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Can you supply a three phase smart meter?

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Amazing, thanks! Standard customer support was stumped!

Blastoise186
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No worries. Can’t promise anything happens, but we should at least be able to get an answer that works this way.

What was the reason you needed a three-phase smart meter for by the way?

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Just generally to watch spend - hard to follow whats using electricity here and good to keep the cost down.  I have a 3 phase supply that goes in to 3 seperate consumer units so going back to single phase might be a pain.

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @dr_aureole,

 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community, 

 

Smart Three Phase

 

As part of a three phase upgrade, a three phase smart meter may be installed however we can't guarantee smart functionality at this time.

 

Three Phase Upgrade Process

 

  1. The customer will be identified as needing a three phase supply by an electrician, due to requiring a high capacity of electricity in their property. 
  2. The customer needs to book an appointment with the Distribution Network Operator, who will attend to upgrade their main fuse to three phase.
  3. We can then book a three phase meter exchange with our installer for a three phase trained engineer to upgrade your meter (at the cost of £325).

 

Tip: An electrician may also be required to rewire your consumer unit once the new meter has been installed, as our installer won't do this.

 

I hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
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Sorry to be clear I already have a 3 phase standard meter -  my property was a conversion that used to be heated by some extremely large space heaters (now gone).

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @dr_aureole,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having, 

 

It’s a tough one, because if you go ahead with the installation we can’t guarantee the meter will be smart. 

 

Currently not many suppliers are offering smart 3 phase meters by default, OVO plan to do so in future. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
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Hey @Emmanuelle_OVO I have an existing 3 phase supply and non-smart 3phase meter with OVO; I was offered a place on the 3 phase smart meter pilot but I missed the first appointment and can’t rebook it is the issue.

 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @dr_aureole,

 

I’m really sorry to hear that,

 

I’ll update this thread if we hear any more details about the availability of 3 phase smart meters. 

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Hi OVO I have a three phase domestic supply and desperately need a smart metre. OVO keep indicating on this forum that they provide three phase smart metre but that is absolutely not true from my experience , I have had four deprecate engineer appointmrr we nts each time they state they do not provide smart metres for three phase, please tell me I’m wiring and more so please provide a phone number for OVO that specify can deal with three phase smart metres 

Blastoise186
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Good morning,

I can confirm that OVO is indeed starting to offer Three-Phase SMETS2 Smart Meters. However, the rollout is currently in a pilot phase and in very limited numbers. If you can’t get one right now, it’s probably because there’s no engineer in your area that can do them yet.

You can still get a Three-Phase Traditional Meter for now and then upgrade later. I’ll ask a Forum Moderator to note down your interest for now.

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I’m not sure what you mean by a three phase traditional metre , I’m guessing I have one of those already with my three phase. My post code is M32 and I’ve met one of the senior OVO engineers in my area he called to my home for survey and confirmed he is qualified and trained to install three phase smart metre but OVO are not offering them and the trial has ceased can you shed more light on this ? 

Blastoise186
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I get my information directly from two people I know at OVO that I talk to constantly. I’ve asked them for an update. I won’t be able to get a response until at least tomorrow morning however.

What I can tell you is that the testing phase has had different elements to it and it’s possible that the engineer you spoke to might have been on an earlier phase which isn’t currently active.

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Thank you any further info you get re my specific area will be greatly appreciated Thank you I am a high user with my EV vehicle circa £450pm electric area is M32 Greater Manchester 

Tim_OVO
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Hi @Allan Downes and thanks for flagging this. 

 

As blastoise has called out, OVO are fitting polyphase meters on a small scale over the last few months. I’ve asked for an update in case the report of the engineer telling you we’re not doing these is correct. 

 

It is on a small scale though but I’m making a note of those that want it ASAP, so that when this trial expands more generally I’m able to let them know. I’ve added you to my list. 

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
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Hi we have installed EV supply to our property with the promise of a 10p tariff.

if I cannot get a 3 phase smart meter then presumably I am excluded from this tariff?

Blastoise186
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Section 5.1 of https://www.ovoenergy.com/terms/charge-anytime-terms requires you to have a Smart Meter to get Charge Anytime.

Sorry! :(

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Tim_OVO
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Hi @FutureManagement100, we’ve confirmed the latest with OVO’s polyphase smart meter roll out (and we’ll be updating all relevant content today):

3 phase (aka polyphase) installations in domestic properties are few and far between, so it's a minority of meter engineers across the country that have the skills required to complete these installations.  There are also some technical challenges in making sure your job is allocated to an engineer with these skills but we are just as keen as you are to have Smart available for these sites ASAP, so if you would like to take part in this early stage release, please consider the steps below:


From the start of May 2023, if you have a single rate 3 phase meter (i.e. not Economy 7 / 2-rate etc.) we would encourage you to book a smart meter appointment as normal online (please do not attempt to book sooner than May unless you have been contacted).

 

This will then go through to a specialist team who will validate that it is single rate job and that a 3 phase engineer is available in your region. If this is the case, they will re-book your appointment with the right engineer (so please bear in mind your appointment date/time will likely change, but we'll try to keep it the same where possible).


Unfortunately, if you have a 2-rate meter or are not in an area covered by our current crop of 3 phase skilled engineers, you will need to continue with your heritage meter. We know this will be frustrating, so we are sorry about that, we are working to expand our coverage and by you flagging your interest to us, you are helping us shape where and when that coverage develops.

 

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
S
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I’m currently with British Gas. I finally got an appointment last year to get a smart meter fitted but the engineer said we had a multiphase meter (I didn’t know this but large house that used to be a B&B so makes sense). BG don’t do multiphase smart meters.

I now have an EV and want an EV tariff - can’t be done without a smart meter. Does anyone know if OVO, or any other companies, install multiphase smart meters yet? Thank you!

Also, all I know is that it’s multi-phase - will that automatically be 3-phase? How do I find out?

BPLightlog
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Perhaps this might be of use @stcom 

I have seen OVO fit poly-phase (multi-phase) meters but they are not in plentiful supply as far as I know. 

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Perhaps this might be if use @stcom 

I have seen OVO fit poly-phase (multi-phase) meters but they are not in plentiful supply as far as I know. 

Thank you! Turns out I have exactly the same meter as the one in the 3-phase photo there. That starts to narrow it down a bit

A
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I am a domestic customer and for some unknown reason when they built our house in 1994 fitted 3 phase electricity can I get a smart meter

Blastoise186
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OVO has started to roll these out. You can register interest via https://smart-booking.ovoenergy.com or via Support at https://help.ovoenergy.com .

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
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Has anyone else been experiencing difficulties getting a 3 phase meter installed via OVO?

We paid for one in July, no one turned up to install it a week ago, no reason or excuse given.  Phone calls to OVO are hopeless, the operators don’t even know what 3 phase means.

Does anyone have a solution, or experience they can share so we can get 3 phase meter connected? 

A
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Not sure what that is.  My smart meter was installed by Southern Electric/gas and sends readings fine.

BPLightlog
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Hi @Louisa Harvey , OVO have fitted three phase meters previously but it does need a higher level of approval and so not every engineer would be able to fit them (not helpful in your situation). 
 

I have been involved in a three phase project but got National Grid to fit in that situation. 
Presumably you already have the cabling infrastructure in place?

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