Hi @harryfleming13 ,

That depends. Please show us photos of your current meters in your next reply and I’ll be able to advise. I’ll use these to identify any reasons why you’re getting those letters and what your options - if any - are.

Please bear in mind however, you can’t totally opt-out altogether but I’ll give you the advice you need once I know what you’ve currently got.

I have sent you 3 images showing Landis and Gyr E150, solar PV system, primary Wylex fuse box, slightly more moden secondary off-peak fuse box shown as white box on the lower right.

I see. I’m afraid you can’t opt-out in this case. The meter you already have is over 10 years old and has reached the end of its service life. The only solution is to replace it - please contact OVO on 0330 303 5063. This is the most likely reason you’re getting those letters. Opt-outs can’t be set for cases where Recertification is required - they only disable the marketing while the existing meter still has time left on the clock. Your meter is at time to replace anyway, so you’ll need to talk to OVO about your options.

Additionally, you should probably consider getting that black fusebox replaced by a qualified electrician as well. Bakelite fuses are no longer recommended especially if you’ve got Solar.

I’d say get that done first and then do the meters afterwards.

The trouble is that the meter was replaced by OVO engineers  8 or 9 years ago they wired out my off-peak fuse box and I was left with no storage heaters or immersion heater for months. I had eventually to write to the then CEO who appointed an assistant called James to try and sort out the mess. I had a dual tariff induction meter coupled with a radio teleswitch and because the wylex box was only 80 amp it was fitted with a secondary 100 amp fuse box for off-peak devices. I  had to educate OVO back then about radio teleswitches and about the proper wiring of the E150 to include a separate off-peak fuse box.  I’m sure some of the customer services thought I was one of those people wearing tin foil on my head because the BBC was controlling my life.  I also see from the forum that some members are complaining that their off-peak devices don’t work after installation of a smart meter. So you will understand my reluctance to have OVO engineers operating on my system. Last time it took an old school engineer from NW energy to correctly wire my system. My current fuse box that you think should be replaced has been inspected by Fusion Electrical and is perfectly legal, safe and I have been advised that replacement with the modern equivalent would possibly require a complete house rewire as well as the fitting of a new box. I have B.Sc. in electrical engineering and an M.Phi.l in energy conservation heat pumps. I’m 78 and really dont want the hassle again.

So any other suggestions

I’ve just researched Landis and Gyr meters and find that they generally have a lifetime of 20+ years. My current meter was installed by yourselves 8 or 9 years ago so how come its beyond its sell by date ?

20 years is the absolute limit, but they are replaced every 10 years to maintain accuracy and refresh the hardware.

If you’re on RTS right now, then you definitely can’t stay on that for much longer. RTS Services are closing down anyway within the next year or two, so you’d have to swap the meter or risk potentially not having properly working heating/hot water.

I understand that RTS is closing down, the BBC have run out of the power diodes they use to power it.

You can see quite clearly the RTS was removed when the induction meter was replaced with the Landis and Gyr E150 which has its own internal clock. I no longer have an immersion heater having gas central heating and hot water. I have 2 legacy storage heaters in rooms that don't have radiators but I could manage without those or replace them with Central heating radiators at 25% the cost of the improvements you have suggested.

A word of caution: the sticker on the meter suggests that it’s set up for Economy 10. SSC 0935 is an E10 settlement configuration, with Rate 1 recording offpeak usage and Rate 2 peak usage according to the timings shown.

This is precisely the sort of arrangement we’ve seen so many customers having endless trouble with, because it’s apparently not simple to install a smart meter and replicate this configuration. If I were Harry, I’d hold off until OVO have worked out how to exchange the meter successfully. 

This thread makes depressing reading: Are Economy 10 tariffs available yet? | The OVO Forum (ovoenergy.com)

Sorry about this, but I have to do something real quick.

@tester101 your account has come onto my radar as an abuser. I must remind you that if you’re here in relation to any OVO related bug bounty programs, THE OVO FORUM IS EXPLICITLY OUT OF SCOPE. You will NOT gain any rewards, bounties or credits as a result of any findings you try to submit that relate to this forum.

You must cease immediately. Failure to do so may result in your expulsion from said programs and a permanent ban on re-joining.

Additionally, the terms of service laid down by Gainsight are clear. You MUST talk to them first and gain their permission prior to doing security testing against their platform. Please contact Gainsight Support if you wish to request this. Other than myself and a very, very small group of others, that permission is not granted lightly - and certainly not to test against a live forum.

This forum is additionally protected by Forum Volunteers and Forum Moderators. We will not hesitate to take action against those who ignore this warning.

