Why does my smart electricity meter need replacing ?

What did the message say precisely?

! June is the deadline for exchanging 3G Communications Hubs (CH) that were temporarily installed in the last couple of years in places where Long Range Radio didn’t reach to connect the meter to the Smart Meter Wide Area Network. The CH usually sits on top of the meter.

The contract to provide that 3G network is expiring, so the CH has to be exchanged for a shiny new 4G one. This is a quick and simple process which doesn’t even require cutting off the supply. Could this be your situation? 

That could be it. The top half of the meter looks like it is a seperate module, with it’s own security tag. It’s labeled ‘SKU1 Cellular’ and ‘UBC-TN6’. I can’t tell if it’s 3G or 4G.

Whatever, I expect problems no matter how straightforward the process should be. No interaction I’ve ever had with OVO has gone smoothly.

That’s the 2G/3G version. I checked with an engineer friend of mine - the 4G versions have a different designation.

It really is a simple swap via Trust Centre Swap Out - power stays on, the engineer just presses a few buttons and bloop!. Done.

If it FAILS for any reason, the entire setup gets swapped out.

I’ve had a few emails saying meter upgrade is booked for 18th May. However, I recently had a physical letter asking me to make an appointment. Suspecting OVO have got something mixed up, I just now phoned to confirm 18th.

When I phoned, the agent told me I had booked for 18th May, but that I had then cancelled it !

I did not book any date, the 18th was suggested by OVO.  No way have I canceled, and I told the agent so. She quickly backtracked and said it must have been a glitch of some kind.

So my meter upgrade is now re-booked for 18th May, hopefully. 

​@Buzby it should be a very smooth process, and it’s part of the Industry-wide switch over to 4g comms hubs. I’ve taken the info below from our website page here.

Some smart meters currently rely on 2G or 3G mobile networks, but these networks are being phased out across the UK in the coming years. These are being replaced by a 4G network, and once this happens, will not function properly if they are not upgraded.

 

Here’s what this means for you:

 

• SMETS1 meters: These will need to be replaced with SMETS2 models.

• Some SMETS2 meters: These may just require an upgrade to a 4G-compatible communications hub.

 

If your meter isn’t replaced or upgraded you’ll still receive your energy supply as usual. However, you’ll need to manually submit meter readings to make sure your bills are accurate. If you pay for your energy by topping up, you’ll have to manually enter a 20-digit code into your meter when you top up online, at PayPoint or Payzone shops, or over the phone.  

 

The network switch-off will happen gradually over the next few years, region by region. We’ll contact you when it’s time to arrange an appointment for your upgrade.

Thanks for that overview, ​@Ben_OVO.

What it doesn’t mention, though, is that 3G service in the Northern region (i.e. anywhere in GB north of Manchester) is being retired. CHs up there are supposed to run on Long Range Radio (LRR), not cellular networks. There were many customers up there who had relied on the LW RTS signal, but that is also going finally over the next few weeks. Most RTS systems have now been replaced by smart meters, but some of them refused to connect to the LRR WAN. As a stopgap, they were fitted with CHs like the one ​@Buzby has; these now have to be exchanged for 4G ones before the 3G service is cut off on 1 June. 

Everyone else - i.e. those in the Central and Southern regions will have their 3G CHs swapped out between now and 2033, when 2G/3G is due to be finally retired.

This is DCC’s headache; OVO is just the minion doing the work!

[EDIT a bit later] I did a quick search to find any documentation about this urgent process, but I’m afraid I failed. There have been a couple of threads about it here, and some OVO metering expert chipped in to give the explanation I hope I’ve reproduced faithfully. You might test the forum’s site search to its limits to find the references ...] 

​@Firedog you've done a good job there as that was from your memory. This issue has been spread over a number of threads so it's not easy to gather them together in one place. 3G has gone from a lot of areas now but the meters can use the Short Message Service SMS on 2G as it's only a small amount of data that needs to be sent. 2G will be phased out from 2031 so upgrades need to start now for 4G though that has been around for 15 years and its phase out begins in 2030 😱 (Noooooooooo)

Peter

Thanks for the extra details ​@Firedog 😊.

​@Buzby apologies for the confusion when you spoke to the advisor. If the advisor was new to the company they may well not have known about the changeover to 4g, and may have just thought it was a normal appointment booking.