OVO has let me know my meter needs replacing with a smart meter - Why?

Do I have to have a smart meter or can I have a new dial meter to replace my old one

Hi @Barcrob5 There are very few of the ‘old style’ meters left now so it may have to be a smart version

Hi BPLightlog, thanks for replying will have to look into it further 

We have received an OVO letter saying that our electricity meter is approaching the end of its certification and needs to be replaced. I have two questions: a) Is there any way of not having a Smart meter installed as a replacement? (we really don’t want one); and b) if OVO insist that only a Smart meter will be installed, will this affect, in any way, our ability to have quarterly billing - we do not want to move to Direct Debit billing? Grateful for advice.

Hi @AB2023 ,

I can answer both for you.

1. Nope, sorry! The stocks of non-smart meters have all but run out and only smart meters get fitted now
2. No, your billing cycle won’t be affected, nor will your payment method. It just means the meter itself gets swapped but everything else remains the same

Thanks. Slightly disappointing but perhaps not unexpected.

I have been informed that the certification has expired on the the electricity meter. 
 

The meter is situated currently outside my property. I have also been informed that it will be replaced with a smart meter which I  believe is not compulsory. Other companies can replace with a standard meter. How will this affect the readings if a smart meter is installed outside? When are the smets3 being installed. 
 

I do not want new installation inside due to future building works and remodelling inside property. How will this affect the collection of data? Does anyone else have an outside smart meter? 

Many smart meters are installed outside. As long as the enclosure is suitable it will be fine. 
There are no plans for a 3rd gen smart meter as far as I’m aware

Hi @Jonesac1

It is a question often asked. 

If your meter is faulty or out of certification, suppliers are under no obligation to fit a non smart meter and you can't refuse a smart meter. 

You can decline an upgrade to a smart meter if your meter is working and still certified.

My gas smart meter is outside in a meter box. OVO simply swapped my traditional meter for a smart meter in the same space.

If you post some photos of your meter and where it is, i am sure someone here can give some extra feedback.

You don't have to have the smart meter moved inside your home. 

Based on the info in this thread and what I know from around the market, there’s not really any suppliers fitting non-smart meters anymore outside of landlord sub-metering setups which are a completely different beast anyway.

Ultimately, if a meter is replaced these days, there’s a 99.9999999999999999% chance it’ll be a smart meter regardless of supplier because stocks of the older types have pretty much dried up. You can opt-out of having an upgrade, but suppliers can override if they have a legitimate reason. Ultimately, the opt-outs just turn off marketing communications about upgrading until such time that the meter has to be replaced.

My own smart meter is technically outside, albeit in an electrical cupboard with a whole bunch of other meters and random stuff accessed via an external door. It’s pretty safe and secure being in there because it’s sheltered by being in an electrical room.

As long as your meter boxes are in good order, you should be fine.

I can also confirm there’s no plans for SMETS3 anytime soon. SMETS2 is still pretty new and doing a brilliant job so there’s not really a need to replace it at the moment.

Just to add to the excellent advice you’ve had so far, I suspect that the meters for most properties are outside. It made sense when they were installed: you didn’t have to be at home when the meter reader came. The exceptions would be, for example, in a block of flats, where the meters are in a communal space like a cellar.   

Some people may be confused by users’ references to their ‘smart meter’ when in fact they’re talking about the In-House Display. The IHD is a little electronic gizmo that makes it possible to ‘read the meter’ from inside, thanks to modern wireless technology. It receives the same data from the meter as the energy supplier does, so you can monitor your usage in real time. It’s also possible for the supplier (e.g. OVO) to send messages to the IHD, although this has only happened three times in the six years since my smart meter was installed, two of them by accident. 
Smart Meters and In Home Displays - Topic Hub | The OVO Forum (ovoenergy.com)

So, yes, it’s quite normal for a smart meter to be installed outside, even though meter readers are a dying breed.  

Thank you all I very much appreciate the quick response. I feel much happier now.  Kind regards

Couple of weeks ago I received a letter saying my electric meter would soon be out of certification and needed replacement, so I went online and booked an appointment for a new smart meter. The first thing that surprised me was that it’s booked for May 1st, which is a Bank Holiday. I just chalked that up to them being keen to get smart merters into every household so it didn’t ring any alarm bells at the time.

Since then I’ve been spammed on an almost daily basis with reminders, by phone and email, asking me to confirm or cancel the appointment. I must admit, I did click to confirm when the first email came in, which I’m starting to regret now, as clicking links in emails is something I never usually do. Anyway, the texts and emails kept on coming so I just ignored them.

