While that’s unfortunate, if you have switched away from OVO/Boost, then the responsibility that OVO/Boost had for you ended on the 24th November 2023.

You must discuss this with your new supplier - only they can touch this.

Check with your DNO who the supplier is.

This tool will either tell you directly, or tell you which DNO to contact

https://supplier.nationalgrid.co.uk/

I’m a bit further on, but still no definative answer.

As I said in my first post, we used to be on PrePay. Earlier this year I requested to change to Credit.

The BOOST/OVO person I talked to said OK, and  told me the account would change from BOOST to OVO.

I heard nothing more, so assumed all was OK. ( I realise now I should have asked what was going on. )

My IHD seemed to confirm the switch, as it stopped showing ‘money left’, and didn’t do that beepy thing saying feed me money !

Today I rang BOOST/OVO. I got shuffled from post to post, but did learn something !.

(a) I was still on PrePay ! ( Even though the IHD said ‘Credit’ )

(b) An OVO account for me was started on 20th July 2023

I have had no paperwork, emails, or phone calls regarding this OVO account. I don’t even know what the account number is !. ( I did ask, but by the time I confirmed my identity for the fifth or sixth time, the question got forgotten. )

My suspicion is that my monthly payments to BOOST, which have been the same for years, were now not enough. As the meter/IHD didn’t warn me, and I got no letter or email saying there was a problem, you can imagine my surprise when the power went off !.

Are there any rules or regulations about cutting off power ?.

Is the cut-off done by a human or a robot ?.

Is there a way I can talk to the relevant BOOST/OVO departments using email ?

( Why get me to confirm my email address if BOOST/OVO don’t use it ? )

I’ve spent another hour on the phone today, and I’ve got other thing to do. Email comms would be so much more convenient.

Live chat is a robot, it just goes round in circles !

• Business said

I’m not after speed of resolution, I’m after accuracy and an audit trail.

Are there any rules or regulations about cutting off power ?.

Is the cut-off done by a human or a robot ?.

Great. ( ? )

*Edited by Mod* on the chat is going to phone me !.

Chat was closed before I could request a transcript !

It’s now 15:00, but no phone call.

Oooh !. Maybe my Smart Meter is not so smart, ‘cos I found some logs !.

No hacking or stolen passwords. Just press ‘B’ until it shows the supplier (Boostpower on mine ), then press ‘A’ for the relevant log.

This screenshot is an entry from the Event log. The code 0x8154 is a notification ‘Immediate HAN Interface Command Received and Successfully Actioned’. The vast majority of the Event log is 0x8154. It looks like stuff that happens when the IHD is communicating.

There is another log, the Power Event Log. However, the latest event in there is 6th Dec. There is nothing from the 9th, when the power actually went off and on. I think this log is more about the quality of the power to the meter, not on/off to the customer. ( Although I’ve not checked the details, they may be related to the watchdog error shown later in this post. )

Yet another log is the Security Log. The latest in here is 1st Dec, but that is interesting. It shows 0x8F1E, ‘Integrity check of content or format of command failed’. This is an indication that a command from WAN, i.e, the supplier, could not be interpreted. This could be a harmless corruption, maybe due to poor signal or interference. If that was the case I would expect to see some kind of success message following it, as the supplier retries. As this code is classed as ‘critical’ I would have expected a flurry of action around this time !

On 6th Dec, two days before the power cut off, I found  something very worrying in the Event Log. A simultaneous ‘Overheating’ warning and Watchdog Error. The ‘overheat’ warning was for my Network Operator, Electricity North West, and the Watchdog warning was for OVO/BOOST.  Watchdog errors can be *very* disruptive, see later.

The codes are here : https://www.smartme.co.uk/documents/Aclara-SMETS2-Single-Phase-Electric.pdf#M13.9.95701.Appendixname.Event.Codes

Today I have spent hours on the phone, and just as long on the webchat. *edited by moderator*

This is a brief synopsis of the chat :

Stuart : I can see this is being handled by our Specialist Billing team, I’ll transfer you to them.

…. Waiting …..

Me : Are you on the Specialist Billing team ?

Agent: No, I’m Customer Service

Me : Can you explain why I got cut off at 09:00 on Saturday ?

Agent: Sorry, but I can’t see any cut-off for your gas on Saturday. Very sorry, I’ll report this to someone.

