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SalamancaRhodes
Rank 1
July 16, 2018
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Why has my smart gas meter battery failed? I was left off-supply over the weekend!

  • July 16, 2018
  • 43 replies
  • 15187 views

Hi,

Our smart meter failed over the weekend which resulted in being without gas for nearly 24hrs? Can OVO provide answers to the questions below?

1. Why did the smart meter not proactivly inform me or Ovo that the meter was about to fail ? No warning it just died and left us ( family with 2 children under 5) without gas for heating,Hot water or cooking. Not very SMART ?

2. We thought the battery life of the smart meter was on avergae 10 years? this lasted 3 at best ? engineers that have visited say that on average its 2 -3 years? Why are we being informed its 10 years ? Essentially are we looking at replacements every 3 years? Not very SMART ?

3. Upon discovering we had no gas we tried to contact OVO out of business hours... which is a challenge , number on this site and on the internet are business hours only and it took a lot of searching to actually find an emergency contact. once we did get through we were informed that there was nothing they could do till 9am the following day?? We are in a heat wave but imagine this in the middle of winter with young children and no Gas?? Not very SMART?

4. When the emergency engineer did arrive the following day to replace our SMART meter they replaced it with a pre paid card meter ? Why? We didnt have a pre paid card meter before and didint want one, we want a replacement SMART meter like the one we had before.

5. So we contact OVO again this morning and a new job is raised to replace the incorrect Pre Paid card meter that was installed yesterday. The engineer arrives.... sorry i'm a pre paid card meter engineer and I cant replace the (incorrect) pre paid card meter with a smart meter that you require. Engineer leaves and we contact OVO again... another emergency job logged. Not very SMART !

So in summary its a dreadful customer expiriance and massivly inconveniant that working familes with young kids have to face such disruption to accommodate a process that is anything but SMART !

Why are smart meter batteries failing so fast? Why can we not easily contact OVO out of hours when we have no Gas? Why are we facing potentially havIng to be subjetced the the replacement of 3 meters to get back to the orginal smart meter we need? Why cant a failed smart meter just be replaced with a new smartt meter in one emergency callout ? Engineers onsite today informed me that they carry them but cant install them?

Look forward to OVOs reponse on how this is going to be resolved and how we will be compensated for the massive disruption to a long term customer, who after this experiance will be seriously questioning if they remain with OVO.

Best answer by Nancy_OVO

Updated on 14/10/25 by Ben_OVO


First of all, I just want to say sorry for this experience and the inconvenience it's caused you and your family, it’s never nice to hear of issues occurring which leave a family off-supply.

 

All gas meters (smart and traditional) have an internal battery that power them. This is designed to last for up to 20 years, with a meter recertification (exchanging the meter to replace it with a new one) scheduled every 10 years, so it’s unusual for this issue to crop up so soon. 

 

 

If your gas smart meter is making a beeping sound, it indicates that the battery is low and the meter will need replacing. If the battery fails this can affect the supply, so it’s important to reach out to our Support Team if you do ever notice that your meter is beeping.

 



It’s really distressing to hear that this happened out-of-hours and you were unable to give us a call - we do have emergency contact details here and would encourage you to use these to report any urgent issues when our phone lines are closed.

 

Additionally, I'm so sorry that a prepayment meter was installed during your emergency appointment. This isn’t what should have happened and I can only apologise for the hassle you’ve now had to go through to get a pay monthly gas meter replacement.  

 

I think the best course of action would be to contact our Support Team to raise this as a complaint - this will make sure we investigate what went wrong and will provide important feedback to any internal processes that might need improving. We’ll also be able to see what we can do to put things right - getting you the right meter as quickly as we can and discussing a fair goodwill gesture to make up for the shortfalls in service you experienced.

 

43 replies

Show previous replies
R
Newcomer
Reluctant
Newcomer
March 9, 2024

Hi, our smart gas meter has failed and because it is Saturday we are struggling to talk to anyone in OVO who can help. It is looking like we will have to wait until Monday before anyone will answer the phone so we will have two days with no heating or hot water. I notice from the original post in this conversation from SalamancaRhodes that they managed to find an out of business hours number to call. I was hoping someone on here might know it to pass on? I live in hope!

Thanks!

Firedog
Super User
FiredogSuper User
Super User
March 10, 2024

   

… we are struggling to talk to anyone in OVO who can help.

 

The social media teams operate at the weekends. If you’re without heating, they may be able to arrange an emergency appointment. The Facebook team can be accessed using the blue button at the bottom of this page, while X is here:  OVO (@OVOEnergy) / X (twitter.com). They may be the same support agents answering in both places, and they can have access to your account and do most of the stuff that those who answer the phones on weekdays can do. You don’t have to have a Facebook account to use the Messenger chat.

 

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
R
Newcomer
Reluctant
Newcomer
March 10, 2024

Thanks Firedog, I did get in touch with them via Facebook and did get a reply asking for my name, address, account number and then they would look into it for me. Of course I immediately I supplied the information but have heard nothing back from them. You would think when a Smart meter failed it would immediately notify them as an issue. As my husband says, they can use a smart meter to charge us for use but funnily can’t use it as a notification of failure…..

 

R
Newcomer
Reluctant
Newcomer
March 10, 2024

Just to say, OVO did get back to me and sent out a technician who arrived half an hour ago and fixed the meter! Very impressed, contact via Facebook does work. 

    Firedog
    Super User
    FiredogSuper User
    Super User
    March 10, 2024

    So glad the system worked for you!

    🙌

    Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      March 11, 2024

      Hey @Reluctant 

       

      Sorry to hear you were having some trouble with the smart meter over the weekend, but I’m really glad to hear the team were able to help you out yesterday and get an engineer out quickly.

       

      If you’ve ever any other questions in future, don’t hesitate to pop back.😊

      Currently Playing: She's Electric
      D
      Newcomer
      donnayau
      Newcomer
      October 3, 2025

      i use top up card. Today, i realised the meter is not responding at all even i long pressed the red A button (or B button). the card just got topped up £30. 

      Nukecad
      Super User
      NukecadSuper User
      Super User
      October 4, 2025

      Hi ​@donnayau 

      First off if you could answer a couple of questions:

      Is the gas still being supplied?
      Does the display not light up at all when you press a button or put a put the card in?

      It’s an 8 year old meter (or at least it was fitted 8 years ago) so the battery may have run out.
      Had it been showing “B3” on the dispaly?

      What you should do:

      If the gas is still flowing:
      Contact customer support on Monday and explain the problem, they will make an appointment to replace the meter.

      If the gas is not flowing, or if it stops flowing:
      That’s an emergency - Look at the top of this page and you will see a green banner for how to contact OVO in an emergency and get an emergency engineer out at weekends.

      You can also find the emergency contact methods on the “What to do in an emergency” webpage:

       https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/emergencies#contact_us_container

      I said, Hey - Watts going on.
      D
      Newcomer
      donnayau
      Newcomer
      October 4, 2025

      how can I change the meter? 

      Nukecad
      Super User
      NukecadSuper User
      Super User
      October 4, 2025

      When you contact support  then they will arrange for an engineer to come and replace it.

      You haven’t answered any of my questions above, if you answer them then we can confirm what you need to do next.

      At the very least tell us if the gas is still flowing or not.

       

      I said, Hey - Watts going on.
      Show more replies
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