Why was my faulty meter replaced with an new Aclara meter which isn't smart? I was told it would be!

hello @Jess_OVO , @Lukepeniket_OVO and @Blastoise186 

Thank you all so much for your time and detailed replies.

So there is no doubt, here was my question, and the answer underneath.

Hi Ovo

Account xxxxxxx

Meter replaced 25th August as arranged - so good.

Disappointed - was promised on the phone a smart meter.  It isn't.

Worse was that the meter fitter asked if I knew the main supply fuse is only 60 amps, not 100 Amps as labelled.

My electrician says I need more than 60 amps due to upgrading the supply to our outbuilding, and making ready to fit an Electric Vehicle charge point.  Headroom on 60 Amps is bit too tight.

I have contacted SSEN, and have a quote to upgrade the main fuse to 100 Amps. (£60).  I want to go for this.

SSEN have asked me to check with you that the new meter fitted is ok for this.

It's an Aclara SGM1416-B.  It says 230V 0.5-10(100)A

Is it ok to go ahead please ?

Thank you

Answer :

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for getting in touch with us. I apologise if a 5 port was not installed to hold 100 amps as the household requirers, however, we do not hold a 100amp smart meter currently, so this would not be able to have smart functionality at the property.

Please can you send us a photo, including the Meter Serial Number of the meter so we can confirm through SMS and we can then look to resolve this matter as this has yet to be updated since your visit. The current meter installed at the property is a signal phase smart meter which will not able able to hold over 60amps.

So - I am a bit baffled by the last sentence.

However - as everyone says I need to contact support - I am sure they will help me through.

Some points. 

1. My 2 yr contract just ended and shocked at the new ‘off peak’ rate - 16p/unit from just over 10p.  60% ? !!  On that basis I need to rethink whether the planned 30 Amp night rate Aga is really affordable to run.
2. Yes - SMS did a good job on meter tails and new blocks for the electrician.  Now easy to isolate whilst upgrading the consumer unit tails plus upgrade all the earths.  Will also get a metal Consumer unit fitted as it’s understairs.
3. Hopefully the meter can be moved down for a comms hub above.  They will probably have to re-do the meter tails.
4. Meter change to different model still to be advised for the 100 Amps main fuse.

All the above I shall discuss with Ovo Support - and let you know !!

@Lukepeniket_OVO - fancy a trip to Isle of Wight - it’s nice at the moment !! Hee Hee.

How about I pull off some magic tricks of my own? Hehehe!

Firstly, something that might help is the guide I wrote a few months ago regarding Aclara meter numbering. I wrote it after finding a user manual and some other documentation that really helped me a lot. So here you go.

And then there’s also the S2 Aclara User Manual which I’ve got a copy of. I can’t easily post files here which aren’t images, so that link goes to the copy which is on SmartMe. If you dig through it, the user manual does state that the entire Aclara SGM1400 Series is capable of 100A (referenced 21 times to be precise!) - and there’s no references to 60A anywhere. And it’s all backed up by the datasheets as well.

I wonder if the existing 60 A Main Fuse is confusing things perhaps?

If you absolutely have to, upgrading to a Three-Phase Supply might be possible. OVO has recently been trialling a few of the latest S2 Three-Phase Electric Meters and ones like the Aclara SGM1430 Series could handle it.

Do you know what? I'm soo happy I stumbled across this forum! @Blastoise186 that Aclara guide is really magic and so in depth! I have heard of the field trials of the S2 Aclara 3 Phase, unfortunately I haven't been asked to participate... yet! 😉

@AndyBuzz I have been within visual distance of Isle of Wight when I did some work down south and it looked incredible! Some of my metering colleagues had to get the ferry across each week to stock up on Materials! Please keep us updated on your journey and hopefully you have a resolution soon!

Hehehe, it’s a very good resource! Plus, even with your Custom Rank, you can still rank up in the same way as everyone else. So that means no shortcuts to get into the Treehouses. XD

OVO’s Smart Meter Friend gave Tim a copy of that user manual and it’s over 100 pages long. Tim actually tried to email me a copy but it’s too big to email, so I had to grab my copy from SmartMe instead. It’s got “private and confidential” stamped all over it, so naturally… The owners of SmartMe somehow got hold of their copy a while ago (no idea how).

Sadly, I’m nowhere near the Isle of Wight so I can’t enjoy a trip over the sea...

So glad you’re getting some helpful advice here, @AndyBuzz! We too are a bit puzzled by the advice you’ve been given. I wonder if the agent who sent this was getting a 100Amp fuse confused with a 3 phase supply?

Exciting developments are on the way in terms of 3-phase smart meters, we’ve started testing these in a very limited geographical area which doesn’t extend to the Isle of Wight unfortunately (although I’m sure we’d all love the excuse to visit the island!)

Not sure if a 3 phase supply would be required in your case but we’ve got some helpful advice on this guide in case you do need to upgrade your supply. 

As ever keep us posted here - we’d love to here how this one turns out! 

@Blastoise186, @Jess_OVO, @Lukepeniket_OVO 

FYI - after talking to very helpful support team - got the following new email :

Hi Andrew,

Following our conversation today just an email to confirm that the smart meter we have installed is ready for 100 amp fuse and we are happy for your DNO to complete the upgrade.

We will also be in touch shortly to book in an appointment to install a coms hub to allow the full smart capabilities of the meter.

Apologise for the initial mixed messages and I glad we were able to get to the desired solution.

Result !!  Many thanks to all involved on this

I can now get my electrician and SSEN to proceed !!

And Comms hub at some point.

Can I also assume that the fitted Aclara SGM1416-B meter is already wired to switch high loads on the night rate (not just a 2A signal).  Think this relates to the ‘5th terminal’ ?

Andrew

Yay! That’s good to hear.

You’ll also be pleased to hear that I’ve got more good news for you as well. And this is exactly one of the things that I love about Aclara - their model numbering scheme is absolutely brilliant in so many ways!

I can confirm that the Aclara SGM1416-B is indeed a full on Five-Terminal model and also has an additional 2A Relay on top of that to control secondary loads like storage heaters. All of the main terminals are 100A so you’re good to go as long as it’s wired up properly. Which by the looks of things… Yours is set that way. Even if it’s not currently wired up for your use case, that wouldn’t be too hard to sort out. The meter itself is definitely capable, so at most it might just be a simple rewiring job.

Oh, and if you’d had been given the Aclara SGM1412-B instead, you’d have been on a Four-Terminal setup rather than a Five-Terminal. :)

@AndyBuzz  it is ready for switching the high loads via the 5th terminal, the cable marked LLL.

I will say that there may be a slight possibility that the meter itself will also have to be changed again. It is nothing to do with being inadequate but rather to do with the way it would be loaded into our systems but then again I could be completely wrong! Only an appointment will tell 😀

My bill using my smart meter Aclara SGM1416-B has estimated readings. Why is this? Also, how do I take a day and night reading from my electric meter? Thanks

Hi @MParso ,

The meter display will auto-scroll in sleep mode. You can get all the readings you need either via that or by pressing the A button.

Please show me photos of it and I’ll help you diagnose any issues.