Me : It’s my ELECTRICITY, not GAS !!!.  [ I’ve never bought gas off OVO/BOOST ]

Agent: Can I phone you ?

Me : Yes

Agent: I’ll ring you in 15 minutes. Immediately closes webchat, before I get chance to request transcript.

That was around 14:20. It’s now over 8 hours later.

My suspicion is this.

Earlier this year BOOST PAYG were supposed to transfer me to OVO Pay Monthly credit, but they made a mistake *edited by moderator* somewhere.

The meter switched to Credit mode, and the IHD stopped showing ‘PAYG money’ and no more beeps about running out. 

Everything ran along smoothly, nobody spotted the error, things just kept on working.

Untill 6th Dec, when a Watchdog error occured. I know a bit about watchdogs in metrology. The number one priority is to get the hardware working again, usually by reverting the system to a known-good state. Unfortunately, the meter got it’s knickers in a twist, which led it to switch to ‘Emergency Credit Active’ mode two days later, at 08:32 Saturday 9th. 

There were no warnings because they occur before the ‘EMC Active’ state, i.e. in the ‘EMC Available’ state, but there never was an ‘EMC Available’ state to trigger the beeps.

I can’t determine from the logs why the system only ran for 30 mins, but it looks like the Active state timed-out and cut off my power.

You are quite right about no comeback regarding Self-Disconnect, but this was an erronious disconnect when the meter was in Credit Mode.

I want some answers !

You set off an AutoMod system designed to detect potential rulebreaking. As a result, your comment was held back until a human moderator reviewed, edited and released it. That has now been done by the looks of things.

Alas, you didn’t listen to my advice about not digging into the logs. I gave this warning because in 99% of cases, nothing useful will come of doing so and you appear to be digging into details that simply don’t exist.

One does not become an expert simply by reading a user manual.

Also, you can’t force me to answer to you. I’m a forum volunteer, so I have the discretion to completely ignore a thread should I wish to.

I will provide you with no further assistance. You’ll have to go via OVO or solve it yourself from here.

I’m sorry @Blastoise186 , I did not mean to force you to anything. I spent hours on phones and webchats yesterday, and was losing my patience. My words may have come over in a way I didn’t see.

I know I’m not an expert, but I do know it was my electricity that went off.

Philie on the webchat apologised for my GAS going off !.

If OVO can’t even get this right, what hope have I got of getting a straight answer ?.

My comment about the watchdog error is because I know what the meter might do when one occurs.

Many years ago, when solid state meters were being introduced, I worked for a company that designed and built them. I worked in the test engineering dept, building the rigs that tested the meters.

The metrology engine had a watchdog, and when it triggered the meter restored the latest known good snapshot.  Snapshots were taken every 6 hours. This meant the meter might lose upto 6 hours of energy usage, but that was better than having a dead meter !.

This was on a simple meter, with a single microprocessor, and no comms or power switching.

I should expect that modern meters like the SGM1411B have far more complex hardware and software, so the response to a watchdog error could be more complex as well.

@Emmanuelle_OVO said “… it sounds like maybe the meter defaulted back to pay as you go “

A watchdog error is just the kind of event that might make a meter default to the wrong mode. It just depends how much effort the software designers put into error recovery, and from my experience over years of software development I know error recovery is the least of their concerns.

Also, as Emmanuelle suggested the meter ‘defaulted back’, is that because she knows of other times a meter misbehaved like this ?

Hey @Buzby,

Sorry to hear of the issues you’re having,

There is the option to raise a complaint. From what you say, it seems like the switch from Boost to OVO was never made, so you remained on pay as you go. Energy prices have increased, and we’re in winter so it’s completely feasible the payments you were making to Boost are no longer enough to cover your usage. 

We don’t have access to your account on the Forum, so I can only cast assumptions based on the information you have provided. 

I’m not sure why your switch isn’t going ahead, it might be due to you signing up to a pay monthly plan when your meter is in pay as you go mode? 

Actually, for the most part once you’ve switched away and received the final refund, you can no longer complain to the former supplier because your relationship will have ended. Any open complaints may also get automatically closed out (with no Ombudsman intervention) at that point as well.

If you wish to raise one, it’s strongly recommended you do while still with them.