Should I fix in? & do I have to get a smart meter if so?

Whilst it’s not really on the main topic here it is interesting, and explains why you can’t simply choose to keep an old meter indefinitely.

tt didn't take that long to find and read them.
I won’t link them. they are easy enough to find if you want to.

The Electricity Act 1989 - Schedule 7 refers to meters that are charged against being 'appropriate'.
(ie. certified, ‘Type’ certification is allowed).

The Gas Act 1986 - Section 17 refers to gas meters that are charged against having to be 'Stamped'.
(ie. independently tested/examined and certified).

So the readings from a meter that is out of certification should not be charged against, meaning that any old meter should should be replaced before it’s certification expires.

The Electricity Act states that if a customer was to refuse to allow a replacement of an already ‘expired’ electricity meter then "... the supplier may refuse to give or may discontinue the supply."

The Gas Act goes further - it is a summary offence to supply gas through an ‘unstamped’ gas meter, attracting a fine not exceeding Level 3 on the Standard Scale (currently up to £1,000)
From my reading of the subsequent clauses then if it is the customer who is refusing/preventing the replacement of an ‘expired’ gas meter it would be the customer who is regarded as commiting that offence and so liable for the fine.

Hi @Jazz,

It seems that our forum volunteers have already given some good advice here.

Unfortunately, you would need to agree to have a smart meter fitted for our fixed tariffs.

You’d be able to find the terms and conditions here (specifically under the smart meter section):

https://www.ovoenergy.com/1-year-fixed-loyalty-terms/v2

https://www.ovoenergy.com/2-year-fixed-terms

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Hi. We're on variable rolling tariff but thinking with costs going up to get fixed contract but it states having to have smart meter installed - which we don't want. Happy to submit meter readings. Any ideas how to do this? 

Hi ​@Naz84 ,

Sorry, but there isn’t a way to bypass that requirement. If the tariff you want requires a Smart Meter, you have to oblige or you’ll get booted off of it. Any reason why you don’t want to upgrade?

I’m currently decompressing/off-gassing from two scuba dives today so this is all I can post tonight. I’ll return in the morning if I feel up to it.

Why don’t you want a smart meter? It’s so much easier than having to give readings and keeps your usage up to date. I personally wouldn’t do fixed rate as I would find that too expensive OVO have been amazing with fluctuations in my payments with winter and summer consumption. 

Hi, For any Smart Meter sceptics, I have been with OVO for 6 years, in the early days I was encouraged many times to have a new meter fitted but refused due to their issues back then, "it was all over the news", in mid 2021 I had a ASHP fitted and was still happy taking meter readings and sending them in manually to OVO.

In early 2024 OVO in conjunction with Valiant my hand was forced and I had a new meter fitted to take advantage of the Air Source+ tariff of "0.15pkwh" instead of 0.226p.

I have never had any issues with with the meter and I wouldn't revert back.

Just a tip, if you plan to have a new meter fitted, ask if you can have a breaker fitted between the smart meter and fuse board, it saves cutting the tamper seals and stops the meter from making a high pitched squeal when disconnecting from the grid, 

my seals were removed when my solar panels were installed and also needed the new meter as to export my SEG @12p kWh.

Hey ​@johnr64 

Thanks for sharing your experience since having smart meters fitted, that’s a really helpful insight!

​@Naz84 I hope the advice of our community members has been helpful, and gives you a little more information to think about,

Let us know if you have any other questions.