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gareth
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November 21, 2021
Solved

Gas Smart meter failed battery failed and I'm off supply - How can I get an emergency appointment at the weekend?

  • November 21, 2021
  • 63 replies
  • 16755 views

Smart meter failed.  No display. Will not wake up, no warnings (Audiable) or on the smart meter in-house display  Spoke to Cadet they said the meter faulty.   Why do smart meters fail closed?  The fail appeared on Saturday afternoon, Central heating boiler detected no gas ignition.  Cadet said OVO are responsible for the meter and require it to be replaced.  Just seems mad to fail closed.  No heating/hot water for nearly 2 days.

I assume as the fault is with the OVO there will be a compensation owed for inconvenience.

 

Meter approx 10 years old.

Best answer by Jess_OVO

Updated 26/11/25 by Ben_OVO

 

I’m so sorry to hear your gas meter battery failed, @gareth, particularly as this left you off-supply. 

 

All gas meters (Smart and traditional) have an internal battery that power them. This is designed to last for up to 20 years, with a meter recertification (exchanging the meter to replace it with a new one) scheduled every 10 years, so it’s unusual for this issue to crop up so soon. If your gas smart meter is making a beeping sound, it indicates that the battery is low and the meter will need replacing. If the battery fails this can affect the supply, as in your case, so it’s important to reach out to our Support Team if you do ever notice that your meter is beeping.

 

It’s really distressing to hear that this happened out-of-hours and you were unable to give us a call. For electricity, the Distribution Network Operator in your region can be contacted directly when an energy supplier is closed, and the electricity meter is off supply due to fault. They should be able to replace that meter and get the property back on supply. This safeguard is in place as electricity is considered an essential service with medical equipment and even medicines in fridges requiring a continuous electricity supply. With that in mind, we always advise anyone in such a situation to register for the priority services register.

 

In a scenario where the gas meter is faulty and off supply and the energy supplier is closed, the National Grid will be unable to replace the meter. In the case of OVO Energy, our Support Team are on hand 6 days a week to help arrange a short notice engineer visit to replace that meter. 

 

Emergency and contact details can be found here:

 

 

I’m hoping you’ve managed to get through to the team to arrange a same-day emergency appointment already. Keep us posted if you need any extra help. 

63 replies

Jess_OVO
OVO Staff
Jess_OVOSolved
OVO Staff
November 22, 2021

Updated 26/11/25 by Ben_OVO

 

I’m so sorry to hear your gas meter battery failed, @gareth, particularly as this left you off-supply. 

 

All gas meters (Smart and traditional) have an internal battery that power them. This is designed to last for up to 20 years, with a meter recertification (exchanging the meter to replace it with a new one) scheduled every 10 years, so it’s unusual for this issue to crop up so soon. If your gas smart meter is making a beeping sound, it indicates that the battery is low and the meter will need replacing. If the battery fails this can affect the supply, as in your case, so it’s important to reach out to our Support Team if you do ever notice that your meter is beeping.

 

It’s really distressing to hear that this happened out-of-hours and you were unable to give us a call. For electricity, the Distribution Network Operator in your region can be contacted directly when an energy supplier is closed, and the electricity meter is off supply due to fault. They should be able to replace that meter and get the property back on supply. This safeguard is in place as electricity is considered an essential service with medical equipment and even medicines in fridges requiring a continuous electricity supply. With that in mind, we always advise anyone in such a situation to register for the priority services register.

 

In a scenario where the gas meter is faulty and off supply and the energy supplier is closed, the National Grid will be unable to replace the meter. In the case of OVO Energy, our Support Team are on hand 6 days a week to help arrange a short notice engineer visit to replace that meter. 

 

Emergency and contact details can be found here:

 

 

I’m hoping you’ve managed to get through to the team to arrange a same-day emergency appointment already. Keep us posted if you need any extra help. 

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Gillian Turnbull
Newcomer
January 5, 2023

No gas 

BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
Super User
January 5, 2023

Hi @Gillian Turnbull can you add more info?

