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Can I have a smart meter with Economy 7?

T

When I last spoke with OVO I was told a smart meter could not be fitted as we were on Economy 7 dual rate tariff. I am now being bombarded with emails and phone calls from OVO trying to get me to have a smart meter.

Has the situation changed, can I now get a smart meter and keep my Economy 7 tariff?

If not, and OVO do have my records, why do you keep asking me (and presumably everyone else on Economy 7) the same question over and over again?

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Best answer by Eva_OVO 18 April 2019, 13:16

Updated on 08/01/21: Our smart meters (Aclara) can be set up or changed to a economy 7 and single rate set up remotely. 

We’re now able to fit Aclara smart meters for set ups requiring a 5th port/terminal connection, such as underfloor heating or storage heaters on economy 7 - More info here

To view your two rate Aclara smart meter: Press A three times - TOU rate 2 will show the rate 2 reading.

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Eva_OVO
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Updated on 08/01/21: Our smart meters (Aclara) can be set up or changed to a economy 7 and single rate set up remotely. 

We’re now able to fit Aclara smart meters for set ups requiring a 5th port/terminal connection, such as underfloor heating or storage heaters on economy 7 - More info here

To view your two rate Aclara smart meter: Press A three times - TOU rate 2 will show the rate 2 reading.

My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt!
V
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Keep getting messages that ovo are in the area and can fit a smart meter, I go to book it and the first question is do you have storage heaters, yes but I don’t use them.
does this mean I can’t have a new smart meter ? If not why?
I’m on eco 7
Amy_OVO
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Yes you can, @ted! You can arrange a smart meter exchange here: https://bit.ly/2ueMUYb.

If you've got storage heaters or underfloor heating you won't be able to book the appointment online. You'll need to call our Customer Care team on 0330 303 5063, they're available Monday-Friday 8am-6pm.

As soon as your smart meters are installed, let us know how you get on with them! :)

Welcome to the forum, @Viking_man, check out the best answer above!
OVO-Joyed to help!
T
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I have SMETs2 Smart Meters with OVO and have Economy 7 so the answer to your question must be a resounding "Yes". Readings from my electricity meter are shown daily but gas is not, somehow OVO takes these from the smart meter network once a month and then they show up in the web portal and phone app.

I don't bother with the IHD although when I did look at it post-installation it was showing completely misleading information.

It might be better now but I don't have any need to look at it, as the sole reason I asked for Smart Meters was to avoid having to send in readings, which has now been achieved so whilst I couldn't whole-heartedly recommend them, at least I don't have the fag of reading the meters anymore.
Nancy_OVO
Userlevel 6
I don't bother with the IHD although when I did look at it post-installation it was showing completely misleading information.

Hi @TheFSG

With SMETS2 meters, we experienced some issues connecting them to the In Home Display devices (IHDs). We've been rolling out a software update for this since mid summer, so it's likely that your IHD will be updated fairly soon.

Hope this helps
Your guiding light(bulb)
J
Hi, Im now an Ovo customer (once again) and I have signed up for an EV charging point (yet to be installed). We have an old meter. I would like to use Economy 7 so I know I need a dual rate meter to do this. Ovo have just (unconnected to the EV charging point I believe) sent an email offering a new SMETS2 smart meter. Should I go ahead and arrange this to be fitted?

Many thanks
Jon
S
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Im not sure if the SMETS2 meters are E7 compatible yet
Eva_OVO
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Hi, Im now an Ovo customer (once again) and I have signed up for an EV charging point (yet to be installed). We have an old meter. I would like to use Economy 7 so I know I need a dual rate meter to do this. Ovo have just (unconnected to the EV charging point I believe) sent an email offering a new SMETS2 smart meter. Should I go ahead and arrange this to be fitted?

Many thanks
Jon


If your meter is currently running on an Economy 7 tariff, @jgpazza, we can install a SMETS2 meter as Economy 7. But, we wouldn't be able to install the SMETS2 meter on an Economy 7 tariff just yet.
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt!
F
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I’ve been a customer of OVO since 2011, when the website had a picture of every member of staff. Compared to my previous supplier the service was excellent.

However good times can’t last forever.

We have an electric Aga which heats up overnight during the winter months, when it’s turned on. That is why we had an Economy 7 tariff. Paying the same each month we built up a payment buffer during the summer, with interest as an added bonus.

Everything was fine until we had solar panels fitted last July. The old Economy7 meter died.

Don’t worry a new meter will be fitted for free. After 1 missed appointment we had a new meter (17/09/19). Unfortunately it was a single tariff meter. After complaining another meter installation was arranged. Another missed appointment, a new date in November was arranged.

I called OVO to confirm the appointment. While on the phone I reminded OVO that I had requested a SMETS2 Smart meter last June. Don’t worry we can fit one in November.  No-one thought to cancel the other meter installation for the same day. Due to a miscommunication no meter was installed.

