My home is un-occupied - Would a smart meter be a smart choice for me?

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.

@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.