Octopus Energy refusing to fix my gas meter

Scotty187570

jefaz07 said:

Scotty187570 said:

jefaz07 said:

You won’t get batteries replaced on an E6 meter. We used to carry batteries for the pre pay U6 meters and re set them with a GIS card. The meter is the suppliers property not Transco (or equivalent) 
I have t seen any photos on this thread to comment on but if the asset is built over then you need to provide access to it. 

It it just behind cupboards? 

Brilliant - that’s all I wanted to establish jefaz07. Thanks. 

It’s in a recess next to a larder cupboard - I take it the previous owners assumed there was still sufficient access. The fitter was decent so no complaint there. 

Just wanted to establish if a battery could be replaced by someone / a different supplier before I have to go down the meter relocation route so your reply answers that - cheers.

That being the case I’ll need to dismantle the larder cupboard and the adjacent unit (built in fridge freezer).
The gas pipe appears higher up the wall and runs into the ceiling (I live in a middle flat in a 3-storey tenement) so hoping that a smart meter could maybe be relocated above the kitchen pelmet. I recontact SGN to request a relocation work when I have the funds. 

If you live in a middle flat then the most likely outcome would be a meter box outside at ground level and you would have to pay for the pipe up into your property. This may require scaffolding and the costs could mount up! A new service wouldn’t be ran into your building now. So the meter goes outside. Sometimes you can get a WASK system and enter the property on a house  entry tee but this would need to be an outside wall with room! This is all an estimate as I can’t see your layout. 

SGN are correct, if you can access the primary ECV then that’s absolutely fine. Looking at your pics, If you removed that cupboard there doesn’t appear to be a reason why you couldn’t fit a new meter. I’ve exchanged meters in worse places! Bear in mind, there are a lot of unskilled meter fitters who just want nothing to do with it. They have been quickly trained and have no engineering experience...I’m not tarring them all with the same brush BTW just a fact. 

Brilliant - thanks for taking time to reply
Much appreciated 👍🏻

Scotty187570

MWT said:

Just so you are prepared for a possible related problem, how far away is the electricity meter, and is that already 'smart' or were they going to fit that at the same time?

If they intend to fit a smart gas meter it will need to connect to the comms module on a smart electricity meter and depending on how far away and what is in-between, there may be problems with that connection...

Good shout MWT thanks
Yep the non-smart electricity meter is in the hallway at the entrance to my flat (effectively the middle of the building) and the kitchen where the gas meter is located is at the back of the building. Although we have fairly thick walls, the wifi signal (if that counts) extends throughout as it’s not a big flat so that may be a bonus. 

I told the fitter I was ok with fitting a smart electricity meter if suitable at that time, but he didn’t want to go ahead with it (fair enough given the gas meter access hassle). 

Thanks for the additional info - appreciated 👍🏻