Normal service will resume from the next comment.

Yes indeed last time OVO messed up my wiring I was compensated for trouble and loss by the Economy 10 meter, I only had to research and communicate to OVO the correct wiring of L & G meters to sort out the last problem.

I really don’t want to have to dig into the details  and  regulations governing electricity meters and supply issues. I would much rather be able to trust to the organisations dealing with such things. I guess it’s the downside of spending 20 + years as a research scientist, just won’t allow me to let go of some things. So I have written to OPSS to find out what the certification period of the meter installed by OVO on 03/05/2016 is. Apparently it could be anything between 10 and 30 years depending on the assessment of OPSS. Also my researches thus far have given me pause to mistrust OVO even more, in that I have discovered that what I thought was a new meter at the time was actually 2nd hand and almost 3 years into its certification. I should have realised by the readings (which I have kept quarterly since 1998) but as I said I would rather not have to bother delving and digging. I will discover what I need to know, to get to the bottom of todays problems but it would be so much easier if OVO would just contact me and tell me straight what’s going on,

Many thanks for the comments. Last time OVO messed up my system I only had to research the connection protocols and tell OVO how the meter they had installed should be connected. I was given economy 10 as compensation for my trouble and costs for the months of misconnection. I really don’t want to have to dig into the details and regulations governing electricity meters and supply issues. I would much rather be able to trust to the organisations dealing with such things. I guess it’s  the downside of spending 20 + years as a research scientist it just won’t allow me to let go of some things. So I have written to OPSS to find out what the certification period of the meter installed by OVO on 03/05/2016 is. Apparently it could be anything between 10 and 30 years depending on the assessment of OPSS of the qualities of the meter. Also my researches thus far have given me pause to mistrust OVO even more, in that I have discovered that what I thought was a new meter at the time was actually 2nd hand and almost 3 years into its certification. I should have realised by the start readings (which I have kept quarterly since 1998) but as I said I would rather not have to bother delving and digging. Talk about making work for yourself, if the certification is short OVO just make more work for themselves. I will discover what I need to know, to get to the bottom of the current problems but it would be so much easier if OVO would just contact me and tell me straight what’s going on.

  I really don’t want to have to dig into the details and regulations governing electricity meters and supply issues. I would much rather be able to trust to the organisations dealing with such things. I guess it’s  the downside of spending 20 + years as a research scientist it just won’t allow me to let go of some things. So I have written to OPSS to find out what the certification period of the meter installed by OVO on 03/05/2016 is. Apparently it could be anything between 10 and 30 years depending on the assessment of OPSS of the qualities of the meter. Also my researches thus far have given me pause to mistrust OVO even more, in that I have discovered that what I thought was a new meter at the time was actually 2nd hand and almost 3 years into its certification. I should have realised by the start readings (which I have kept quarterly since 1998) but as I said I would rather not have to bother delving and digging. Talk about making work for yourself, if the certification is short OVO just make more work for themselves. I will discover what I need to know, to get to the bottom of the current problems but it would be so much easier if OVO would just contact me and tell me straight what’s going on.

Back on again.

Reading the regs, depending on the certification status of my current meter. I may not be able to refuse a new meter but I can require a dumb meter and provide my own readings. I’m on the priority service register so I could get my readings done for me.

Last time OVO messed up my system, I only had to research the connection protocols and tell OVO how the meter they had installed should be connected to include my off-peak fuse box. I was given economy 10 as compensation for my trouble and costs for the months of misconnection. I really don’t want to have to dig into the details and regulations governing electricity meters and supply issues. I would much rather be able to trust to the organisations dealing with such things. I guess it’s  the downside of spending 20 + years as a research scientist, it just won’t allow me to let go of some things until I understand. So, I have written to OPSS to find out what the certification period of the meter installed by OVO on 03/05/2016 is. Apparently it could be anything between 10 and 30 years depending on the assessment by OPSS of the qualities of the meter. Also my researches thus far have given me pause to mistrust OVO again, in that I have discovered that what I thought was a new meter at the time was actually 2nd hand and almost 3 years into its certification. I should have realised by the start readings (which I have kept quarterly since 1998) but as I said I would rather not have to bother delving and digging. Talk about making work for yourself, if the certification is short OVO just make more work for themselves, having to change the meters more often. Meters with a longer certification would need less replacement. I will discover what I need to know, to get to the bottom of the current smart meter issues but it would be so much easier if OVO would just contact me have a conversation and tell me straight what’s going on.

