Issues getting a replacement THTC Meter in Scottish Highlands

Hello Firedog,

Thank you again for responding. 

I don't seem to have a clue what's going on. 

I have rechecked the Ferranti meter and the wheel on this definitely goes round at speed when the kettle is switched on. 

I have taken photos of each screen on the Horstmann meter as I scroll through, which I will share with you. Unless I'm mistaken, I can't see a second register for this meter.

The area is Applecross. We don't have a TV signal via aerial, only by satellite. 

Once again, thank you for your help. 

Thanks for those images. I can’t make much sense of them other than:

TOTAL 151921 (the total no. of kWh passing through the meter since it was installed in 2008)
270325 (the date)
10:53:00 (the time - was that accurate?)

I don’t know what the screen F 01495 means. The other two - grp 28 and brd 14 - look like RTS details of the group of properties your house belongs to. Different groups, and even different properties, may have different switching times pushed to them so that the electricity network is never overloaded.

I’ve asked a contact for help, so we may learn more if and when he gets back to me.
 

Thank you

I’ve updated the two tables with the rates and times for April - June 2025. As before, click on a table to see a clearer view:
  

I’m trying to get a smart meter installed before the RTS switchoff but I keep being told there’s a problem.

I’ve been told the problems with connectivity were resolved in Feb 2025 but was told they couldn’t proceed with an install.

More recently I’ve been told they could only book slots about a week or fortnight in advance.

Just now I’ve been told “We can’t install a smart meter yet” when I try to book online.

Am I alone?

I just want our storage heaters to keep working after June.

SteveM

It’s there in the title but for clarity I’m trying to get a smart meter installed on Orkney.

Hey ​@BeardySteve 

Sorry for the issues you’re having, 

For an RTS meter replacement, you’re best off contacting our support team to book this in, as you may encouter issues doing so online. 

Check out our dedicated RTS FAQs page for more information:
 

If you’re on the Economy 7 tariff

The Economy 7 tariff offers cheaper off-peak electricity overnight, and costs more during the day. Call us on 0330 102 8819 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. 

If you're on a different tariff to Economy 7 

If you're on any other tariff, like Total Heat Total Control (THTC) or Economy 10, please call us on 0330 102 8594 to book a meter replacement. We're here Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
 

Please keep us posted with how you get on.

We are in a load-managed area (MPAN17) with a two meter THTC setup, so we have waited patiently until OVO told us they could replace our meters.  We have reached that happy time, but I am concerned that the physical arrangement of our supply is going to cause problems.

We have an external cupboard containing the two meters, fuse and isolation switch on the west wall of our granite cottage.  The RTS unit and two consumer units are inside, mounted just above head-height on the east wall.  Said walls are nearly a metre thick but the RTS clunks away quite happily.

We have phoned OVO and were expecting a callback from an engineer.  When that didn’t happen the second adviser we spoke to said we needed to contact the DNO and have the meters moved.  That really sounds wrong, so can anyone suggest how a smart meter install will work for us?  Pictures should be attached.  Apologies for the spiders webs.

Hi ​@miss_foxtotum ,

I found a related thread you might want to check out:

**edited by moderator**

If I find more on this, I’ll let you know. Please bear with me as this might take a while.

Thanks for understanding

Hi. 
 

Has anyone got any updates on a Pay as you go Flex rate  Multi-rate/ Multi-Meter smart meter as I’ve been trying since January and keep getting told that there is no suitable smart meter that will work with the tariff/ rates that I’m on

Hi ​@AL5998 ,

AFAIK they should exist, but please show us your current meters so we can get a slightly better idea of what you’ve got now.

Please also tell us what tariff you’re currently on.

First picture is the meter and the second is the tariff 

You are probably running on Economy 7. I’ll need to see a wider shot that shows what’s near the meter to figure out whether you’re running on RTS or not.

