Hey ​@Alanl46 ,

Gonna grab my ace card for this one. ​@Lukepeniket_OVO got a sec?

Morning ​@Alanl46,

I hope you’re well, and I’m sorry to hear of the installation issues . As you’ve logged this a complaint the case can’t be closed until it is resolved, and your Complaint Handler should be in touch with you soon. You could get back in touch with them directly by replying to the email you will have been sent from them - your reply will go into the complaint case, and will be picked up by the Complaint Handler. 

Thanks ​@Blastoise186 for linking in ​@Lukepeniket_OVO - hopefully he can advise on this when he’s free to do so.

I hope this gets sorted for you soon ​@Alanl46! 

We’ve seen a few similar cases in the forum where the RTS unit is located separately from the meter(s). This means that there will be electrical wiring work needed that a meter engineer isn’t necessarily qualified to undertake. The normal arrangement would be for storage heaters (both space- and water-) to be connected to the fifth meter terminal and everything else to the fourth. Where there is separate circuitry for 24-hour heating, it could get a bit messy. We understand that OVO are working hard to devise a solution that will work in these cases, but meanwhile each installation has to be designed individually. 

Firedog.

Thanks. I now have a reply from OVO tech dept agreeing that tge 24/7 low rate  feed for the panel heaters  and upper immersion would need to be moved for a smart meter installation

They mention that they are near to having a heritage meter solution  about to go to trial with a smart meter solution being explored after the RTS shut off date so I have  gone back asking if that would need the same wiring move. Seems to me it would or the panel heaters and upper immersion would become timed. 

​@Alanl46 thanks for the update, and please keep us posted as to how it all goes, and when you have a date for the heritage meter installation.

Cheers!

Thanks for the update.

I’m not at all sure how much internal rewiring a meter engineer can or should do, but I suspect very little. It looks to me as if the consumer units were neatly installed, so there’s a chance that it wouldn’t be too difficult for your electrician to make the changes needed. We’re entering the time of year when the need for ‘extra’ heating (principally the panel heaters) becomes less urgent, so it may be worthwhile getting that work done soon to smooth the path for a meter exchange before the next heating season begins. 

I can’t tell which tariff you’re on currently, but I assume it’s a three-rate one (peak, offpeak and heating). The one I could find for your part of the world seems to have a very high peak rate, so you might want to do some sums to see just what moving the 24-hour heating equipment to peak rate would cost. 

Firedog

it is THTC, the Hydroboard tariff taken over by SSE then OVO, on SSE selling them their retail operation, so on the RTS signal. Two tariff rates. 

From the outset,storage heater instant heating boost, panel heaters and immersion boost were on 24/7 low rate. To quote the Hydro Board THTC brochure in respect  of storage heaters with an instant heat facility

”remember all the instant heat is also available on low cost electricity day and night” 

And for panel heaters, towel rail “all these run on low cost electricity 24 hours a day”

Similar wording for the immersion boost.

Looks like we are going to lose this 24/7 low rate facility. Hence the need for rewiring the supply to the relevant circuit breakers. Indeed I’ve seen a quote re Shetland, where the OVO management at their presentation to customers seemed unaware this 24 hour low rate supply bypassing the RTS switch existed at all. 

Others have posted about how the guidance to suppliers about not causing loss to consumers on the ending of RTS is pretty vague, so looks like we are going to lose it. I do wonder if there would be more pressure in support of consumers if the majority of users were physically closer to Westminster. 
 

I’ve been offered OVO’s Economy 10. 

Thanks for the clarification.  It will take a bit of adaptation to get used to not having ‘cheaper’ heating available all day.

However, there are compensations when comparing Economy 10 (E10) to your THTC. 

• Both rates for E10 are a bit lower than the ones for THTC.
• With an Economy tariff, all usage in offpeak periods is billed at the offpeak rate. That means you’d be paying 22.28 p/kWh instead of 29.86 p/kWh when using, say, the cooker, washing machine, dryer, iron, hair dryer or hoover during the afternoon or evening offpeak hours. 
• A 3.3 kW storage heater would currently cost you about £5.50 to charge up fully. On E10, that would come down to £5.15. If this happened every night from October to March, the annual saving could be about £60 per heater.
• You would still be able to use panel heaters and the immersion heater boost at the cheaper rate in the evening to stay comfortable in the living room, to warm up the bedrooms and top up the hot water if necessary. 

With careful management and some changes in your usage pattern, you might find that you’re in fact better off financially after the RTS service ends.

Thanks. Useful data.

Worth mentioning that Alasdair Allan MSP has raised the cost of domestic wiring works needed for some THTC smart meter installs. He recognises it's not the suppliers responsibility (UK elec regs) but suggests now isn't the time to be arguing about who pays. 

He's raised a few important points based on feedback from customers and other consumer organisations. 

https://www.gov.scot/news/protection-for-energy-customers-ahead-of-rts-switch-off/

THTC is a bit of a mess in the modern electric market, it was introduced as a fairly localised solution and resulted in a win/win for the supplier and customer, but primarily the supplier. It should probably have been properly removed when the local elec boards were phased out but there was no incentive for either party and it was left as a ticking time bomb till RTS raised it head! 

Thank you both ​@Firedog and ​@Infiltrator for sharing! 

Hopefully this helps you ​@Alanl46