THTC / Separate Radio Teleswitch and Meter- Can I get a smart meter?

There is this tool

https://plans.ovoenergy.com/

You can filter to see which tariff are actually for sale. Not all the ones for sale are seemingly available on line. Do you need to phone up for these? 

THTC comes up for some postcodes as for sale

Efforts are being made on a replacement ASAP.

However, the sands of time ARE running out on the RTS Service. Droitwich Transmission Station is on the last set of Valves capable of running the equipment used for the BBC Radio 4 Longwave signal that the RTS Service relies on - and they’re made of glass. I can only promise you one thing about this. And that promise is that it’s a case of when and not if those Valves will blow. They have a finite service life and do not last forever.

Once those final Valves go bang, that’s it… Game Over. Replacements are impossible as the ability to manufacture more of them ceased to exist many years ago.

It wouldn’t matter what negotiations were agreed at that point - if there’s no Valves, then there’s no RTS Signal.

Anything that’s NOT controlled by the meter would be completely unaffected. If memory serves, those other types of heater are probably on a 24/7 Off-Peak register and would continue to function as they do now.

Likewise, anything on the standard register also won’t be affected.

Hello

i Have been having a on running complaint to SSE/OVO since i moved into my rented flat.

one of my meter boxes does not work which is the THTC  and i have told them multiple times and sent through photos , time and time again i get told someone will contact me to help get this removed.

Each time i had sent through meter readings i get a email back saying incorrect reading when i have sent them proof and called them multiple times as only one meter box works . i have also been treated as a liar and been told there is no way only one works. 

at the end of my first year i had moved in  i had got to some sort of resolution when i finally spoke to someone that knew what had happened he had to go back through all my bills for that year and set the one that wasn't working to 0, after he had done that i was actually in credit and was due money back , he had then told me that it should all be sorted and my next bill would be correct . my next bill wasn't and it was another estimated bill. countless times i have contacted them and sent photos since then . Nobody seems to update my account when i have contacted them.

I am now being hit with extortionate estimated bills when i live in a small one bedroomed flat and work 5 days a week . i had also been hit with some sort of catch up bill and 1500 was added on to my bill last year and now i am 2 grand in debt on my account as they keep on adding bills . i am now in contact with the complaints team and they have just put this through to the billing team they are now still saying this is correct . It is impossible for any of this to be correct  even my sister who lives in a 2 bedroomed house does not get charged anywhere near what i have . i do not know what to do i am in constant stress from this and I'm now getting sent letters saying bailiffs will come to my door even though i have told them i am trying to sort this out .

Any help would be appreciated .

Sounds like a complete nightmare @Celt261! 😮

Not sure if it’s been eight weeks since you raised a formal complaint with Ovo.  If it has and you’re getting no where, log a complaint with https://www.energyombudsman.org/ and they will investigate and issue a Decision that instructs Ovo what to do to fix the issue.  I’m having an issue with my FIT payments from Ovo.  I logged an issue with the Energy Ombudsman 28 days ago and we’re already at the point where Ovo have 14 days to raise any issues with the OE’s decision, which includes paying me £150 for the hassle Ovo have caused!

They can’t magic up a meter no, but they can insist that Ovo put a sensible process in place and maybe offer compensation for the hassle and worry and stop the threats of bailiffs when @Celt261 is obviously trying to do their best to get the issue sorted in a sensible way!

Three years! That’s just horrendous!  My issue’s been going on since last October and that’s doing my head in!

Takes a while to put all the info into the Ombudsman’s site, but definitely worth it - they’ll tell Ovo to sort it out properly. 👍

OVO insists on sending me emails inviting me to install a smart meter, but no news on changes to my THTC set up so I can’t take them up on the kind offer. April is 3 months away when an answer is supposed to be found for the radiotelemetry switch off. 

Is there any other update on a solution? 

Also, my house is on the Tay river, new builds have smart meters so why can’t OVO swap me onto these? Given that OVO took over SSE contracts in this area, they should know if this is possible. Who do I contact to find out?

Much as I anticipated. In the meantime, who do I contact to establish how many properties in my immediate vicinity are on smart meters?

Just adding a reply here as I'm in the same position, 2 mpans, 3 meters, property in Shetland. 

I'm getting the electrics rejigged to feed them all through the night electric meter and I've asked OVO what the procedure is to decommission the redundant meters (either physically or even just as part of the account) so I'm free to choose a single meter supplier as I'm replacing the storage heaters with A2A.

OVO have no idea of their smart meter THTC  plans or schedule or any way to help me and I'm not happy that any work to make the houses heating system more efficient is driven by OVO project timescales. I've started a case with Ofgem to hopefully help put some more pressure on OVO. 

Will update with any progress I make.

Hi @JohnMcD ,

I can try to advise, but I need to see what meters you’ve got first. Please post photos of them.

Thanks

Ofgem will not punish OVO in relation to this matter. Period.

It’s an industry wide issue and wouldn’t be right to whack a supplier who never wanted to support THTC in the first place. OVO only supports it at all because they absorbed tons of SSE customers with it.

Be patient, they are working on a solution. You cannot rush these things...

There won’t be any pressure from Ofgem directed at OVO specifically. More pressure will NOT help and definitely won’t have any productive results. And most definitely… It will NOT speed up any Smart Meter based solutions. Whether you like it or not, you just have to be patient - this stuff cannot be rushed as it takes time to get it right.

I’m pretty much the only customer who has - to date - been allowed to set eyes on the in-progress prototype Smart Meter based THTC solutions that OVO is working on. I was granted this privilege in November 2022 when OVO invited me down to their Bristol HQ for the day. It’s one of the perks of being a Forum Volunteer - we get to do this stuff from time to time. With full access to the Smart Meter Lab and internal experts, I got to see exactly what’s being developed. It’s under NDA until it gets publicly announced so I can’t reveal the exact details but I can say this much. It’ll most likely be a single meter capable of controlling the switching locally even if Comms drop out for some reason. It’d also be able to have switching times configured remotely if needed - but ultimately the meter itself would be capable of doing the heavy lifting on a day-to-day basis.

I am not aware of any other supplier being this far advanced in the R&D for the RTS Service replacements (especially for THTC), so in some ways you’re actually in a good position to still be with OVO.

Ofgem is well aware of the situation. Rather than putting pressure on OVO, it’s actually the other way round in a way - OVO has been putting pressure on Ofgem about how some of this stuff will ultimately work. I just happen to be someone who’s… Very well informed… Despite never being in the energy industry nor working for Ofgem. When it comes to OVO’s side, it’s one of those cases where it’s not what you know, but who you know - that’s how I get the most accurate information.

I’m sorry to say this, but I’m very, very well known for telling you not the answer that you might want to hear, but I instead give you the answer that just tells the true story like it is even if you won’t like it. My reputation is built upon my honesty, integrity and transparency, and telling you this any other way would be just plain wrong for me to do.

With THTC, you ARE allowed to switch away from OVO - you just have to find a supplier that can support you. The fact that hardly any exist is not OVO’s fault. The catch however? It probably won’t be much cheaper for you elsewhere anyway and OVO is one of only two suppliers known to have the necessary knowledge of THTC. Scottish Power is the other - and you really don’t want to switch in that direction.