Then how come my last posts are not being published, has the moderater got a problem  with something I said, my attempts either just disappear with a something went wrong (I've taken to writing on word to copy and paste so I don't lose everything). Or your post has been received and will be published after the moderater has accepted it. But nothing posted so far.

Hey @harryfleming13 

I’m really sorry about some of your posts not showing up.

This is not something we’ve done manually, they were picked up by our AutoSpam filter. We’re experiencing some technical difficulties on our end removing these from the filter at the moment, but we hope to have this fixed soon and we can release those posts. 

Go on, I’ll give it a shot in the hope I won't get another ‘ Your post has been submitted. It will be published after a review by our moderators’.

I thank Firedog for his advice and I have been reading of the complexity of smart meters. Seems if I want to understand the new meters I’m going to have to learn JSON and possibly JAVA. Oh dear, I’ve learned and forgotten more computer languages and protocols than I care to remember. My first computer was called DEUCE, a 1K valve machine housed in a large air-conditioned room located at Warton Aerodrome, and it was programmed with hand switches in machine code. Was I dumb to be involved in the first telephone connection from Atlas in Cambridge to an ICL 1904S in Manchester, what did I help into being?

So much simpler when the little aluminium disc spun around clocking up your units and the man from NORWEB came to read your meter every quarter. Never had a problem with wiring or billing or bad JSON files, it all just seem to work. Where did we go wrong ? Weren’t computers supposed to make life simpler?

From what I’ve been reading, OVO does seem to be in a pickle with some of the SMET2 devices particularly in relation to econ 10 setups. Still, it seems that several Forum members are on it, perhaps i’ll leave it to them to battle with OVO, I’m getting too old for this. Tell you what though, I will be sure to watch any fitter who comes to mess with my meter, very very closely and you can bet I’ll be recording any JSON files necessary.

at the third try

JavaScript Object Notation is not a language, it’s literally just a form of non-executable text file - just like CSV and XML are non-executable text files. It has nothing to do with Java either - and neither does JavaScript. The only similarities are the names, that’s about it.

Also, JSON isn’t used to configure Smart Meters - SMETS Commands do that. There’s no JSON files for you to see nor record as the configuration “messages” are sent down via the wireless link rather than via the engineer. There’s nothing for you to grab nor capture for yourself.

One thing you did fail to suggest is that I can opt for the smarts to be taken out of any new installation I may be compelled to have and opt for a dumb meter, As a priority service customer I can opt to get my readings done on a schedule so not really a problem. So I won’t be getting any downloads of any sort anytime soon

I did not think that the fitter or engineer ( fitter is probably appropriate) would program the meter, I would watch carefully to make sure it was properly connected unlike last time,

As some posts are missing, I need to say that my current meter was installed by OVO on 03/05/2016 and I failed to notice at the time it was 2nd hand and the certification was almost 3 years down at the time of installation. I’ve emailed OPSS to find out the certification period for my meter, which can be anything from 10 to 30 years depending on the quality of the meter.

It appears these devices are Zigbee based devices probably programmed in a C varient.

Seems the CAD on the SMETS (consumer access devices) provide data on what the meter is doing in .JSON format which allows users to see what the meter is up if they want to and possibly an insight into tariffs, times and costs.

I did not think that the fitter or engineer ( fitter is probably more appropriate) would program the meter, I would watch carefully to make sure it was properly connected unlike last time,

As some of my posts are missing, I need to say that my current meter was installed by OVO on 03/05/2016.  I failed to notice at the time it was 2nd hand and the certification was almost 3 years down at the time of installation. Maybe it had been recerified after being refurbished I dunno. I’ve emailed OPSS to find out the certification period for my meter, which can be apparently anything from 10 to 30 years depending on the quality of the meter.

I think I have an answer to all the issues I’ve been trying to get resolved that is ‘not getting bills’

‘not getting a reply from any OVO customer access’, ‘increasing pressure to book a smart meter’.

My meter certification has run out ! and it was staring me in the face. The meter was installed by OVO on 03/05/2016. but I didn’t realise at the time that it was 2nd hand and only had about 7 years certification left. It was certified on 11/2013. My bills stopped from 11/2023 consistent with the certification running out.

What I don’t understand is why OVO don’t fess up and talk to me to resolve the issue.

I have been advised from the forum that my system has run into smart meter problems but I’m a reasonable chap and would be prepared to help OVO to resolve my issues.

I’ve asked Forum_Support to reach out via private message @harryfleming13 

As of November 2025 they still can’t do it right,I have just had a E150 reinstalled after four months and two failed smart meter installs,then today my app tells me my meter will die in June and book a smart meter install,you couldn’t make this tosh up.