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Updated on 13/02/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:

 

What is a smart meter reading schedule?

 

When you get a smart meter, you can choose from 3 options for how often it sends meter readings to us. These options are half hourly, daily and monthly.

 

How does this affect my live billing?

 

The traditional way of getting a monthly or quarterly statement can make it harder for you to feel in control of your energy costs. 

 

With half hourly or daily meter readings, you can see how much your energy use has cost every day. You can also keep track of your balance throughout the month, instead of waiting for your monthly statement. 

 

Want to take a closer look at your usage? Check out this topic: 

 

 

We can only work out your accurate charges whenever we receive a meter reading. So live billing works best if your smart meter schedule is set to send us readings either daily or half-hourly. We’ll then update  your balance every day based on your actual usage data.

 

You can find out more about live billing in this handy forum topic:

 

 

If you’re worried about gaps in usage data or estimated meter readings, it’s worth checking your meter reading schedule. You can see on the usage page of your online account how frequently your meter readings are being sent across. If it’s set to send readings monthly, the usage shown in between smart meter readings will be estimated. 

 

Think your smart meter might not be communicating with OVO? This topic might be helpful:

 

 

How can I change my smart meter reading schedule?

 

To change your smart meter reading schedule please contact the Support Team, they can get this updated for you. 

 

What is a smart meter?

 

 

Benefits of going smart and choosing half hourly readings

 

No longer having to send meter readings manually is just one of the benefits of getting a smart meter. You can see how much energy you’re using, how much it’s costing in £ and p, and even get an idea of where it’s going in your home. 

 

Plus, with half hourly meter readings, you can access all of our best offers. For electric vehicle owners there’s our Charge Anytime add on, which lets you smart charge your electric vehicle for 7p per kWh, whenever you need to.

 

You can read more about Charge Anytime here.

 

We also have Power Move and Power Move Plus, which reward you for using energy in a way that’s better for the planet.

 

We have tons of topics and resources on the forum about these schemes:

 

 

 

Interested in getting a smart meter? Book now and start saving

 

Smart meter not communicating? Please complete a smart meter health check:

 

Thanks for a helpful article. However, here’s an FAQ it didn’t answer:

  

... it’s worth checking your meter reading schedule.

 

How?

 

Very good point, thanks for raising this @Firedog.

 

I’ve amended the topic, unfortunately, I’ve checked internally and it appears that the only way to check the meter readings schedule is by checking the usage page to see how frequently reads are being sent across. 

… the only way to check the meter readings schedule is by checking the usage page to see how frequently reads are being sent across. 

 

That doesn’t square with 

You can see on the usage page of your online account how frequently your meter readings are being sent across. If it’s set to send readings monthly, the usage shown in between smart meter readings will be estimated. 

 

You can’t tell from a usage page whether the underlying data are actual or estimated. If half-hour data are missing, the Day page will say so, but only for that day. 

Hi @Firedog,

 

I’ve checked this with the relevant team who have advised me that:

 

If you go to Usage > View and submit meter readings > View reading history then they you should be able to see your meter read schedule in the app

You should also be able to change the frequency at which we take the meter readings within the app too. This is in the account section.

 

It seems this may have been updated since Emmanuelle’s reply in February.

 

Are you able to provide a screenshot of what you’re seeing so I can pass this on to the team to look into?

Thanks, Shads.

2 x 2 sources of confusion here, I’m afraid.

  1. The app and the website are a bit different in this respect as in so many others. It would help users if instructions were clearly marked to indicate whether they apply to app, web or both. Judicious use of icons, perhaps:

     

  2. We’re talking about two different things: meter readings and half-hourly usage data. Sadly, they’ve been cobbled together in many places and lumped under a generic term ‘readings’. 

 

There are three choices for a ‘reading’ schedule: half-hourly, daily or monthly. This is what I think they involve:
 

Selected
schedule  		 What it prescribes
for usage data		 What it prescribes
for meter readings
Half-hourly 48 quantities each day 1 reading each day
Daily None 1 reading each day
Monthly None 1 (or more) readings each month

 

The Month and Year usage tabs derive their figures from meter readings; it’s only the Day tab that shows half-hourly figures if they’re available. That’s why there may be a minor difference between the total at the top of the Day tab and the sum of the half-hourly figures in the table. 

Ofgem prescribes a schedule for new arrangements (new customer, new meter) with half-hourly the default and daily as an option. The new settlement option adds another potential source of confusion.

Anyway, the new options on the Profile page (web) and at Account > Settings (app) have really answered my original question: how to see and/or change the reading schedule.  Many thanks to those responsible 🙏🏻

 

 

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