Communication hub lost contact with E.ON ?

MikeE67

I moved to E.ON on 1st October and according to E.ON I still have to give manual meter readings.

This is despite the HAN, WAN, SW and GAS lights flashing normally i.e. once fast with an interval of around 4 seconds.

I am told that E.ON have sent a request to the DCC to receive a firmware update to allow E.ON to be able to download meter readings.

Both my SMETS2 meters were installed in July 2019 so surely they wouldn't need a firmware update so soon after installation ?

Any one know any different ?

Also I still have my old suppliers (OVO) tariff data showing on my IHD and I have been told that downloading E.ON's tariff data is not possible either ?

[Deleted User]

E.oN hasn’t lost contact with your meter as it never had it in the first place. For SMETS2, your meter communicates with the DCC. E.oN retrieves your data from the DCC via an adaptor. You can check whether your meter is communicating with the DCC by signing up with a third-party DCC user such as N3rgy.com. They use their own adaptor. If N3rgy has your data, then the problem is the interface between the supplier and the DCC.

Meter manufacturers push out firmware updates periodically. My L and G G470 meter stopped recording usage about a week ago. This happened a year ago and it was put down to a botched firmware update the affected some meters. Using the N3rgy website, I can see that my gas meter is still connected to the DCC.

MikeE67

@ Dolor - Thanks for the feedback.
Unfortunately I am not allowed to register as I don't have a business email address !

[Deleted User]

MikeE67 said:

@ Dolor - Thanks for the feedback.
Unfortunately I am not allowed to register as I don't have a business email address !

You do not need a business account. All you need is your MPAN and IHD number.

Click on ‘I am a consumer’. No need to register.

MikeE67

Dolor said:

You do not need a business account. All you need is your MPAN and IHD number.

Click on ‘I am a consumer’. No need to register.

Thanks. I have entered my MPAN number but get an error. I have entered all 21 digits, only the last 13 digits both with and without the S but get the error "The MPxN requested is invalid or not yet accessible with n3rgy data."

I assume I have entered the right number as mentioned in my screenshot (below):

MikeE67

It goes without saying that I didn't enter that example of a MPAN reference number (I googled it as I wasn't sure of my MPAN), I entered my MPAN taken off my E.ON account.

Also my IHD number is of the format of 8 clusters of 2 numbers i.e. xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx ?

I haven't entered my IHD number yet as I can't get past the MPAN screen posted above !

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi Mike E67, I hope you're well. 

I recall your thread from last week and we have been conversing since. I can see you're trying to check whether your meters are enrolled into the DCC and therefore able to send us meter readings. At the risk of sounding too short, doing this will only tell you what we already know and have advised you of; they're not sending us readings. 

Admittedly with you having SMETS 2 meters I appreciate they should be sending us readings. Unfortunately this isn't yet a perfect system and we see switches where maybe 1 in 1000 come over and don't work. I am sorry to say that in this instance you are the statistic. 

As you've mentioned we have sent off to the relevant parties and carried out the steps from our end to get this fixed for you. Please allow a couple of months. As you're billed quarterly you may need to provide meter readings once, twice at a push, but hopefully then we'll be able to get them remotely. Once your meters start sending us readings we'll also link into your IHD so it can show you usage info in £££'s. 

Appreciate your patience and I do apologise for the inconvenience, Matt

MikeE67

E.ON_Company_Representative said:

Hi Mike E67, I hope you're well. 

I recall your thread from last week and we have been conversing since. I can see you're trying to check whether your meters are enrolled into the DCC and therefore able to send us meter readings. At the risk of sounding too short, doing this will only tell you what we already know and have advised you of; they're not sending us readings. 

Admittedly with you having SMETS 2 meters I appreciate they should be sending us readings. Unfortunately this isn't yet a perfect system and we see switches where maybe 1 in 1000 come over and don't work. I am sorry to say that in this instance you are the statistic. 

As you've mentioned we have sent off to the relevant parties and carried out the steps from our end to get this fixed for you. Please allow a couple of months. As you're billed quarterly you may need to provide meter readings once, twice at a push, but hopefully then we'll be able to get them remotely. Once your meters start sending us readings we'll also link into your IHD so it can show you usage info in £££'s. 

Appreciate your patience and I do apologise for the inconvenience, Matt

Thanks for the feedback. I know I am impatient but I have had my curent SMETS2 meter fitted only 17 months ago and I have had intermittent problems with it and for nearly half that length of time since it was fitted, it has gone into 'dumb mode'.

I didn't have any connectivity problems when I had my first smart meter installed around 6 years ago so it can't be due to a poor signal ?
It was a SMETS1 meter and I was with Scottish Power at the time and I only had it taken out and my current SMETS2 fitted because at the time it wasn't able to communicate with OVO and OVO insisted that I have one fitted to get their lowest tariffs. I was also pressurised into having smart meters fitted 6 years ago when I was with Scottish Power but at least it worked !

I just feel that my situation has gone backwards even though the SMART technology is supposedly more advanced now !

I will wait a couple of months as you suggest but I am wondering why it takes that long to fix a connectivity problem although I appreciate that it's out of your hands as it is down to the DCC

MikeE67

I have decided to move to Octopus energy as when I signed up I was promised that E.ON would sort out my smart meters which they have failed to do.

I was told on signing up that E.ON would either arrange a home visit to fix the problem or replace my smart meters if found to be faulty both of which they have failed to do and I am not waiting at least 3 months for this to drag on. I haven't had my smart meters working for almost a year as it is.

I had around £60 owing on my account which I just paid by debit card so E.ON shouldn't have cause to object to my switching. I will, of course, keep my direct debit active until I get a final bill off E.ON 

I rang up Octopus energy yesterday and I told them about my smart meters not working because I need a firmware update and they said that only SMETS1 meters need firmware updates to transfer them on to the DCC network as opposed to the old system where only your energy company had access to meter data.

I explained that I have SMETS2 meters which were only installed in July 2019 and they said I shouldn't need firmware updates.

I paid OVO £60 in exit fees as I left my 2 year contract early in anticipation that everything would be sorted and as my current E.ON contract doesn't have any exut fees so it's a no brainer to switch again.

I have lost faith in E.ON customer service and I don't like being lied to like I was when I was with OVO

[Deleted User]

SMETS2 meters do receive firmware updates. For SMETS2, your meters connect to the DCC and the supplier communicates with the meter using software known as an adaptor. Sign up to N3rgy or the Bright App (both use their own adaptors) and you will be able to see whether your meters are connecting to the DCC. If so, the problem sits between E.oN and the DCC (unlikely). If there is no data then you probably have a meter or comms hub issue. FWiW, I am with Octopus and both my L&G meters need replacing (installed July 2019). Nothing moves quickly in the domestic energy sector, so I am not expecting them to be replaced in the near term. In sum, switching to Octopus may not solve your issues as they have their own ongoing adaptor issues. Smart metering is not the smartest of programmes.

MikeE67

Even if true what you say I am still going ahead with the switch as what I was told when I was in communication with E.ON hasn't taken place.

However thanks for your feedback.