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

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Blastoise186
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It’s not always that simple I’m afraid.

If you’re in a Load Managed Area, you cannot come off of THTC unless you’re willing to get rid of ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters and migrate to some other heating/hot water setup.

Your DNO should be able to tell you if you are in one or not.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Shads_OVO
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Hi @Grapallie11,

 

I’m really sorry to hear this. It seems Blastoise186 has already made some good points here. Unfortunately, we’re currently limited in how we can help with this here.

 

It might be worth contacting our specially trained team who deal with these THTC set ups, as they may be able to give some more advice. You’d be able to contact them by calling our Support team from the contact number listed on your account. They’d be able to transfer you through.

 

This thread may also be useful:

 

 

 

 

C
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We are not in a load managed area and still cannot get rid of the THTC meters....or so we have been told for the last 3 years.  I look at Octopus agile prices and wish we could move.   I completely agree with the comments regarding being stuck with an expensive tariff with NO possibility of moving supplier. 

G
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Good for you Cassie11 for your comments. I don't want to be stuck with this tariff for any longer than necessary. I have spoken with numerous advisors at OVO and, whilst I'm sure that they are being as helpful as they can, they're limited in what they can say. A common phrase being used often is 'It's because of infrastructure issues'. OK then OVO, please inform customers exactly what these issues are; you must know. I will have another go at the Support Team and see where that takes us but I'm not holding any breath. 

Blastoise186
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If you’re talking about THTC, the raw truth is that the industry doesn’t yet have a Smart Meter ready that’s THTC enabled. OVO is making progress on it though - but word on the street is that everyone else is fighting over how it should be done.

Out of all the solutions I know of, the one OVO is developing seems to make the most sense. Either way, you’ll need one before you can even think about coming off of THTC. It’s either that, or you re-wire your entire house at great expense to yourself - and OVO cannot reimburse you for that.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
G
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Sorry, meant to type Cassie511.

G
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Not quite correct about Rewiring house. 15 minutes reconfiguring meter tails will do it. I do not want a THTC smart meter, just a SMET2 meter which are now very available. I had a meter appointment booked with OVO recently to do exactly that, plus my Sparks standing by to sort the meter tails when THTC meters were removed and E7 smart meter installed. All was going to take about an hour after which I would be off THTC and onto E7.  Running up to my appointment time I received numerous text messages from OVO saying what a good boy I was for going 'Smart', plus a post card and a letter. Then an email saying 'sorry we've had to cancel your appointment to change your meter' - no explanation given; I had to phone to find out why, only to be informed that the appointment should not have been made in the first place as it can't be done at present because of 'infrastructure issues'. And so it goes on. 

Blastoise186
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I stand by my word.

And besides, if it’s infrastructure related issues, the DNO is probably blocking it - which is beyond OVO’s control.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
G
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I know you're trying to be helpful but please do not set hares running about rewiring. Not the DNO blocking it either.

Could it be that the £200M ÷ pa revenue from THTC tariff is a factor!!!

Blastoise186
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Revenue != Profit

Also, it's + not ÷ by the way. 

In that case, your best bet IS to wait for the right meter type to be available.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
C
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Not quite correct about Rewiring house. 15 minutes reconfiguring meter tails will do it. I do not want a THTC smart meter, just a SMET2 meter which are now very available. I had a meter appointment booked with OVO recently to do exactly that, plus my Sparks standing by to sort the meter tails when THTC meters were removed and E7 smart meter installed. All was going to take about an hour after which I would be off THTC and onto E7.  Running up to my appointment time I received numerous text messages from OVO saying what a good boy I was for going 'Smart', plus a post card and a letter. Then an email saying 'sorry we've had to cancel your appointment to change your meter' - no explanation given; I had to phone to find out why, only to be informed that the appointment should not have been made in the first place as it can't be done at present because of 'infrastructure issues'. And so it goes on. 

Exactly our experience.....we just want a straightforward SMET2 meter. We don't want a THTC replacement. We want nothing to do with the THTC set up and timings. They didn't cancel our appointments though.  We actually had 2 visits from guys to change meters over the last 2 years but when they see our meter set up there's a sharp intake of breath and they run away. 

C
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It’s not always that simple I’m afraid.

If you’re in a Load Managed Area, you cannot come off of THTC unless you’re willing to get rid of ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters and migrate to some other heating/hot water setup.

Your DNO should be able to tell you if you are in one or not.

I'm grateful for the help you gave me recently which allowed me, eventually, to find out we are NOT in a load managed area. So that's not the problem.

All we are asking for is for OVO to be communicating with us.....not having to use this forum to get second hand information, which I am grateful for, by the way.

1 We need a clear explanation, from OVO, of the difficulty in dealing with these meters.

2 We need ways in which we can make the changes if we want to get rid of THTC completely. Some people have been able to.....

3 We should be regularly updated, by OVO, regarding timelines. 

4 At the very least OVO should be dramatically reducing the THTC tariff to compensate us for, what is looking like, yet another hugely expensive winter.

There is no information from OVO at all.  I would  be really grateful if you could feed this back to your contacts in OVO.

Blastoise186
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You need to be aware that by posting on the Forum - which is Volunteer and Community led - that 99.999999999999999% of responses will come from either a Forum Volunteer such as myself, or another community member rather than from OVO Staff.

As Forum Volunteers, we aim to sync our advice with the official word from OVO whenever possible, as well as keep our advice in sync with the latest happenings across the industry. When something happens, we’re usually some of the first to know.

As previously mentioned, if you get rid of ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters, you can become eligible for getting rid of THTC immediately, subject to DNO approval.

As for the tariff? It’s expensive for OVO to operate too - and the prices for it RARELY change in either direction.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!

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