Can't get smart meter, how can I get time of use tariff?

pvqueen

I live in a rural Wales. We don't have the signal needed for a smart meter so are stuck on standard tariff. Have tried asking our supplier (Octopus) they won't do anything without a smart meter but have no idea when we can have one. We have an EV and a home battery so could really do with off peak rates!
Are there any suppliers that offer economy 7 without a smart meter? Years ago my parents had an separate off peak meter.

MattMattMattUK

pvqueen said:

I live in a rural Wales. We don't have the signal needed for a smart meter so are stuck on standard tariff. Have tried asking our supplier (Octopus) they won't do anything without a smart meter but have no idea when we can have one. We have an EV and a home battery so could really do with off peak rates!
Are there any suppliers that offer economy 7 without a smart meter? Years ago my parents had an separate off peak meter.

You will not be able to get an EV tariff without a working smart meter. You could potentially have a functioning E7 system on a meter working in E7 mode, but you would need to run your numbers to make sure that still worked for you with the much higher day rate. However even then no supplier are fitting non-smart meters at the moment so that is probably not a solution.

When you say you do not have the signal, have you tried and failed, eg. is there a non-functioning smart meter installed, or are you making an assumption? Have you asked Octopus to install a smart meter and they have said no? Said not at the moment?

Gerry1

MattMattMattUK said:

pvqueen said:

I live in a rural Wales. We don't have the signal needed for a smart meter so are stuck on standard tariff. Have tried asking our supplier (Octopus) they won't do anything without a smart meter but have no idea when we can have one. We have an EV and a home battery so could really do with off peak rates!
Are there any suppliers that offer economy 7 without a smart meter? Years ago my parents had an separate off peak meter.

However even then no supplier are fitting non-smart meters at the moment so that is probably not a solution.

Are you sure? 

1. There must be many reclaimed non-smart two-rate meters that could be re-used.

2. Surely a two-rate smart meter can switch registers at the appropriate E7 times without needing a radio connection?

Reed_Richards

You might be able to get a smart meter that is preconfigured for an E7 tariff but the configuration would have to be done before the meter is installed.

MattMattMattUK

Gerry1 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

pvqueen said:

I live in a rural Wales. We don't have the signal needed for a smart meter so are stuck on standard tariff. Have tried asking our supplier (Octopus) they won't do anything without a smart meter but have no idea when we can have one. We have an EV and a home battery so could really do with off peak rates!
Are there any suppliers that offer economy 7 without a smart meter? Years ago my parents had an separate off peak meter.

However even then no supplier are fitting non-smart meters at the moment so that is probably not a solution.

Are you sure? 

Fairly yes.

Gerry1 said:

1. There must be many reclaimed non-smart two-rate meters that could be re-used.

They could be, but as suppliers are targeted on smart meter installations and fined if they do not hit those targets they have zero incentive to spend time reconditioning old E7 meters or install them.

Gerry1 said:

2. Surely a two-rate smart meter can switch registers at the appropriate E7 times without needing a radio connection?

Smart meters are usually configured to E7 via an OTA update. I believe there is a way an engineer higher than a normal installer can configure the meter to pretty much any settings using a tablet. The issue is Octopus are not likely to want to install a smart meter somewhere they know it will not work and it is not an existing E7 household so would not be replacing an existing installation. I am not saying it is impossible, I am just saying that it is not likely to be near the top of a priority list. 

Gerry1

MattMattMattUK said:

Gerry1 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

pvqueen said:

I live in a rural Wales. We don't have the signal needed for a smart meter so are stuck on standard tariff. Have tried asking our supplier (Octopus) they won't do anything without a smart meter but have no idea when we can have one. We have an EV and a home battery so could really do with off peak rates!
Are there any suppliers that offer economy 7 without a smart meter? Years ago my parents had an separate off peak meter.

However even then no supplier are fitting non-smart meters at the moment so that is probably not a solution.

Are you sure? 

Fairly yes.

Gerry1 said:

1. There must be many reclaimed non-smart two-rate meters that could be re-used.

They could be, but as suppliers are targeted on smart meter installations and fined if they do not hit those targets they have zero incentive to spend time reconditioning old E7 meters or install them.

Gerry1 said:

2. Surely a two-rate smart meter can switch registers at the appropriate E7 times without needing a radio connection?

Smart meters are usually configured to E7 via an OTA update. I believe there is a way an engineer higher than a normal installer can configure the meter to pretty much any settings using a tablet. The issue is Octopus are not likely to want to install a smart meter somewhere they know it will not work and it is not an existing E7 household so would not be replacing an existing installation. I am not saying it is impossible, I am just saying that it is not likely to be near the top of a priority list. 

That's pretty disgraceful.  It's understandable for 'real' ToU but absolutely not for simple E7.

It would cost a fortune for anyone in a notspot installing storage heaters.

Time for the OP to complain to the ombudsman.

Netexporter

pvqueen said:

I live in a rural Wales. We don't have the signal needed for a smart meter so are stuck on standard tariff. Have tried asking our supplier (Octopus) they won't do anything without a smart meter but have no idea when we can have one. We have an EV and a home battery so could really do with off peak rates!
Are there any suppliers that offer economy 7 without a smart meter? Years ago my parents had an separate off peak meter.

I live in rural Wales and my Octopus smart meter works perfectly. Took a while to get it, though, as the nearest installer was over 60 miles away.

cannugec5

I live in rural Scotland and would love a TOU tariff.
I have a smart meter but it has never functioned in smart mode since the day of installation over a year ago. 

Now that other people in my village have working smart meters I have got back onto Octopus and they have acknowledged that they need to ‘change my meter’ ( I have no comms hub) but there are currently no appointments available in my area. They have been saying that for the past 6 months. 

I do get the extra ‘spin of the wheel’ each month for being a smart meter customer though;)