Power Up rewards- Event summary missed?

I’m sorry to hear this ​@Dubby.

It can also be if the meter readings are pulling through too slow or your meter isn’t set to take half hourly readings.

The smart meter data is what we use to see if a customer has moved their usage. So there’s no other way of us seeing if they’ve been successful if we don’t get the meter readings for the allotted time. 

Just to point out that there are two sets of data that the meter sends to OVO each day: meter readings (what you see on the meter itself) and usage data (which you only see on the Usage pages of your account). These data sets are requested independently of each other and will be received at different times. For billing, all that is needed is a single set of readings at the start of each billing period. The other readings are used to keep the Billing history pages up to date. 

There are a couple of requirements for the usage data to be used for Power Move reward calculations:

• Each day’s data must consist of exactly 48 timed figures, one for each half-hour;   
• The data must have been retrieved before the deadline for making each day’s calculations. The PM people have been trying to ‘catch up’ where data were received too late, but this may not always work.

It’s annoying when failing to meet these requirements results in no reward, but we won’t all be winners all the time. Shifting your usage out of peak times isn’t a waste of time; every kWh shifted is a kWh that doesn’t have to be generated by burning gas. You’ll hopefully agree that that is good for everybody, even if you don’t get a reward for doing it. 

My issue is that I cannot do anything about this, Ovo supply my equipment and run these promotions. I've done my bit to take part but cannot control what my 'smart' meter does or doesn't do.

It would be really nice if there was a practical solution. The meter is set to take half hourly readings.

'We can't all be winners all the time' - this is not the National Lottery! Like many people, paying for energy bills is a constant worry and we work really hard to keep it to a minimum and save as much as we can. 

Your post has really upset me. No practical advice but a patronising explanation with no helpful suggestions. You have no idea of my personal circumstances and how deflating this entire process is, but I'm supposed to feel happy that other people are making savings! You are also suggesting that I've failed to meet the requirements when I have done all I can. 

OVO does its best to get this stuff working, but it doesn’t control 100% of the infrastructure involved. While the team does everything they can to get it working, they cannot guarantee 100% reliability 24/7/365. You agreed to that as part of the rules for Power Move/Power Move Flex.

We’re not saying anything you did broke the rules. Alas, if the data isn’t flowing, OVO cannot calculate your rewards so cannot issue them.

Ultimately, the reason we’ve not suggested any practical advice is because in this specific situation, nothing you can do other than notifying OVO Support about the fault will fix this.

I’m really sorry to have upset you. I’m afraid I can’t think of any practical advice to help you meet the target, but there is no question of your having failed to meet the requirements. It’s your metering arrangements that have failed in this respect, and there’s probably nothing to be done to improve them. What the meter is supposed to do is to measure, so you can be billed only for what you use.

I’d also point out that Power Move Flex is a trial, primarily to test whether customers can be persuaded at short notice to alter their consumption patterns. The results will indicate whether this is a viable way of better matching demand to supply. Any reward earned is a token amount to compensate for the trouble their participation puts them to. It isn’t a cost-saving exercise, although many participants will find any reward earned a welcome bonus.

There are much greater rewards to be had by taking part in Power Move, which many now rely on to bring their bills down. Unfortunately, not everyone is eligible for this scheme, and the same constraints apply about how well meters are transmitting usage data. 

Hey ​@Dubby 

I understand your frustration. Have you completed a smart meter health check?