Hi @hydroskye ,

Based on what you’ve said, it’d probably make sense to get one. That would allow the meter to be read automatically without you or anyone else being there and it doesn’t forget to do so easily.

There is no fee to do this - OVO covers the cost on your behalf.

Hey @hydroskye 

Like Blastoise186 has mentioned above, getting a smart meter might be a very good idea in your situation, as it means it can send your meter readings without you even being there - so the bills will always be accurate. 

I would like to note that someone over the age of 18 must be present at the property at the time of the job.

You can book a meter replacement on your online account, check out this handy topic on how to do this below, as well as the dedicated webpage:

If there is an issue trying to do this online, you can contact the Support Team who’ll be able to book this for you.

@hydroskye

Have OVO given a breakdown of why they want to increase the cost? 

£92 doesn't sound like a monthly standing charge anywhere in the UK.

Have they including some estimated usage in that?

Have a look on this page on the website not the app.

https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan

What does the Future Annual Consumption say?

This is what ovo estimate is your annual usage 

Thank you kindly for the responses, Blastois186. Abby_OVO and Jeffus to my quests about my standing chages and getting a smart meter.

Our family has paid electricity charges since around 1950 and we heave never defaulted on a bill. The problem I seem to have is because I am abroad most of the time and the present meter is inside the vacant house so I am dependent upon a friend to try and read it and let OVO know the usage.

I am  not at all clear how the jump from a standing charge of £29 month to £92 was arrived at. Maybe OVO looked at my consumption when I was last over a few summers ago…

Thank you all for the advice. I will see about getting a smart meter installed, and if I move back to Skye permanently will examine the possibilities of generating my own electricity; there is a waterfall, a good head and volume of water on my croft!

James   (hydroskye?)

It’s an awkward situation you’re in, and I feel for you.

There may be a bit of confusion about your large ‘standing charge’. I think you’re using it to refer to the regular amount OVO are making you pay each month, I presume automatically from a UK bank account. This is the normal way of paying for electricity over here. To us, the ‘standing charge’ refers to the amount every customer has to pay each day for the privilege of having an energy supply. It goes i.a. to cover the costs of installing and maintaining of the infrastructure needed to deliver electricity to the customer, and on Skye it’s currently about £0.60 a day. You have to pay this regardless of whether you actually use any energy, which is charged separately at a specific rate per kWh. 

The monthly payment is worked out by estimating what your electricity will cost over the next year and dividing the result by 12. It’s a bit hit-and-miss, and in some cases wildly wrong. That’s why regular meter readings are vital, because that’s what they use to arrive at their estimate and to generate your (monthly) bills, so it all comes out in the wash eventually.

Getting a smart meter would make all this much simpler; whether it’s possible at a remote croft on Skye is another question altogether. This is typically the sort of property that’s just too far from civilization for a smart meter to transmit its data automatically. The only way to find out is to ask for one to be installed; the engineer who does it will be able to find out. If it can’t transmit, you’re in the same position as before having to read the meter each month and submit the reading, e.g. over the Internet.

You really need to talk to OVO support (a) to get your energy account set up and (b) request a smart meter exchange. To do this, you’ll need always to use the same email address and to be able to convince the support staff that you’re the one responsible for paying the bills. Webchat is available (only during UK office hours), so that may be your easiest contact method. Your phone provider may not allow calls to their number, but some overseas customers have worked around this by using VOIP (e.g. Skype).

Don’t expect speedy action on the meter exchange: there just aren’t enough trained engineers to go around. Best of luck 

To FIREDOG:

Very many thanks for your very full and helpful explanation re my ‘standing charges’ and smart meter installation. In the old days, things were simpler - meters were outside the house and regularly read by a meter reader!

I will take your advice with the understanding that a smart meter might not be able to function on my island home.

Thank you again.

James.

Already had some helpful advice here given by our community members @hydroskye! Sounds like getting a smart meter will be really helpful in your situation, it means you’ll be able to lower the direct debit as you’ll be billed accurately from meter readings from the smart meter. So when the property is vacant and there is no usage. Your bills will reflect this. Currently it sounds like your bills are largely estimated.

Also, you could pay on demand instead of by direct debit. Which means you can pay for the amount you use each month. It’s worth thinking about whether this payment method might be more suitable for you. 

Pop back anytime, our Online Community are always willing to help 

Thank you kindly Emmanuelle for your help and advice.

Right now I am still having a problem communicating with Ovo re getting a smart meter installed. The say my email address doesn’t match my Ovo account! Well, it wouldn’t, because there has never been a computer in the Skye cottage, and the telephone there has been disconnected for years. (Contributing to the problem is the fact I could do with a standing meter in the property which is in Scotland, while I spent the majority of my time in Canada).

Ovo seems to be suggesting that I set up a on-line account with them, but as an OAP with very limited computer skills, setting up such an account is beyond my capabilities!

I have no idea how I prove my identity etc. to Ovo. We live in an odd age where communications are not a patch on the way they were decades ago long before digital communication.

Thanks again.

