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Rank 2
August 17, 2020

Does OVO have plans to offer a 3 Phase smart meter for supplies larger than "100A per phase” connections (CT-type meters), and “vector sum” compliant?

  • August 17, 2020
  • 89 replies
  • 5990 views

Updated on 06/05/25 by Abby_OVO

 

I notice that there has been news earlier this month of the first 3-phase SMETS2 meter install in the country by Smart Metering Services (SMS) on behalf of their client, Good Energy for a private domestic customer in Gloucestershire.

https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/smart-meters/britain-installs-first-ever-polyphase-smets2-smart-meter/

This “UK first” appears to have been installed using a “direct current” type three-phase Aclara SGM1400 meter, suitable for “smaller” three-phase (sub 100A per phase) supplies found in larger domestic and small commercial installs….presumably the sort of customers that OVO previously could not provide SMETS2 smart meters to.

 

Are there any plans for OVO to follow suit?

 

Do OVO offer 3 phase smart meters?

 

3 phase (aka polyphase) installations in domestic properties are few and far between, so it's a minority of meter engineers across the country that have the skills required to complete these installations. There are also some technical challenges in making sure your job is allocated to an engineer with these skills but we are just as keen as you are to have Smart available for these sites ASAP, so if you would like to take part in this beta stage release, please consider the steps below:
From the start of May 2023, if you have a single rate 3 phase meter (i.e. not Economy 7 / 2-rate etc.) we would encourage you to book a smart meter appointment as normal online or over the phone on 0330 303 5063. (Please do not attempt to book sooner than May unless you have been contacted.)


This will then go through to a specialist team who will validate that it is single rate job and that an 3 phase engineer is available in your region. If this is the case, they will re-book your appointment with the right engineer. (So please bear in mind your appointment date/time will likely change, but we'll try to keep it the same where possible.)


Unfortunately, if you have a 2-rate meter or are not in an area covered by our current crop of 3 phase skilled engineers, you will need to continue with your heritage meter. We know this will be frustrating, so we are sorry about that, we are working to expand our coverage and by you flagging your interest to us, you are helping us shape where and when that coverage develops. - thank you!

 

89 replies

SeanSAuthor
Rank 2
September 8, 2020

Thanks for the update Tim. 

Newcomer
April 26, 2021

Any update on OVO offering SMETS2 meters on 3 phase supplies, this topic seems to have gone cold

MKS56
Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
April 26, 2021

Heya @mks56 !

Yup, I believe this is now possible. However, I’ll ask @Tim_OVO and @Jess_OVO to double check. Just to be sure. :)

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Newcomer
April 26, 2021

That’s that sounds good. I recently moved to OVO  to facilitate a move to a 3 phase supply which has happened now. The meter company (SMS) originally said that a SMETS2 meter would be fitted but subsequently was not and I was told that OVO couldn’t currently manage SMETS2 meters

MKS56
Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
April 26, 2021

Gotcha! No worries @mks56 .

The good news is that OVO does indeed have the ability to manage SMETS2 meters. Not really sure why you were told otherwise! In actual fact, SMETS2 is much, much easier for OVO to manage than SMETS1 was. So as long as someone installs the meter properly, you should be good to go.

It’s a little unclear whether SMETS2 Three-Phase meters are fully available, but there’s tons of SMETS2 Single-Phase meters (I actually had one installed just last week!). I’ve flagged this up for Tim and Jess to double check, as this is something which moves fast.

You may want to chase this up again once we know more. I think someone gave you bad advice about how SMETS2 works...

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Jess_OVO
OVO Staff
OVO Staff
April 27, 2021

Any update on OVO offering SMETS2 meters on 3 phase supplies, this topic seems to have gone cold

 

3 Phase SMETS 2 meters seem to be the hot topic around here at the moment so thanks for re-raising this one, @mks56.

 

 

Yup, I believe this is now possible. However, I’ll ask @Tim_OVO and @Jess_OVO to double check. Just to be sure. :)

 

Not quite! We’ve checked for an update on our 3 Phase Smart Meter position and things appear to be moving in the right direction, whilst we don’t offer them yet, we have started running trials of these in a number of sites so it’s looking more hopeful. We’ll obviously update everyone here once these are more generally available but in the meantime we’re only able to offer Smart Meters for single phase members.

 

Hope this helps. :blush:

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Newcomer
April 27, 2021

Thanks for the update, good news the 3 phase SMETS2 meters are coming, hopefully soon. I’ll keep an eye on this forum for updates

MKS56
Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
April 27, 2021

No worries!

With SMETS2 meters, as long as it’s installed by someone who’s approved to do so, the meter will work with pretty much all suppliers. Hang in there for just a bit longer. They might be ready sooner than you think. :)

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Jess_OVO
OVO Staff
OVO Staff
May 10, 2021

Back with an update on this one - Are you a single rate 3 phase OVO member interested in upgrading to a Smart meter? 

 

If so we’re interested to hear from you - Send a PM to myself or @Tim_OVO for more details...:slight_smile:

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Newcomer
May 10, 2021

Back with an update on this one - Are you a single rate 3 phase OVO member interested in upgrading to a Smart meter? 

 

If so we’re interested to hear from you - Send a PM to myself or @Tim_OVO for more details...:slight_smile:

Jess,

Any news on dual rate 3 phase SMETS2?

MKS56