs until the new price cap takes effect tomorrow, so I can’t say anything about your Domestic Economy plan. I’d say, though, that it may not be just a question of ‘the best tariff for our usage pattern’ but also of ‘the best usage pattern for our tariff.’

When they replace the THTC meters with a smart meter, do you still get the electric shower and the fitted electric heater on a cheap rate 24/7, the same as THTC !!

If you’re staying on THTC, then yes you would. Going to Smart Meters by itself would NOT change this.

If you’re being moved to any other tariff, then it’d be based on whatever tariff you select - please discuss with OVO before making a choice. Please note however, that ALL usage on Economy 7/Economy 7 type tariffs would be at the cheaper Off-Peak rate so you’d want to take advantage of that. However, ALL usage during Peak hours would be charged at Peak rates so you will want to think about this carefully.

Thanks for the reply,

I took out storage heaters, and replaced with air source, so would I be better off just going for a single tariff, if possible !! Its only immersion that still on the twice daily tariff,

shower, towel rails, electric fire and air source all on same cheap rate tariff 24/7,

Dont know if its best to keep diferent tariffs or try and get one standard tariff,

You can’t have multiple tariffs at once - you need to pick only one.

According to the BBC, there are 175,000 Scottish customers needing new smart meters before the RTS signal is turned off on 30 June 2025.

Customers face heating problems if meters not replaced - BBC News

Let’s do the sums…

• 175,000 customers
• There are 192 working days between now and signal turn-off.
• That means that every day 911 customers will need to get a new smart meter installed.

If an engineer can do, say, 2 installations per day, that means a team of 456 engineers is required in Scotland to get everyone moved across to Smart Meters in time for the switch-off.

On average, one engineer can usually do up to six installs per day, depending on variables.

Bear with me - I can try to get a better number for your number crunching. This may take some time.

If it's 6 per day, it might be possible 

The engineer who did our THTC to Smart Domestic Economy had been programmed to do FIVE however he had run out of time so he only managed FOUR
The BBC signal is received most places in Scotland however I see many people commenting that the Radio Signal that controls the SMART meters will not be available in many rural areas so has anyone estimated how many premises will be faced with DUMB SMART Meters and will anyone comment on the impending failure of the THTC replacement programme due to the inadequacy of the “Solution” ??????

I wonder if @Lukepeniket_OVO has any insight on this?

I’ve been told I sit outwith the Smart Meter WAN coverage.

I must admit, I’m not exactly brimming with confidence that those responsible will suddenly get their acts together, become hyper-efficient and solve the problem in time for the RTS switch off.

Our politicians should be asking what will happen in that event, and determine the compensations to be offered, should the deadline be missed.

And anyone any idea why the Data Communications Company (DCC) is so secretive regarding the signal roll-out?

Hey @DaveIS 

Are you able to private message me with your account details, I’ve found someone internally who can take a look at this. 

I am happy with our installation however my question was somewhat academic in that some questions have been raised 
!. Is there time and are there resources to complete the changeover?
2. Those who are out of range for the radio signal that will now be used will be faced with dumb smart meters so how will their power be controlled and billed?

I still do not understand how and why this decades long problem has been allowed to “fester” until it has grown to the current position or why the UK Government who own the BBC could not instruct that the signal broadcast by the BBC must be continued?

I’m glad to hear that you're happy with your installation @DaveIS  

I’ve been reassured that the Scottish Government and Ofgem are prioritizing this & working with suppliers.

I’m getting clarification on this but I’d imagine they’d face the same scenario as customers with non complex meter set ups whose meters don’t communicate remotely, that they’d have to submit meter readings manually or have meter readers attend their properties. 

I’m going from memory here, so please forgive any minor inaccuracies.

Arqiva, contracted by DCC to manage this WAN, were enjoined to ensure that 99.5% of properties in the northern CSP region were covered by some date which has now passed. This they claimed to have achieved, and now say they cover 99.7% of properties. That means, sadly, that 0.3% will be outwith the WAN. I doubt that much energy and expense will be spent on rounding up the unfortunate ones.

I’ve seen references to ‘buddy mode’, where one meter out of WAN range connects to a neighbour’s that’s in range, but I’ve not heard of an instance in practice.

Then there’s the possibility of a new generation of communications hubs equipped with a backup 4G SIM, so if LRR fails, there’s a chance that a (provider-agnostic) mobile signal could. That’s still months if not years away, though.  

I’ve mentioned DIY solutions before. It would be really good to hear from anyone who has tried, whether it was successful or not. This is a repeater involving a 710mm dipole located high up and aimed at the nearest TV transmitter, connected by low-loss coax cable taking the shortest possible route to the meter cupboard, where a mini dipole is fixed near the comms hub. It’s a low-cost solution that has been proved to work for some customers. 

Quick question for the cognoscenti…

If I have a “dumb” smart meter (i.e. outwith WAN reach) on a dual tariff, what happens when the clocks change???

Does it adjust for “winter time” internally itself, can it be manually set to “winter time” or do I just make allowance for the time change in my usage?

Thanks in advance!

The entire electricity industry operates on UTC all year round. That applies to smart meters, too. We still don’t know for certain what will happen with these new meters in Scotland when BST ends. It will be a case, I think, of ‘watch and pray’. You will soon notice (e.g. on your IHD) on 27 October whether your heaters start charging at different times from the day before.

It would be helpful if you could come back and tell us, assuming your meter has been installed by then.

Probably a lot of old tosh, but anyway… on TV tonight.

 

I raised this topic at my local Community Council meeting yesterday which also had members of the Highland Council present. A letter will be sent to Deputy First Minister and MSP Kate Forbes highlighting the very real worries many residents have re. what will happen to their heating / hot water after the RTS turnoff if they haven’t received a Smart Meter by that time.

It’s fair to say most at the meeting were blissfully unaware that it was even happening.

To try to circumvent the more serious issues that may arise, I’ve asked for a “dumb” smart meter to be installed (I think I’m legally entitled to request one) now - i.e. BEFORE the RTS turnoff.
At least then I will have removed my dependence on RTS - even if I have to enter my smart meter readings manually until the DCC put the SM-WAN signal in my area (if they do).