James.

Hi @hydroskye 

As you are an OAP one option may possibly be simply ask OVO to read your meter.

Is the meter accessible, or would your neighbour need to be there? If your neighbour needs to be there it wouldn't help.

You would need to sign up for the Priority Service Register 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/priority-services-register

https://www.ovoenergy.com/register-for-priority-services

Hello Jeffus:

Very many thanks for the input re my getting a smart meter installed in my Skye cottage while I’m in Canada. Ovo says my email adress doesn’t match my account, but I’m not sure what address thy have. There never was a computer in the cottage, so it could be that Ovo has an old Canadian email address of mine.

Yes, the cottage is vacant and locked up. With the present meter inside the house, my kind neighbour would have to be there to let the Ovo meter reader into the property. (Not easy to arrange...)

I can understand Ovo needing to be sure of my identity, and I have just emailed them suggesting they could contact the local police station on Skye. (I hasten to add I am “Mr.Clean” but the bobbies know who’s who locally!)

‘Priority Service’ might be a good idea, but I can’t see that happening until I Ovo establishes my identity etc.

Thanks again.

James.

It sounds like you need a bit of help here. I wonder if Forum Support could lend a hand with getting your account set up - that seems to be the first step. Any idea, @Abby_OVO or @Emmanuelle_OVO ?

(Alternatively, I could house-sit for you while you’re away )

Hello Firedog:(Hope I have the correct source). Forum Suppport menbers are being most helpful. I have again emailed Ovo trying to help them ‘identify’ me and link my current email address to my Ovo account.

Babysitting the old cottage might tend to unhinge your mind; isolation and the ghostly bangings etc. in the cottage

can take their toll!

Yes, there are some helpful people around  There is however an extra level of forum support that only the moderators have access to; the ones who hide behind this designation can work wonders when things aren’t working properly through the official channels. Let’s see what happens when the mods turn up tomorrow morning   

Hey @hydroskye,

I’ll get Forum_Support to reach out. Please keep an eye on your private messages 

Hello ABBY:

Many thanks for the suggestions. I have emailed what I believe is the OVO support address (hello@ovoenergy.com), but they are not responding. As they seem to have a problem because they can’t relate my email details to my electricity account, I am offering to send them a copy of my passport and have aso suggested the local police (in Portree, Skye) should would be able to confirm my identity and the fact that the property is mine etc.

It’s possible OVO has a record of some previous email address of mine.

With thanks,

James Sleigh.

Hey @hydroskye 

Sorry to hear this.

I’ll get Forum_Support to check in on this for you and try to get this pushed along for you.

Feb.7th 2024. Toronto.

Hello Abby (and my other helpful Forum correspondents).

Well, things are moving! (See attached lines from Ovo).

I have already emailed my kindly neighbour on Skye to see if he will be free and willing to let the meter installer into the cottage on Feb. 15th. Fingers crossed.

But I still have’t got a clue how I go about setting up an on-line account with Ovo.

Thanks again to Abby and the other helpful and patient

Forum members! I am very grateful.

The customer care expert wrote:-

………………………………………………..

“This is one of the customer care experts here at OVO Energy. 

Thank you for providing your details, and we can use them to access your account. Here’s what I did:

• I already updated your email address: fionlaigh@****** as your login email for you to access your account anytime and anywhere.
• You might receive an email verification to confirm your personal details, and you need to set up a password for you to log in to your online account.
• I also booked the earliest appointment date for smart meter installation on 15th of February 2024 between 8am to 12noon.
• No worries, no don’t need to be present on the day of the installation but make sure there is someone at the age of 18 years old who can assist our engineer.
• You can still change your appointment date and don't hesitate to get in touch with us to reschedule it.
• I sent the confirmation of the appointment to your email.”
• ………………………………………...

That’s really good news. Forum_Support work in mysterious ways their wonders to perform.

Just in case you didn’t mention it, please be sure to ask your neighbour to make a careful note (preferably with a photo) of the meter readings on the old meter before it’s removed and on the new one if it’s not brand new and reading 00000. The installing engineer is supposed to do this and leave a note stuck on or nearby the meter, but you can’t be too sure. That should eliminate any unpleasantness over reading disputes.

You then have to decide whether to switch to a more favourable tariff. Since it’s the standing charge (SC) that’s probably going to be the bigger part of your bills, it might make sense to pick the one with the lowest SC. That looks currently to be the one that’s fixed for one year*; we have no idea how SCs might change over the next year, but one reputable forecaster is predicting an increase from 1 April next which would put you on a charge of about 65p/day -  £230 a year. The fixed-rate SC is today at about 59p/day, so over the year that would represent a saving of £20 a year, enough to buy 70 units of electricity next time you visit. 
  

*  This is what I found:

aOur prices | OVO Energy]

Hey @hydroskye 

Glad to hear the Support Team have got things moving along for you now, especially getting the email updated. 

If they’ve corrected the email address on the account, you should be able to sign up here.

Keep us updated with how you get on or if you’ve got any further issues setting up the online account.

