I've got smart meters, so why did Morrisons Data Services come to read my meters?

As far as I’m aware, there’s an industry requirement for reading visits every year or two. 

Brilliant, thank you for replying so quickly 

My new smart meter was installed just two weeks ago. I have now had a card through my door to say Morrison Data Services need to read it. Is this correct? 

Hi @hughie501 ,

Yup! That’s normal - it’s part of the bi-annual visit that OVO has to do, for which they use Morrison Data Services. Please respond to it using the instructions on the card when you get a chance. It’s still required even with Smart Meters.

Normal? No-one has ever to my knowledge been just to read my smart meter. An engineer came to install a smart meter in 2017, then another one to upgrade it to SMETS2 in 2023. Who says that OVO have to read it (manually) bi-annually? The only requirement I know of is that suppliers have to take “reasonable steps to obtain a meter reading (including any meter reading transmitted electronically …) … at least once every year” (SLC 21B.4). I take this to mean that if the smart meter is transmitting readings as intended, there’s no need for a visit by a meter reader.

That is for electricity meters, though. Is it different for gas meters?

I certainly get the bi-annual thing but reading it two weeks after it has been installed just seemed a bit strange. I submitted a reading anyway. 

Hi @hughie501,

It seems our forum volunteer has already given some good advice here.

Even if you’ve got a smart meter installed, we are required to carry out certain checks on your meter every 1 - 2 years. We use ‘Morrisons Data Services’ to carry out these checks so you if you’re concerned you can ask the visiting meter reader for some ID to confirm this. These checks are done at random so it may be a coincidence that it happened a couple weeks after your smart meter was fitted.