Replacing Radio-telemeters

Hi @Grapallie11 ,

Forum Volunteer here.

As mentioned previously on the Forum, this isn’t an OVO specific problem, nor one OVO created by itself - it merely inherited the problem from SSE and it’s actually a very long running industry problem that OVO is trying to help solve.

Replacing RTS Meters is a piece of cake if they’re Economy 7 - OVO has an absolute ton of experience in doing that, so if you’re in that group I’d strongly recommend booking the meter swap immediately via https://smart-booking.ovoenergy.com .

As for THTC, OVO is developing the infrastructure to handle the transition. I can request updates from my contacts but the last I heard was they’re roughly on-track to have it done before the deadline.

Unfortunately, that’s the snag. I have well-placed industry contacts - and not just within OVO - but most of the THTC stuff I get from them has been placed under embargo, preventing me from saying much publicly.

I do know however, that SSE had already started to figure out a migration solution long before OVO took over - OVO was able to take that and carry on with it. If memory serves, the industry has been working on this problem for roughly 10 years at this point, for which I can back that up with this document. It must be said however, that this particular report is now a decade old - and may be slightly outdated. But it’s better than nothing.

It’s not always that simple I’m afraid.

If you’re in a Load Managed Area, you cannot come off of THTC unless you’re willing to get rid of ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters and migrate to some other heating/hot water setup.

Your DNO should be able to tell you if you are in one or not.

We are not in a load managed area and still cannot get rid of the THTC meters....or so we have been told for the last 3 years.  I look at Octopus agile prices and wish we could move.   I completely agree with the comments regarding being stuck with an expensive tariff with NO possibility of moving supplier. 

If you’re talking about THTC, the raw truth is that the industry doesn’t yet have a Smart Meter ready that’s THTC enabled. OVO is making progress on it though - but word on the street is that everyone else is fighting over how it should be done.

Out of all the solutions I know of, the one OVO is developing seems to make the most sense. Either way, you’ll need one before you can even think about coming off of THTC. It’s either that, or you re-wire your entire house at great expense to yourself - and OVO cannot reimburse you for that.

Not quite correct about Rewiring house. 15 minutes reconfiguring meter tails will do it. I do not want a THTC smart meter, just a SMET2 meter which are now very available. I had a meter appointment booked with OVO recently to do exactly that, plus my Sparks standing by to sort the meter tails when THTC meters were removed and E7 smart meter installed. All was going to take about an hour after which I would be off THTC and onto E7.  Running up to my appointment time I received numerous text messages from OVO saying what a good boy I was for going 'Smart', plus a post card and a letter. Then an email saying 'sorry we've had to cancel your appointment to change your meter' - no explanation given; I had to phone to find out why, only to be informed that the appointment should not have been made in the first place as it can't be done at present because of 'infrastructure issues'. And so it goes on. 

I know you're trying to be helpful but please do not set hares running about rewiring. Not the DNO blocking it either.

Could it be that the £200M ÷ pa revenue from THTC tariff is a factor!!!

Exactly our experience.....we just want a straightforward SMET2 meter. We don't want a THTC replacement. We want nothing to do with the THTC set up and timings. They didn't cancel our appointments though.  We actually had 2 visits from guys to change meters over the last 2 years but when they see our meter set up there's a sharp intake of breath and they run away. 

You need to be aware that by posting on the Forum - which is Volunteer and Community led - that 99.999999999999999% of responses will come from either a Forum Volunteer such as myself, or another community member rather than from OVO Staff.

As Forum Volunteers, we aim to sync our advice with the official word from OVO whenever possible, as well as keep our advice in sync with the latest happenings across the industry. When something happens, we’re usually some of the first to know.

As previously mentioned, if you get rid of ALL Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters, you can become eligible for getting rid of THTC immediately, subject to DNO approval.

As for the tariff? It’s expensive for OVO to operate too - and the prices for it RARELY change in either direction.