Question

Get a new smart meter installed with standard tariff and Economy 7

  • 14 September 2023
  • 15 replies
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With solar and a small battery considering changing to a  smart meter, currently on standard tariff but considering changing to Economy 7. Does OVO provide this funcionality or do I have to change suppliers to get it?

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Blastoise186
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OVO isn’t quite ready to move folks to <> from E7 yet. However, I must advise that I don’t think Economy 7 is right for your setup - you need to shift an awful lot of usage to overnight to justify it.

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BPLightlog
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There’s a similar thread here 

 

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OVO isn’t quite ready to move folks to <> from E7 yet. However, I must advise that I don’t think Economy 7 is right for your setup - you need to shift an awful lot of usage to overnight to justify it.

I take your point. However, I am considering increasing the size of my battery and grid charging at night for use during the day in Winter, in Summer I generate enough to cover my night time usage and day time on an average sunny day.

Blastoise186
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In that case, this may need some number crunching. @juliamc @BPLightlog and @Firedog are good at that. 

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BPLightlog
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Hi @tiredteddy , I was in a similar situation with a single rate meter and had been looking to use lower cost electricity to power various systems, especially as you mention, during the winter months. OVO will get there but I’m not sure when so I’ve recently switched to a provider who offers time of use (ToU) tariffs. 
It is important that you look at what you use during peak, not only 4-7pm but also during the morning from around 6-9 as these times can be higher, the evening significantly so at times. 
I believe that calculations suggest that you need to ensure that less than 30% of your usage will be during peak times but that will depend on which tariff you choose. E7 can work but it’s a little more tricky as some find that they need a boost in storage just before evening peak to last through the night

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Firedog
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I don’t think Economy 7 is right for your setup - you need to shift an awful lot of usage to overnight to justify it.

 

Surely the whole point of Economy 7 is to allow consumers to buy and store energy at night when it’s plentiful to be used during the day when it’s not? Whether that storage consists of 1980s brick-filled heaters, 21st century batteries or a power-hungry EV is immaterial. 

As far as I can make out, tiredteddy only needs to be consuming more than 30% of his daily usage in the off-peak period for E7 to turn out cheaper. I don’t know why that figure is so much lower than it used to be, meaning it’s now a much easier target to hit.

There should be no problem asking for a smart meter with E7 capability to be installed. Whether OVO can work out how to switch to a two-rate tariff when the meter is exchanged is another matter, but I admit that I don’t understand the difficulty.

 

Noel | Secure Liberty 110 Electricity-only E7 meter | Secure Pipit 500 IHD
BPLightlog
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There should be no problem asking for a smart meter with E7 capability to be installed. Whether OVO can work out how to switch to a two-rate tariff when the meter is exchanged is another matter, but I admit that I don’t understand the difficulty.

 

That’s the problem. The current billing system I was told, can’t accommodate a change from single rate to dual for an economy 7 tariff. My meter has 2 registers for the purpose but although technically capable of being used on E7, OVO’s system can’t. 

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Firedog
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Yes, I knew that. But surely a new meter means a fresh start, doesn’t it? Even if it means closing the account and opening a new one, just as if ownership had changed?

 

Noel | Secure Liberty 110 Electricity-only E7 meter | Secure Pipit 500 IHD
BPLightlog
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Yes, I knew that. But surely a new meter means a fresh start, doesn’t it? Even if it means closing the account and opening a new one, just as if ownership had changed?

 

As far as I am aware, it’s your current rate (single to dual) that can’t be changed. Not necessarily linked to the meter.

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Firedog
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I wish we could get an explanation for this. If it’s neither the initial meter configuration nor the energy account that’s preventing a change from single-rate to dual-rate metering, the only other factor is the MPAN. Unlikely as that sounds, it should still be possible to arrange for the supply to be disconnected, then reconnected with a new meter and a new MPAN. This might be expensive, of course, since it would involve the DNO, but surely feasible. 

I take it your new supplier was able to set you up with a ToU tariff with no meter exchange - correct? Do you have any idea what would happen if you changed your mind at some point and wanted to switch back to OVO? Would you still be unable then to adopt a multi-rate tariff?

Noel | Secure Liberty 110 Electricity-only E7 meter | Secure Pipit 500 IHD
BPLightlog
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If you think about various initiatives such as Power Move and even Charge Anytime, there must be some background capture of ToU to be able to compare and control. Although I don’t know what the accuracy level is, think about the 30min energy captures already used and ToU is already there. 
What OVO don’t seem to be able to do at present is offer this in a ‘standard’ format for something like the various options seen elsewhere. I don’t really understand either but I’m told this is a restriction of the current billing platform. 
Yes, without a meter change, I can now get a choice of tariffs which is what the OP is asking for. Without a system change, I don’t think a switch back would allow any additional tariffs. 
My own change was also triggered by a desire to make use of a Ripple project due to come online shortly. OVO currently don’t support those feeds

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Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @Firedog and @BPLightlog,

 

I’ll try and find out by asking internally what the reasoning is for OVO not having the functionality to change customers from single rate to Economy 7.

 

I’ll report back!

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Emmanuelle_OVO
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It’s an issue with our billing platform- Kaluza doesn’t have the functionaility @BPLightlog @Firedog 

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Hello BPLightlog,

 

You mentioned above that you changed to a TOU tariff, did you have an OVO smart meter and was the tariff just changed on this or did you have to have a new meter?

BPLightlog
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Hi @tiredteddy , same meter just a different option elsewhere. As has been mentioned earlier, unfortunately OVO can’t provide this at present. 

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