Gas meter out of credit?

No supply?

We can then perhaps try to help

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    Emmanuelle_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    Emmanuelle_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    January 6, 2023

    Hey @Gillian Turnbull,

     

    Sorry for the issues you’re having,

     

    If your pay as you go with Boost, please contact their Support Team. 

     

    If your off supply with OVO, all your gas appliances aren’t working and the issue appears to be the meter, please call Support to arrange an emergency appointment. 

     

    Hope this helps. 

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      vrmike
      Rank 1
      March 7, 2023

      Hi, can anyone from OVO confirm in writing what the behaviour is for its latest SMETS2 gas meters if the battery fails, for pay monthly i.e. credit customers? Does the gas valve remain open, or does the meter instruct the valve to close before the battery dies?

      The fail-safe mode should be open, as having the valve closing the gas off could cause serious damage e.g. if house unoccupied in winter and so pipes freeze. I am aware that the meter should emit warning tones, but that does not help if nobody is there to hear them.

      And could the gas meters not use some miniature flow turbine to trickle-charge the battery, so that this does not need to be regularly replaced?

      Thanks, Mike

      BPLightlog
      Super User
      BPLightlogSuper User
      Super User
      March 7, 2023

      Hi, can anyone from OVO confirm in writing what the behaviour is for its latest SMETS2 gas meters if the battery fails, for pay monthly i.e. credit customers? Does the gas valve remain open, or does the meter instruct the valve to close before the battery dies?

      The fail-safe mode should be open, as having the valve closing the gas off could cause serious damage e.g. if house unoccupied in winter and so pipes freeze. I am aware that the meter should emit warning tones, but that does not help if nobody is there to hear them.

      And could the gas meters not use some miniature flow turbine to trickle-charge the battery, so that this does not need to be regularly replaced?

      Thanks, Mike

      Not sure about the valve situation @vrmike but the battery should last around 10 years

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      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      March 7, 2023

      Please do not rely on this as I’m still looking things up.

      As far as I can remember, S2 Gas Meters might try to keep the supply active if the battery dies while in Credit Mode. However, - in common with ALL other gas meters - they will close the valve if the battery is about to die while in Prepayment Mode in order to prevent fraud.

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      vrmike
      Rank 1
      March 10, 2023

      Thank you for your reply. It would be great to get an authoritative response from OVO on whether the valve stays opens or is shut if the battery dies for the latest gas meters installed by them when in credit mode.

      There are contradictory replies on this forum, and to be clear this is for credit mode (not prepayment mode which shuts the valve when battery fails).

      While the battery should last 10 years, there are reports of them failing much sooner than that.  It is disappointing that there is no trickle-charging of these batteries. The battery is most likely to fail in cold weather, which is precisely when one would not want the gas to be turned off if one is away, due to the risk of water damage after frozen pipes. I have not been able to update all the lagging on the pipework under the floorboards in our 1930’s house due to access difficulties in one area, hence there remains a small risk of this happening.

      Tim_OVO
      OVO Staff
      Tim_OVO
      OVO Forum Legend
      March 13, 2023

      Hi @vrmike, thanks for posting.

       

      As this is a customer forum, it’s not a natural fit for getting official responses or advice from OVO directly. Our Support team are well placed to help. 

       

      But I can relate to my own experiences when asked this question in the past. If memory serves, the valve should stay in an open position when the battery dies, but this is not always the case. Hence why if the battery dies but the supply isn’t disconnected, the meter replacement appointment isn’t considered an emergency. If the supply is disconnected, an engineer will visit that same day to do a meter exchange. 

       

      For anyone else reading who might be in the same situation, this is the number to call to arrange the appointment: 0330 303 5063.

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      AbiBin17
      Newcomer
      April 24, 2023

      Who can I phone out of hours? My dad in law since 5pm tonight has no Gas, unable to cook and no heating. He is vulnerable heart issues, mobility issues  uses a zimmer. I phoned so many places tonight to try get him warmth to no avail

      Show more replies
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