This year we finally had a new SMETS2 meter installed (13/01/20), unfortunately it is single tariff. After another call to OVO I was given two options, one to revert to an old style Economy7 or SMETS1 not so smart meter. The other option is to stay with the the installed meter with everything being sorted out some time in the future with the comment “The issue with this option is that we don't know when this is going to happen as it is new technology which we are still figuring out.”

To add insult to injury OVO switched our tariff to a single rate when the incorrect meter was installed back in September, without telling us. 

Other suppliers are offering much more sophisticated packages theses days, some even charges half hourly in line with wholesale rates. Should I jump ship now?

PeterR1947
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Go for a SMETS1 meter, then OVO are able to change it to an E7 meter remotely.

 

I recently moved with a single rate meter which was changed over the air to a two rate meter.

Peter

Amy_OVO
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I’ve moved your post here, @FlossyThePig, this thread has some relevant info regarding your situation. 

It’s a real shame that the series of events you’ve mentioned have lead you to consider switching, especially when you’ve been so loyal to us. 

I hope you do decide to stick with us and if there’s anything we can help with here, please let us know. 

:relaxed:

OVO-Joyed to help!
F
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I thought I would give you an update.

After reading on another suppliers website it appeared that pressing the blue button on my smart meter it would cycle through various items. Yes, it only recorded a single rate with zero for the second rate. It even gave a figure for the power exported to the grid.

A few days later the IHD was acting strangely so I had a look at the meter. It was now set up to be dual tariff. About the same time we were told that our economy 7 tariff would be backdated and a new revised statement issued.

While all this was going on I discovered Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) which replaced the Feed In Tariff (FIT).

As a result of my experience since last July I have jumped ship to Octopus, and when things have settled in I will switch to their outgoingOctopus tariff. There is an agile option which charges with variable half hourly rates. This will pay me less but also charge me less during most of the day, and can even pay me to use electricity at times when generation exceeds demand.

Nancy_OVO
Userlevel 6

It’s a shame to hear you’ve left, @FlossyThePig but I’m glad you’ve found a solution that suits your needs.

Thanks

Your guiding light(bulb)
J

I have three sets of numbers on my electric metre one with 1 one with 2 and one with what looks like an L or E symbol which is a relatively low number. Am confused about their meaning 

Blastoise186
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Hi there @jruns79 ,

Could you snap a photo of your meter for us please? We’ll try to figure this one out for you. :)

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
S
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that’s why digital displays were invented 

Tim_OVO
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Hi @jruns79 - any chance to get that photo?

 

See the topic above for advice on how to read a two-rate meter. These guides are also good:

 

SMETS1 Secure Liberty 100/110 smart meter guide - here

 

SMETS1 Secure Smart Meter Health Check guide - here

 

SMETS2 smart meter guide - here

 

SMETS2 Smart Meter Health Check guide - here

 

SMETS2 smart meter installation guide - here

 

OVO smart meters explained - here

 

OVO’s National update of SMETS1 meters guide - here

 

Smart meter appointment booking portal - here

 

SMETS2 5th port guide - here 

 

In Home Display (IHD) topic guides:

 

SMETS1 Pipet In Home Display (IHD) guide - here

 

SMETS1 Chameleon In Home Display (IHD) guide - here

 

SMETS2 In Home Display (IHD) guide - here

 

 

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there!
M
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I already have a smart meter but have storage electorc water heaters so would like to know if it is possible to have an economy 7 meter fitted as well

Blastoise186
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Hi there @Megha ,

Yup, this can indeed be a possible option. The recommended option would be having a five terminal smart meter that’s capable of properly running an Economy 7 tariff with the ability to control the times that your heaters come on and off.

Alternatively, if you don’t mind not having that kind of feature, you can have your current smart meter switched to Economy 7 mode without having to have a second meter installed or an engineer visit. If you know that Economy 7 is appropriate, one of these options should do the trick.

I’d recommend having a chat with the Support Team if you’d like to go ahead and they’ll be able to discuss this with you.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
M
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Thank you @Blastoise186 will reach out to the support team to understand my options

Blastoise186
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You’re welcome @Megha ,

Just so you know, OVO is currently running on Festive Opening Hours, so you might not be able to get through as easily. You can find the details on this thread 

The lines will be open tomorrow (Tuesday) but may be extremely busy. You’ll probably have a better chance via web chat since it tends to be a lot faster. You can certainly discuss your options via web chat, but changing the contract requires a phone call.

If you’d rather do everything in one go, I’d recommend trying after the 4th January, since most of the team should be back by then.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
A
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Hello, I’ve just had a Smart meter fitted by Scottish Power and I have storage heaters. As I’m on a single rate tariff, can I switch to Economy 7 or 10?...Alan.

Blastoise186
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Hi @Alan 210 ,

Yup, that should indeed be possible. You’d need to request this change over the phone since it’s considered a change of contract and requires verbal agreement with most suppliers.

If you’re with OVO, you can contact the Support Team for this and they’ll sort this out for you. You can discuss which one would be best as well.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
A
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Fantastic, Thanks so much for your help.

M
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Turns out OVO can’t move me to an economy 7 meter with the current smart meter I have which was installed by OVO so I would unfortunately need to move to another provider instead 

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