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August 22, 2022
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Delay in setting up my Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) account - am I missing out on generation when the sun is out?

  • August 22, 2022
  • 51 replies
  • 3094 views

We had our solar panels fitted at the end of June. Sine then, despite six or seven emails to the FIT Team, all of which generate an automated response promising a reply within five working days, I have heard nothing. So much of the wonderful sunshine of the past few weeks is going to waste or certainly not going to my bank account. 

So almost two weeks ago I registered a complaint with OVO which resulted in me being informed of….guess what? You guessed it, they’ll aim to reply within five working days!!! Still heard nothing from them Absolutely shocking service from a company we have been with for a few years now and previously rated very highly

I would be soooo grateful to hear if anyone else is being ignored in the same way? 

Best answer by Tim_OVO

Updated on 06/01/25 by Abby_OVO

 

I’ve recently been advised that a smart export guarantee (SEG) applicant is only eligible for SEG once an export supply number (MPAN) has been created. As soon as that's been done we ask the customer for an opening reading which is the point they will be paid from. Unfortunately we cannot make payment for anything exported before then.

 

At the moment there’s a longer time frame than usual for applications and emails to the SEG team. Any customers still waiting to be set up may wish to cancel their SEG application with OVO and re-apply elsewhere as a different supplier may be able to register them quicker. It's not ideal by any means but unfortunately we can't process any quicker than we currently are.

 

We’ve made a guide on the Smart Export Guarantee here:

 

 

 

Yes as PeterR mentioned, if your solar panels are generating more energy than the house is consuming, it will get exported. That leads me to think the meter will be tracking it, @Osprey1. I may be wrong of course!

 

I’ve copied some info from this topic to make sure you know where to track export:

 

Our Smart meters do track how much energy you’re exporting if you’ve got solar panels. To take your export reading check the instructions for your meter type below:

For an ‘Aclara’ meter (Elec MSN has an 'M')

 

Electricity - There’s 2 buttons on an electricity meter. Pressing ‘B’ will cycle through all the menus on the meter screen and pressing  ‘A’ will cycle through all the sub menus. To take an electricity reading, press ‘A’ three times - ‘TOU rate 1’ will be the electricity reading. For Economy 7 members, pressing ‘A’ a fourth time will show the second reading labelled ‘TOU rate 2’.

 

To get your export, that’s on the first submenu. So press A repeatedly to toggle through till you see ‘Total active export’. 

51 replies

Newcomer
October 6, 2023

We made an application for the SEG payment scheme on 17.1.23 and we were asked for our meter reading on 30.5.23 which I sent straight away.  We have still not had any confirmation or recieved our MPAN number yet.  I phoned today and was told there was no trace of my application.  The lady I spoke to was on the FITS team although I had asked to be put through to the SEG team.  This seems a total farce and I am now awaiting a response from the complaints team

Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Community Manager
October 9, 2023

Hi @josib 

 

I’m sorry to hear this. 

 

I know the team have had quite the backlog to work through of late.

 

If the team were unable to locate your application, it might be worth submitting your application again now, if you’ve not already done so while you await the complaints team getting in touch, but you can wait for them if you’d like.

 

I’ve linked below to a couple of similar topics which may be helpful to you:

 

Currently Playing: She's Electric
Newcomer
October 10, 2023

When do you make payment to me? I have completed everything required and have received acknowledgement from you?

BPLightlog
Super User
Super User
October 10, 2023

Hi @Keith Hoskins , this is a customer forum and not a direct channel to OVO. You will need to contact customer support

Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
Newcomer
October 10, 2023

I have contacted customer support many times, I get a timing but nothing happens. OVO pleads high pressure of work, but they have time to play about with these forums. But there again it is just us customers sending to each other!

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
October 10, 2023

The three OVO staff who you see here on the OVO Forum are Forum Moderators whose day job is dedicated to the OVO Forum. That’s what they’re tasked with pretty much exclusively.

They’re not part of the main Support Team or realistically any other team - they act independently of most teams, but the role they play here is more to help keep the show going and keep things clean.

It is the Forum Volunteers like myself and BPLightlog who tend to patrol the forum answering questions. We are just customers like you, albeit customers who choose to use their time to do this for free.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
Newcomer
October 10, 2023

Fair enough, but I have tried everything else, a man gotta do what a man gotta do!

Newcomer
October 17, 2023

I waited 8 months. Then applied to octopus….they sorted it within a week and are paying me 4 times as much. I really wish I’d done it sooner I would be much better off.

best of luck. It’s a shame they fall down in this.

steve

Jeffus
Rank 20
Rank 20
October 18, 2023

We made an application for the SEG payment scheme on 17.1.23 and we were asked for our meter reading on 30.5.23 which I sent straight away.  We have still not had any confirmation or recieved our MPAN number yet.  I phoned today and was told there was no trace of my application.  The lady I spoke to was on the FITS team although I had asked to be put through to the SEG team.  This seems a total farce and I am now awaiting a response from the complaints team

Any progress @josib 

Newcomer
November 3, 2023

I had solar panels fitted in July 2022, whilst still an SSE customer (although SSE were part of OVO) I jumped through hoops to try to get my SEG forms sorted out by SSE, but failed! So then OVO took over our gas and electricity supply. 

So I sent off copies of the forms for SEG to OVO, in April 2033, and got an acknowledgement on April 4th. On 27th April I was informed that there was a missing bit of information, which the installers hadn’t given me. I managed to get the information and sent it to OVO’s SEG team.

I have heard nothing since!! Emails sent to the team get an automated reply promising a reply in 4 to 5 working days, but nothing has been sent. The last one was October 19th, still waiting!

Having had two good summers of sunshine and exported several kWh’s of electricity, no money back, no requests for an initial reading, zilch!!

Very disappointed in the OVO SEG Team!