Thanks for the reply - but I'm trying to find a way to get off THTC, OVO are telling me I need to wait for the THTC solution before I can change the existing meter to a single mpan, this is a ridiculous position to be in.

For that purpose, you might not be able to ever leave THTC. It depends on an absolutely critical factor that even OVO can’t control. If you are in a Load Managed Area - which is determined by your DNO, then I’m afraid you must remain on THTC no matter what - even with Smart Meters.

In those cases, there’s only one way to break out of THTC - which is to get rid of ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters, then switch to some other option for heating and hot water. If you do that, you’d be allowed to quit THTC and use another tariff. Whatever work that’d need doing would be at your own cost - OVO can’t help you pay for that outside of replacing the meter itself.

Otherwise, I’m afraid your options are limited to Traditional THTC and Smart Meter THTC.

Thanks for your reply. I was relieved to read your very recent posting on OVO's quest for a smartmeter-based solution for THTC. THTC is indeed the system we have, controlled by the RTS switch. So your post implies that I just have to wait - patiently. However, I am concerned that our THTC system is a bit complex: it controls storage heaters, panel heaters, hot water and even our living room fire. I attach photographs of our meters: the one below is  the RTS meter. Any tips you can give me, e.g. on the information I should give to OVO before they try to install a smart meter, would be most welcome. 

That’s perfect, thanks.

At this time, please DO NOT attempt a Smart Meter upgrade. Your setup isn’t currently supported with Smart Meters regardless of supplier.

OVO is working on adding support but it requires extensive R&D which has produced some very fruitful results. They’ll be in touch with you once that’s all ready to rollout - and it will be prior to the RTS Shutdown.

The new solution will be a drop-in replacement for what you have now, so everything will operate the same way as before.

@Blastoise186  I am in the same position with THTC ....but I actually want to stop using THTC and go to a 1 smart meter!

It was supposed to be happening before migration but the appointment was cancelled.. also had another appointment with OVO but the engineer wouldn't remove RTS meter, something about meter numbers on the system!

Any help?

Have you already removed all Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters?

If so, OVO may be able to help with this, but you’ll need to contact Support to make the arrangements. Live Chat via https://ovoenergy.com/help is best for this.

If you haven’t removed all those heaters yet, I strongly advise that you don’t go any further until you do.

Thank you very much for your advice. It probably saved me from getting in a huge mess 

@Blastoise186 

Thanks for replying.

Storage heaters bin'd 10 years ago... immersion still connected but not used much + shower....but got plans to change that to direct water set up, powered by wood burner and solar thermal!

Would it be possible to use extra meter number for an export meter?

Import MPANs can’t be converted to Export MPANs. You’ll get an Export MPAN created as part of the process of setting up Smart Export Guarantee for the purposes of exports.

@Blastoise186 

If all us THTC user's get this new smart meter setup that you say is in the works....will we continue being energy provider prisoners, unable to shop for different deals on the market?

That depends on the other suppliers. OVO plans to continue THTC support, but absolutely 0% guarantee that anyone else will.

Additionally, if you are in a Load Managed Area (ask your DNO to check!), you cannot leave THTC even with Smart Meters unless you do away with ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters. Even if you left OVO, if you’re in a LMA you’d have to stay on THTC.

If you want someone to blame for this… Blame whoever came up with the idea for THTC in the first place. It was conceived over 30 years prior to OVO being founded. Chances are Stephen Fitzpatrick wasn’t even thinking about founding an energy supplier back then!

One thing is certain. He definitely didn’t have the (now legendary) kitchen table back then. :D

@Blastoise186 

there's no load balancing going on with me, it's off at the consumer unit.... I'm not paying £0.27 per unit to help balance the grid!!!!

Well @Blastoise186 the live bot chat went well, it wants me to have my supply cut off!!!!

Eh? I think you messed up a bit there. Use the keyword “Agent” without the quotes to bypass the bot

Just looking for the head banging emoji.…

OVO agent saying it's the DNO that's stopping removal of THTC meters......DNO says OVO just need to do a 'logical meter disconnection of related meters' !!!!!

Have you checked to see if you’re in a Load Managed Area though?