It is an RTS meter and I’ve had one of the smart meter installers that has moved up to Shetland say that they don’t have a meter that is able to be the same as what this one is and even the OVO public meaning in March up here in Shetland I was told they don’t have anything suitable/compatible and whenever I’ve tried to phone about it I keep getting told that they have to pass my information to another team and they’ll be in touch as they don’t have a smart meter working for the rate I’m on.   

The heating supply comes on and off through the the day unlike a neighbour whose comes on at 00:00GMT and off at 08:00GMT

I see… Hmm...

​@Lukepeniket_OVO when you’ve got a sec, could I borrow your thoughts on this?

Had an appointment booked but the engineer phoned to say that he wasn’t able to do the installation due to the tariff/ meter type and haven’t heard back from the installation team even though I’ve tried to call them every few weeks and keep getting told they have to pass on my detail to another team

I strongly suspect that you will need to change your tarrif to one similar to your neighbour.

There may be the possibility of an afternoon off-peak/cheaper-rate period as well as the overnight one.

The old tariffs like you have currently are no longer offered - because the equipment needed to run them is becoming (has become) obsolete, as you already know.
(Thats why it all needs to be changed to new meters and new tariffs).

I think that you should resign yourself that whatever can be fitted for you it will not be the same tariff and same hours as you have currently.
You are not alone in that, many people in situations like yours are having to get used to new heating timings.

Blastoise186 has already given our expert field engineer on meter installs a shout, so let’s see if Luke comes by with anything.

The situation with what equipment is available to replace the old RTS meters is developing constantly.
(You will have seen that with the new type communications hubs now being available and fitted in Shetland).

But there is not so much that can change with the currently available tariffs I’m afraid.

Hey all,

Ive DM’d for an account number and i will get back to your ASAP =]

Hey ​@miss_foxtotum ,

Firstly, please accept our apologies for the delayed response. Research of this type sometimes takes longer than we’d like and we got buried in other threads which slowed things down further. RTS stuff is a hot topic at the moment and we’re doing our best to keep up, but it seems your question slipped the net.

I’ve spoken to your DNO, SSEN, to get advice on this one and grab their take on the situation. Based on that, they’ve recommended you move the equipment so that everything is on the same wall, thus unlocking a smoother Smart Meter upgrade. They’ve recommended you book both jobs for the same date as you’ll be temporarily off-supply until everything is completed. Their advice is to have SSEN engineers do the equipment move in the morning and OVO engineers to do the meter move/upgrade in the afternoon. This is a chargeable service but SSEN will give you a no-obligation quote first.

I’ll send you their contact info shortly as they prefer not having it posted publicly.

Thank you to blastoise186 for the response.  I have the contact information for SSEN and will see what they say.

It’s not at all clear what SSEN are suggesting here. It sounds as if they’re offering to move - at a cost - the RTS to where the meter is, just before the OVO engineer comes along to take it away. I hope they manage to clarify their idea for you.

With 1m thick granite walls, it will make an enormous difference which wall! The RTS is happily picking up the 198 kHz signal, which can travel halfway round the globe from Droitwich. The smart meter will have to pick up a much weaker 423 MHz signal from a different transmitter, so it would make sense to arrange for the meter box to be on the outside of the wall closest to that transmitter. The smart meter Wide Area Network (WAN) antennae are usually on major Arqiva TV masts, so you may be able to have a guess at where your closest one is by checking this map: Full service Freeview transmitters

You are not the first to have this pesky arrangement where the RTS and the meters are in different parts of the building. OVO have said that they’re working on a solution, but it’s possible that it won’t be ready before 30 June. They will be banking on having a working solution before the onset of winter, allegedly 1 October. I’ve not seen any explanation of the basic difficulty with this sort of arrangement, but there must be one since installations keep being aborted because of it. 

I have contacted SSEN and await their reply.  There isn’t really space in either location to fit extra equipment, so this could be interesting.

​@Firedog , I really hope that they don’t want the meter on the outside nearest the Durris transmitter, because that would be the east wall.  I’ve been presuming it would go outside on the west wall, but that puts both walls between the meter and the Durris transmitter which is south-east of the cottage.