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Switching with SMETS2 meters, will my meter still work?

  • 17 February 2020
  • 10 replies
  • 257 views
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  • Mja
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I am on OVO 2 year fixed energy tariff starting from September 2019, unfortunately it is very uncompetitive with many 1 year deals available right now at around £400 more expensive and in general Ovo tariffs are a long way from the best deals at the moment.

OVO installed my smets2 meters last year and I have no desire to leave, but in the absence of an Ovo tariff I could switch to, this is too much money to ignore, even after reducing it by a £60 exit fee.

I like the look of Octopus’s current 1 year offer, all renewable, but before I pull the trigger does anybody have experience of moving from one supplier to another and findign that all was fine in terms of their smets2 smart meter continuing to work?

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Best answer by Amy_OVO 18 February 2020, 12:33

Hey @Mja, 

Great question, we’re aiming to only install SMETS2 meters going forward, so I’m sure this question will come up again soon, I’ve slightly tweaked your title to help other members find this answer. 

SMETS2 meters are compatible across industry, so switching (it’s a shame to see you’re going) should cause no issue at all!

Thanks :slight_smile:

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Amy_OVO
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Hey @Mja, 

Great question, we’re aiming to only install SMETS2 meters going forward, so I’m sure this question will come up again soon, I’ve slightly tweaked your title to help other members find this answer. 

SMETS2 meters are compatible across industry, so switching (it’s a shame to see you’re going) should cause no issue at all!

Thanks :slight_smile:

OVO-Joyed to help!
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Switch date was 10 Feb 2020, from SSE.

New build block, moved in May 2019 - already had SMETS2 meters for all apartments.

I’m still providing readings manually.

Is it possible for OVO to enable smart functionality without a site visit?

Thanks for any info (not wanting to bother the helpdesk)

Bradley_OVO
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Hey @102530130 

 

I’ve moved your question to this existing topic to keep all similar queries together.

 

Effectively, like @Amy_OVO’s best answer states above, all SMETS2 meters should be compatible with whatever supplier you choose to switch to.  So, theoretically, OVO should be able to establish communications with your existing SMETS2 meters.

 

All the best, 

I'm not lazy, I'm just in energy saving mode!
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Thanks, @Bradley_OVO . That’s exactly what I hoped. I think my question was more a matter of whether there would be any progress during the current COVID-19 lockdown - I just thought that, aside from matters of priority, it might be possible to enable the smart features entirely remotely.

Stay safe.

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Hi @102530130 - Thanks for posting. I’ll be interested to hear how these Smart Meters get enabled via OVO.

There are five UK Suppliers who have the necessary licences to install meters on new-build properties. Now that OVO has grown to be the 3rd largest Supplier in the country, I hope one of the managers is busy negotiating for them to join the other five.

Have a look at the Topic about SMETS2 Installation here. That diagram shows how the metering is already connected to DCC. Thus any Energy Supplier can simply acquire the meter readings by registering the necessary Notifications with DCC, ECOES (electricity meter database) and Xoserve (gas meter database).

You will know when that has been completed because

  • your IHD will reflect the correct pricing for your chosen tariff
  • your Usage will be shown on your MyOVO page
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Yes. I’m aware of the Smart2 setup - this is not a matter of installation, as the new build is already built. As you’ll have seen in my original post, the question is rather one of whether, in these locked down times, switching over can be done entirely remotely. I was naively inclined to assume so, and was asking whether that’s the case. I would quite understand if the answer was, in principle yes but in practice ovo are focused on dealing with emergencies only. At this point, the lack of daily usage data isn’t a problem - my previous supplier SSE provided nothing to users in this regard (but they did use smart readings for quarterly billing, so I know the DCC system is operational) 

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Yes, I’m sure this can be done. There’s nothing now requiring any operation on site.

OVO’s new Billing Software handles all the protocols (it is the BOL interface).

Regardless of the pandemic, OVO staff continue to add or remove meter accounts from the Billing Software every day.

The “Emergencies only” strategy applies to Customer Services and Engineering. Your question requires neither.

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I switched to Ovo from Npower in March. Since the date I informed Npower my SMETS2 smart meter has stopped working.

 

I deliberately waited to have a smart meter installed until SMETS2 was available to ensure compatibility if I switched suppliers.

I presume Ovo need to do something to register on their systems re-enable the functionality? Can you advise plse.

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Hi @Nigel Shadbolt  and thanks for posting.

All aspects of the switch process are handled by the Receiving Supplier. This includes acquisition of the meter(s) via the National Meter databases, ECOES and Xoserve.

The Ofgem guidelines ensure that you should not need to contact the previous Supplier at all. That means you can freely leave a Supplier with whom you have a dispute (providing you don’t owe them money).

If anything goes wrong, your redress is through the Complaints Procedure of the new Supplier.

Assuming you have gas, go to this site, enter your address and check who ECOES thinks your Supplier is.

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OK, thanks this is helpful. ECOES does register my supplier as OVO.

I’ll chase Ovo to fix.

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