There is no head banging emoji here I’m afraid. Helps prevent spam

@Blastoise186 

The question was asked at the DNO....the reply was a 'ehh???? , OVO just need to do a logical meter disconnection of one meter!'

Pretty sure it's not a load managed area, I know of others pre OVO who have done exactly what I'm trying to do. Previously SSE said if we had the wiring changes made in the house we could then request a meter change, OVO don't appear to be as accommodating and don't seem to want ad-hoc requests to change meters, the only meter changes they'll entertain are the ones they're planning as part of their roll out project.

At mentioned earlier the plan is to remove the storage heaters and replace with an air 2 air heat pump. There's a case study on the home energy Scotland website where someone was trying to do what I'm trying to do with SSE in 2016, he ended up getting compensation through Ofgem due to delays with SSE changing out his meters. As mentioned I'm not after any compensation, I just want to establish whether my request is a reasonable request and for OVO to make a process available to request a meter change.

If you can keep us posted @Infiltrator, your advice might be helpful for Community Members in a similar position. 

At the end of January 2021 my teleswitch broke. I have a 3-phase domestic storage heater load that was on THTC. I was without off-peak heat for weeks (with two small children). The first engineer that turned up didn’t have a ticket to deal with a 3-phase supply, the second engineer didn’t have the right bits with him. The third engineer fitted a smart meter for the off-peak/THTC loading, and left the existing on-peak meter in place.

Happy that it was working, we got more and more frustrated that the billing hadn’t been updated to reflect our new meter. After an Ombudsman complaint, they finally added the off-peak meter onto our bills but in the process deleted our on-peak meter and put us on the Simpler Energy tariff (without any explanation).

The last engineer that came to replace the smart meter (with another smart meter) said that it was actually attached to the system, but not fully commissioned, and then wrote us a note to say that our deleted on-peak meter was “off settlement”, and that we should rewire our THTC installation to make it more compatible with one of the storage heater Economy tariffs.  He also suggested that by moving the meter tails from the output of the distributor's fuses to a block from the output of the smart meter might be a way to take the dumb meter out of service, and feed the whole system off one meter.

I am worried that having all the previously low-rated heaters/shower/hot water will add a lot to our bill. I would rather return to a THTC tariff (or specific replacement equivalent). The engineers have all been lovely, but I have had a lot off difficulty explaining our installation to the Customer Service representatives, and have heard nothing back from the metering team after being referred to them.

I live in Shetland, so we are heavily dependent on our electric heating.

What’s the best way to resolve this in a way that will be satisfactory? Why can’t I go back onto a THTC tariff in the meantime? Is there someone specific at Ovo that I could speak to that would be able to help?

Many thanks for any responses.

Hey @amygw 

Welcome to the Forum.

OVO is working on a solution for replacing THTC meters but this is not in place yet, the support team will let you know if they can offer a meter exchange at this point. Once we do have the replacements in place, you’ll lose the complicated mess of wiring between several meters and go onto a single Smart Meter once the upgrade is done.

We’ve got lots of other topic on THTC setups that may also be helpful to you:

We know it’s not the easiest situation to navigate while we’re unsure of a timeframe on the replacements, but as soon as we do know more, we’ll be updating all related threads.

Hi @Abby_OVO 

Thank you for your reply. I don’t necessarily mind waiting for the new arrangements to be made, but I’m not happy with the tariff that I was put on as it seems to be at a single rate? Could you provide clarity about it and what other options there might be?

Hey @amygw 

Replacements are being actively worked on at the moment. When we have any more information on what these will look like and how they’ll work for our customers, we’ll update any related Forum topics.

Hi @Abby_OVO 

I’m not sure this answers my question- can you provide any information about the Simpler Energy tariff? Is it intended for storage heaters? Is it a dual rate tariff? I was not given any information about it when I was moved on to it against my requests to stay on THTC (which made sense for my installation). 

Simpler Energy is basically the name of OVO’s Standard Variable Tariff. It can do both Flat Rate and Economy 7 versions, but doesn’t support stuff like THTC which have dedicated tariffs. It can, however, support both Single-Phase and Polyphase just fine in both Flat Rate and E7 configurations.