This mornng I received a letter through the post saying they’ve not heard back from me yet regarding the letter they sent me about getting my meter changed!

Is this just the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, or should I refuse entry to whoever turns up on Monday? I tried ringing them but they’re not open on Saturdays. I can’t find any way of contacting them via my online account, so I thought I’d try here and see if anybody from OVO is monitoring the forum at weekends.

Live Chat is open and active at https://help.ovoenergy.com/ . Try that.

Otherwise, the social media team are monitoring those accounts.

Please also show me photos of the current meter. I can tell you roughly how much service life it likely has left.

Thanks. I did manage to find the web chat, and they have confirmed the appointment date.

You probably don’t need the photo now 😀

The meter is about 20 years old. Gas meter is even older. Says 1984 on the front panel!

Yup, well past the sell-by date then. :P

The maximum service life of most meters is roughly 20 years and very few get certified for longer than that. Your gas meter is way overdue for replacement so this makes sense to me.

Oh, you’ll also be converted to a metric gas meter as part of the upgrade, so the speed of the dials won’t be the same even for the same gas usage.

I have had it confirmed that my electricity meter was certified in July 2006, according to the Office for Product Safety & Standards Schedule 4, the manufacturer and type of meter i have, (which i have had confirmed by an electrician who looked at it) has a certification period of 25 years. So this would mean it’s certified up to 2031, so why have OVO emailed to say it needs replaced soon? Here is the OPSS link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66aa06d549b9c0597fdb0846/electricity-meters-schedule-4-240730.pdf 

Mine is on there, and clearly states 25 years. Are they just getting in touch well in advance?

Hi ​@Ian Phillips ,

The stated lifespan isn’t the ONLY factor at play - it could be that too many of your model have failed In-Service Testing for example.

Please show us what you’ve got so we can advise further.

Thanks

Hey ​@Ian Phillips, 

Welcome to the community! 

You make a great point—different manufacturers do have different certification periods for their meters. However, you don’t have to wait until the end of that period to get your meter exchanged! In fact, many people choose to upgrade to a newer meter before their current one expires. I’ll share an article below with more details and helpful information.

Please let us know if you have any further questions. 

Thanks Chris_OVO 

But my point is, i DO want to wait until nearer the end of that period, we are going through a terrible family bereavement right now, and do not want to deal with this for a good while. I am worried that the other member said that there may be other factors at play because we want to go by what the Office for Product Safety & Standards says, and they do state 25 years.

Good morning ​@Ian Phillips,

Firstly, may I offer my condolences to you and your family. The communications you’ve been receiving about meter recertification are automated. Please feel free to ignore them for now until things have settled down. We’d recommend getting the meter changed when you can, but please don’t feel that you’re under pressure to get this done ASAP, especially whilst you’re going through a bereavement. We can sort this out at a later date.

Best wishes,

Ben

Thankyou Ben_OVO for your kind and thoughtful response, 

I am tempted to share the Manufacture and type of my meter on here just now, to clarify, but am reluctant to do so because although the Office for Product Safety & Standards clearly states that mine is certified for 25 years, which would be until 2031, someone on here may reply with words to the effect of, ‘ah but there are are other reasons why that’s not the case’ and we would see that as very bad news right now with everything we are going through. I can promise you though that it is 25 years on the OPSS schedule. I will follow your advice for now, thankyou. One quick thought, our meter is actually on the wall on the flat landing outside our home, they surely wouldn’t try to alter it without our consent anytime in the near future?

Whilst fully understanding your current circumstances ​@Ian Phillips , the meter certification timeline is fairly simple, given the manufacturer’s recommendation from their process.

It is true that any meter can drift in its accuracy during its time in service and therefore although it may be a little inconvenient at present, you should be mindful that a new meter would help to ensure that the usage recorded is fully accurate.

As Ben mentions, you do not have to take up the new meter suggestion immediately but it’s would be best to schedule a meter exchange in the not too distant future. I hope that you are able to focus on the family needs at present with just an eye on other things.

Thankyou BPLightog, 

I do need to state however, that the email i received from OVO does say that this is because of the Office of Product Safety & Standards recommendations.  As i said, their schedule 4 lists my meter as having a good while yet. (more than 5 years) i have since spoken to the OPSS by phone, and they have confirmed this. I will seek legal advice should need be, but for now i will leave things until a later date.