How do I get a smart meter when I have a 3 phase supply?

This is great that folks are providing info. Planning permission arrived so remodelling can start - the electrics is a few months away but should be before Christmas.

Keep it coming!

Cheers

Uncle K

As I don’t work for OVO, @Uncle K - I can suggest a cheeky way of getting a 3-phase SMETS2 meter faster:

The first real-life installation of a 3-phase meter for a domestic customer is Good Energy.

Looking at the official response from within OVO that Tim has quoted above, it reads “… we won't be able to fully support these meters from other suppliers until that work is done, but we would still be able to communicate with them to get readings”

That means you could ditch your existing OVO contract, switch to Good Energy on condition that they install your preferred meter, and then switch back to OVO.

I’ve now got 2 days grace before @Tim_OVO arrives back on Monday morning and finds what I’ve just posted!

Knowing your luck @Transparent@Tim_OVO  will log on from home 

Some unbiased community support there, that’s why a forum like this is best for customer service! I could never advise such a thing, and won’t comment on it here. 

@PeterR1947  I gave Transparent the heads up on Friday that I was ‘offline’ this weekend (for once) as I had my 9 day old nephew to hang out with. So he knew he had a decent time window to work with. What a pro

What do we think, @Uncle K - and whatever you choose, please keep us update here! 

Thanks for this and apologies for taking so long. I’m still prevaricating - and also waiting for more of timetable/schedule from my builder and electrician and solar panel installer as to when I need this by. I also need to look down at my shoes as I admit that I am not an OVO customer at the moment (gasp) and not a Good Energy customer either. My current supplier - cheapest at the time with reasonable service recommendations - is Bulb - but I’m waiting on reply from them on this subject - and I guess no news is bad news.

Cheers

Uncle K

This is an industry-wide issue @Uncle K and therefore needs airing here regardless of which Energy Supplier each of us has.

Let’s note that we’ve heard nothing more from Good Energy’s media staff since that first announcement of a 3-phase meter installation. That makes me wonder if the software support is really yet functional to provide accurate invoices. Remember that the “customer” for the initial installation is a senior manager at Good Energy!

I’d still like @Tim_OVO to confirm that I’m correct in my assumption that OVO only accepts new Solar Panel arrays that have been installed by a MCPS-registered company because they require the ROC (Renewables Obligation Certificate) in order to recover the annual income.

This affects my technical input to the Topic. I can conjecture some interim solutions which might help in the short term whilst the metering and billing gets resolved. But those are to no avail if @Uncle K has to recall an MCPS-certified installer to site every time he wants to make a change.

I’d also like to know if the OVO customers in the Woodhall Spa are who are on the Kaluza/Sonnen Battery Storage Trial are using SMETS2 meters and OVO’s new Billing System. Or have they had to be down-graded to SMETS1 meters, as has happened to the 400-odd sites on the V2G charger Trial?

All these pieces of information are needed if sites like @Uncle K ‘s are wanting to start installing renewable micro-generation hardware without getting their fingers burnt.

Have a look at this page which outlines:

How do I sign up for Smart Export Guarantee?

Just fill out our application form here. Then, email us your:

• Proof of ID showing your full name – like a valid passport, driver’s licence, birth certificate, or firearms licence.

• Proof of ownership for your installation – it can be a paid-in-full invoice, or a letter from your installer, building contractor or solicitor that shows you’re the owner. If the system was already installed when you moved into your home, you’ll need a Land Registry document, and a Fixtures and Fittings form – all clearly showing your name and your address.

• Proof of address – like a utility bill, or a bank, building society or credit union statement from the last 3 months. You can also send us a council tax bill, an electoral register entry, or an HMRC tax statement for the current year.

• An MCS certificate or equivalent – you should get this from your installer. You’ll see the certificate number at the top of the document (it’ll look like this: MCS-01234567-A). Or, you might get a Flexi Orb certificate (the number for this will be in the middle of the doc and it’ll look like this: Flexi-01234567890).

• Distribution Network Operator (DNO) notification.

“Equivalent”, @Transparent - that indicates it’s not a prerequisite. Will you be wanting more clarity on this (he asks, knowing the answer already)?  

I’m asking this question for you as well, leave it with me :)

Back with an update on this one - Are you a single rate 3 phase OVO member interested in upgrading to a Smart meter? 

If so we’re interested to hear from you - Send a PM to myself or @Tim_OVO for more details...

Huh? Does this mean what I think it does…?

I’m unsure if @Jess_OVO can answer that @Blastoise186 although I may be doing her a disservice.

It was a year ago when we poured over this problem on the Forum.

The issue wasn’t just that OVO needed to test out a 3-phase SMETS2  Smart Meter and train engineers to install them. The much bigger problem was the software required within the Billing System to accommodate polyphase operation.

If a domestic site has 3-phases operational it’s much more likely that they are simply splitting their loads between those phases rather than driving 3-phase equipment (as occurs in industry). They are also more likely to have storage and generation equipment. Dividing the export across the phases circumvents a couple of issues regarding the G99 certification with the DNO.