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npirritano
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November 29, 2023
Solved

OVO Smart Meter fitted- Off-peak circuit always OFF?

  • November 29, 2023
  • 153 replies
  • 5801 views

Hello,

I'm an ex-SSE customer that was migrated to OVO in June 2023.
I had a new smart meter fitted on the 16th of December 2022 by SSE and since then I had an issues with the Economy 7 tariff.

Initially, all appliances connected to the off-peak rate circuit (port 5) were always ON instead of turning on and off during rate changes.

After contacting SSE support and later on OVO support multiple times, on the 17th of July 2023, OVO sent an engineer that supposedly fixed our issue but instead it changed to the opposite way:
All appliances connected to the off-peak rate circuit (port 5) are now always OFF during both peak and off-peak hours.

Our heating system consists of storage heaters which are all connected to this off-peak circuit so we are now effectively without heating.

We contacted the OVO support multiple times about this issue with no luck.
They sent multiple emergency and non-emergency engineers and none of them was able to fix our issue beside worsening it on the 17th of July.

By going through other posts on this forum, I came to the conclusion that our problem is probably due to a misconfiguration of our smart meter that could be fixed remotely by OVO, specifically the ECAUL and ALCS config via SMETS commands.

I tried to mention this possible fix and those commands multiple times during phone calls and chats with support but they don't seem to understand what I'm talking about or flat out ignore it.

 

Both yesterday and today they sent an emergency engineer that as aforementioned were unable to do anything about it and told us to ask for an OVO engineer.
I tried this but the earliest would be the 29th of January which is ridiculous as we would be without heating for 2 more months during winter.

I’m not sure what to do at this point. I also raised formal complaint through the webchat but that seems not to do anything.

 

The smart meter that we got fitted.

 

Best answer by Emmanuelle_OVO

Updated on 03/04/25 by Ben_OVO:

Hey @insoctek,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having, 

 

It might be worth speaking to the support team via webchat and sending them this topic. It is something we’ve seen on the Forum several times but might not be something agents are aware of.

 

They need to ask smart support team to send the ECAUL command to update the ALCS configuration.

 

Hope this helps. 

153 replies

Show previous replies
Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
February 23, 2024

Issue identified - this one’s a piece of cake. Long story short, EDF has failed to install and commission your Site properly. You will NEVER experience any benefits of Smart Meters with it currently in that state - the meter isn’t even paired to the Comms Hub!

Seems like it’s not getting WAN either… Hmm…

Could you run this through https://homebrew.n3rgy.com and tell us if you get any warnings or errors please? Make sure to hide any personal info including the MPAN/MPRN before showing us anything please!

Other than that, your Site needs to be re-commissioned. Only then can the meter configs be actually set up properly.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
    Firedog
    Super User
    FiredogSuper User
    Super User
    February 23, 2024

    Thanks, that’s helpful. 

    For a start, there is a dedicated feed for the offpeak equipment: the one closest to the camera, labelled L o/p - which I assume means Line offpeak. There is a software-controlled switch called ALCS inside the meter to energize this feed, and this is clearly not working.

    The display panel is interesting: it looks as if the meter is waiting for an instruction, which I guess would happen on pressing and holding the right-hand button. Has the display shown this for long?

    There is also a little switch indicator which appears to be open, but worryingly it’s labelled with a little ı , which I would expect to be for the 24-hour feed (marked L 24 HR). Since you clearly have power to everything other than the offpeak stuff, I’d not worry about that just yet. The switch for the currently non-operative offpeak feed would normally be labelled ıı . 

    In any case, you should contact EDF tech support and ask them to send the ECAUL request to configure the ALCS. That’s what should cause the offpeak equipment to switch on and off at times to match the tariff you’re on. 

    Let us know what they say.

    Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
      H
      Newcomer
      hayvoe
      Newcomer
      February 23, 2024

      Thank you for your help. The meter was actually commissioned after I took the photo so the IHD now shows usage, The only thing that does not work is the Off Peak. I have mentioned ECAUL and ALCS to them already but I don’t think they took me seriously. The guy from EDF tried to send a message to the meter today but failed. The WAN and HAN lights are both flashing green.

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      February 24, 2024

      From what we know, pushing out the ECAUL/ALCS Configs are exactly what’s needed here. We’ve seen this problem before and it gets fixed over 99% of the time by that solution.

      Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
        H
        Newcomer
        hayvoe
        Newcomer
        February 24, 2024

        Thank you again, I will pursue that angle. My worry is that the signal beside us is not strong enough for the instruction to be sent to the meter. The HAN and WAN lights flash green, should they be continuously green?

        BPLightlog
        Super User
        BPLightlogSuper User
        Super User
        February 24, 2024

        Thank you again, I will pursue that angle. My worry is that the signal beside us is not strong enough for the instruction to be sent to the meter. The HAN and WAN lights flash green, should they be continuously green?

        No, flashing every 5 secs is normal

        Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
          M
          Newcomer
          MGreenwood
          Newcomer
          February 24, 2024

          They should flash once every 5 seconds for normal operation. See this page https://www.smartme.co.uk/smets-2.html.

            Emmanuelle_OVO
            Retired Moderator
            Emmanuelle_OVO
            Retired Moderator
            February 26, 2024

            Really helpful advice from our Community Members here, keep us posted with how you get on @hayvoe.

            Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
              H
              Newcomer
              hayvoe
              Newcomer
              February 29, 2024

              I am still having no joy with the off-peak. EDF were trying to tell me today that looking at meter readings the off peak was working. I think they are interpreting the cheaper E7 tariff as being off peak. Clearly there is still no power going to the off peak consumer unit. They have sent a code to the meter again but if it is not the correct one the off-peak will likely still not work. 

              From another thread on this forum I discovered the following quote which describes my situation:

              This engineer installed a new smart meter on 27th November. The heaters were all swirched on that night and I can’t believe that I have the same problem again!! The off-peak consumer unit is not receiving power at all. The IHD works fine, shows the two tariffs and changes at midnight and 7 a.m., but the 2nd circuit for the storage heaters is not activating at all. I found this forum and it seems that something is wrong with the configuration that, hopefully, can be corrected remotely. A customer service agent arranged for an engineer from a smart meter company to look at the meter a couple of days ago. He did some tests and found no fault with it. He asked me enquire what SSC code the meter is set up with. He suggested the meter function that opens and closes the fifth port could be on a 24/7 tariff setting, which would explain why it always stays off.

              BPLightlog
              Super User
              BPLightlogSuper User
              Super User
              February 29, 2024

              That’s why the suggestion is for the ECAULS/ALCS to be sent to the meter as that system controls when the switches open and close. 
              The command needs to be for your E7 tariff and should set the meter correctly … unless the meter is actually faulty and can’t physically switch

              Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
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