How will SMETS1 meters be updated when SMETS2 is rolled out?

Hi again,

I have noticed that the ‘Estimated Usage’ has reset and is now reading very low £ on the IHD.  Does this mean that I have now been migrated onto SMETS2 (or SMETS1+) and the meter should be acceptable to all suppliers?

Welcome back, @TWSaab!

Interesting to hear that the ‘Estimated Usage’ figure has reset. There’s a number of reasons why this might have happened, you might have started a new plan or had a unit rate change if you’re on a variable plan. It could also be due to your meter going through the remote upgrade. 

This remote change won’t be noticeable on your online account and won’t make a difference whilst you are still with OVO. If you’re planning a switch and want to confirm that your meters have updated before you do, it’s worth reaching out to our Support Team, or sending us a PM on here (including your full name, OVO account number and  full address) and we can take a look. 

The one thing to be aware of is that it’s impossible for an S1 meter to ever be upgraded to a true S2 (which OVO’s Smart Meter Friend helpfully reminded me about recently). That’s because it’s ultimately still S1 hardware and the firmware updates mainly just do some magic tricks that allow the meter to be managed via DCC, but is still S1 firmware.

That’s why I like to call these meters SMETS1+, or S1+ for short. Because erm… What else can we call them? But yes, they can run like an S2 to an extent - especially the ability to switch supplier and keep using the same meters with smart features remaining enabled.

If they’re no longer pure S1 and they’re not proper S2, then it kinda make sense to consider them S1+. I got the idea for the name from railway level crossings, but it’s never been made an official term in the spec. Not yet at least anyway…

The only way to get pure and true S2 is to swap out the hardware for full S2 across everything. There can be edge cases where this becomes necessary - such as if every possible attempt to get an S1 to do the firmware upgrade and then get it working with DCC as S1+ completely fails - but these are the exception rather than the norm. It’s less disruptive to try to the remote firmware updates and remotely migrate the existing meters to DCC than it is to physically replace all of them.

Since these things don’t last forever anyway, the number of S1 meters in service will eventually begin to drop off over time as they get replaced for any reason - such as faulty meters or re-certification stuff. In actual fact, some of the earliest S1 meters are probably approaching somewhere around halfway through their service life as well...

I do appreciate that.   However, is there any difference I will see in operation?

No worries.

For the most part, you won’t see many differences in how an S1+ meter operates compared to an S1 meter. The biggest difference will be the fact that an S1+ is connected to the supplier via DCC and can therefore be operated with any supplier, even those that didn’t use the same meter brand (or the same networks) in the S1 days. All S1 meters will eventually be S1+ but there’s very little that you can see happening yourself as it’s all in the background.

Until then, regular S1 meters will only work with suppliers that have the same meter brand and use the same network as the supplier who originally installed the meter. Other than that, there’s not really much that will change. Your meters will still record your usage and submit it to your supplier in pretty much exactly the same way as before (albeit via a slightly different route) and your IHD will continue to work in exactly the same way it does now.

this upgrade has been a big bluff no honest facts justbluff

Hello,

My neighbour has a Smets 1 Smart Meter which was upgraded to a Smets 2.  Since then it has been having problems like not taking off the daily standing charge.  The engineer said trying to upgrade old teqnology is useless and has ordered a meter swap to a Smets 2.  He said there will be no charge is this true as the fault only occured since the upgrade which failed first time then was completed.  She is anxious she will have to pay for a new meter which is not her fault. It's a PAYG Smart meter.

Thanks

Hi @hallj12345 yes that’s quite correct. There is a whole upgrade campaign at the moment and for any that don’t upgrade then a new S2 meter will be fitted - there is no cost involved for that

Hello,

Thanks for your reply.  That's just it.  Her Smets 1 Smart meter was supposed to have been successfully upgraded she got a text saying it had failed and they would try again.  The second time it was successful but since then when they changed the prices on 1st April, it is not taking the daily standing charge.  It has the decimal point int the wrong place on the standing charge price.  The engineer tried to fix it on live chat but they were not understanding him.  He has arranged a meter exchange to a Smets 2 and said there won't be a charge as it not her fault it's a botch up on their side and it's not being fixed but she worried in case there is a charge for meter replacement because they said the upgrade was successfull.

These are the only circumstances which you’d normally get charged to replace a meter:

• Vandalism/deliberate damage e.g. you ripped the meter off the wall and smashed it to pieces
• Supply/Meter Tampering/Energy Theft/Abstracting Electricity/Gas - you would ALSO be liable for paying back all the energy you stole in the meantime, paying back every single cost the energy supplier incurred to investigate you, every cost incurred in undoing the damage you did and probably a bunch of other stuff too… And potentially also land yourself a criminal record
• Swapping between Single-Phase and Three-Phase
• Meters fitted under warrant - Suppliers can potentially charge you the costs of doing so
• Non-Standard Installations - Usually triggered in cases where you insist on the supplier NOT fitting smart meters and forcing them to fit something else they don’t want to use

There’s a couple of others as well, but they’re edge cases which most people won’t realistically encounter

Hello,

Thank You for replying.  The engineer said if it failed the first time and was successful the second time, it probably wasn't and it was useless trying to upgrade old teqnology, so she will still get a new Smets 2 meter fitted without charge.  I only ask because she is anxious as I read they charge for a new meter swap even if faulty which doesn't seem right as it's not the customers fault.  My sister's Smart meter stopped sending readings to British Gas  last year.  She didn't realise they never informed her.  The meter was about 10 years old and was replaced free.

Yeah, I’ve seen this situation before. Getting it replaced is free as it’s considered a faulty meter - and most importantly - the root cause has been determined to be something that’s beyond your control.

If you smashed it up with a baseball bat however… Then you would be liable to cough up the cash as that would be vandalism.

Thanks,

My neighbour will be relieved to hear that.