Canada, Feb. 18th 2023.

Hello James @hydroskye, so sorry to hear of your travails with the smart meter…when they work, they’re a great idea! Interesting that the installation engineer was wandering about near your Skye home on three other jobs, presumably they couldn’t all be without a suitable signal? But, as you say, meter location behind stone walls might indeed have a bearing.

His notice about the state of the wiring might be purely advisory about recommendations, or it could be asking for essential safety action by your own electrician or possibly by the District Network Operator (“DNO”) who provide the electricity infrastructure on Skye (which I believe used to be North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board, but now Scottish and Southern Electricity Network) before any other engineers can proceed with meter work at your house.  If your kindly neighbour could once more step into the breach and let you know what the notice says, then you can make plans.  
 

In more general smart meter terms, though, my understanding is that OVO do carry out some checks on the signal in any given area of the Country and wouldn’t expect an appointment to be booked where there’s not currently Wide-Area-Network (WAN) coverage…and general coverage there must be with that installation engineer fleeing up and down all morning past your house! But of course there’s no guarantee that a particular location within a particular house will enable the smart meter to communicate.

Sometimes (but only sometimes) an aerial can be installed to boost the signal and ensure readings can be received from your meter, and it may be possible for you to reschedule another engineer visit when you are next on the island to actually discuss the particular requirements of your home? It’s a shame that the meter wasn’t installed, because even with poor communication that wouldn’t have prevented the meter being read in the same way that your existing meter is read. The engineer must have really been convinced about the poor signal, because, normally, removing a smart meter completely wouldn’t be recommended as the signal in your area could improve, for example, or the meter could be relocated, at which point it would hopefully re-gain its “smartness”.
 

In the meantime, regardless of those difficulties you're experiencing, hopefully now that your online account is up and running and accessible by you, you can keep a sharp eye on your usage figures, and with the help of your kind neighbour’s good offices keep things under observation until you return next time. The OVO customer services team will be helpful with any query I am sure, now that everyone is happy about who you are! Were I you, though, I would ask your neighbour to relay to you the contents of that notice the engineer left, as that will be a useful first step in making future plans.  I do like the sound of your possibly considering hydro on the croft, challenging as well as exciting, like wind power, but more so; we all wish you the very best of luck with all your endeavours in this matter, please do stay in touch on the forum and let us know what transpires. 
 

And I know it’s been mentioned above, the difference between standing charge (a kind of daily connection fee, if you like, to have electricity laid onto your property from the National Grid) and the actual charges for your electricity usage or consumption. I’m guessing, as has been mentioned above, that these two things have been conflated when OVO have mentioned that huge monthly jump from £30-odd to £90-odd. 
 

All the very best….

Hello Waltyboy,

Many thanks for your comprehensive comments and suggestions.

My cottage walls are around 3’6” thick. But to me it’s odd that radio signals, for example, seem to get through them O.K.

I’m  not quite clear what the engineer’s note says about my wiring. (My neighbour emailed me a copy). The form is sideways on my computer screen… The note seems to be advisory. The wiring, like the old cottage, is idiosyncratic, but both function well!

OVO has been in touch with me since the installer’s visit, and they seem to think I have filed a complaint.

My problem with the exiting meter remains; how the heck do I read the meter and submit readings each month when I’m abroad? 

In many ways, we have advanced, technically speaking - I am grateful for my pacemaker(!) but we can’t read a meter inside an old house, and can’t cure the common cold!

Thank you again, Waltyboy, and thanks, too, to the most helpful Forum!

Aye.

James Sleigh.

Hello again, James

I’m sorry to hear that the smart meter installation failed. I mentioned earlier that the only way to find out whether a smart meter could communicate from an obscure location was to ask for one and see how the engineer got on. In Scotland, there’s currently no way of ‘boosting the signal’ by means of an external aerial - the wide-area network (WAN) for smart meters ‘up there’ operates over long-range radio rather than a cellular network like that used for mobile phones. 

Like Walt, I’m surprised that the engineer didn’t just leave the new meter in place - it wouldn’t be any dumber than the one you already have, even though you’d still have to impose on your long-suffering neighbour to take regular readings.

I also wonder just why the LR radio signal isn’t getting through. It might be possible to relocate the meter so there aren’t any stone walls or other obstacles in its way, perhaps to an outside box. This wouldn’t be free, and it would probably involve SSEN (formerly Scottish Hydro) as the electricity distributor if it meant extending the supply cable. You’d have to compare the cost to the inconvenience to your neighbour. OVO as the supplier would also have to be involved: Our energy charges and fees | OVO Energy 

The engineer is bound by his licence to inform the owner of anything he notices which isn’t in accordance with current regulations. This could be something as simple as having the wrong colour cables - red and black instead of blue and brown, for example. It should be clear from his notice whether whatever he found should be remedied as soon as possible or just when you can get round to it, or perhaps not at all, so long as you’re aware of it. He wouldn’t have reconnected the meter if there were any danger. You might even consider having an EICR prepared.

Good luck!