Gas Smart Meter - No Display/Battery Dead - Estimated Closing Read?

Boohoo

If it was a previous tenant then it's their problem if they were the ones who's named on the account.

If you are are the account holder then that's different.

WiserMiser

Smart meters are supposed to store data for the last 13 months so it should be possible to extract it. Best to have this done in situ, otherwise it may just be recycled or sent to landfill and then it'll be too late.

Raise this with Octopus as a formal complaint and get a reference number. You may need to escalate it because the agent is probably following a script and won't know all the technical details. If necessary, ask for a deadlock letter so that you can go to the Ombudsman. If they don't send one, wait eight weeks and then go to the Ombudsman.

Boohoo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168891#Comment_82168891

The OP has said that they are not the bill payer , their tenant was so can a landlord access their account to sort this out?

Bendo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82167917#Comment_82167917

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168891#Comment_82168891

If the battery is flat, there is no data to extract.

Boohoo

The OP needs to tell us a few things if they want to.

OP says no readings for 13 months but how does he know that if he is not the bill payer?

If he is a landlord why can't he have access to the house when the tenant moves out unless he lives miles away for Octopus to change the meter?

The landlord should only be charged for what they use so if Octopus say reading is 4000 when tenant left then the tenant will have to pay what they owe and landlord starts paying from 4000 onwards.

lohr500

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82169234#Comment_82169234

Not that Googling always provies a reliable source of information, but it does suggest that smart meters contain NVM (non volatile memory) technology.

If this is the case, then the usage data may well be captured in said NVM and accessible with the correct equipment.

I guess the issue could be on what date the battery failed and so on what date the last readings, if any, were stored in the NVM.

Then again, the display and comms side of the gas meter might shut down first when the battery gets low, but the system continues to keep writing usage data to the memory until the battery voltage falls even lower.Who knows??!!

debitcardmayhem

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82169841#Comment_82169841

But if the battery is flat then the meter cant change the NVM from that point.

Ildhund

@lohr500 wrote:

smart meters contain NVM (non volatile memory) technology.

The horse's mouth may be a more useful source! From SMETS2 (GSME: Gas Smart Metering Equipment):

4.4.3 Data storage GSME shall be capable of retaining all information held in its Data Store at all times, including on loss of power.

The list of data items to be stored is really, really long.

MeteredOut

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82169920#Comment_82169920

It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibilities that someone (even at Octopus) has assumed no display = dead battery. I doubt anyone has actually checked it.

Swipe

As @debitcardmayhem has stated, while it's true that the NVM will preserve any data for the life of the meter (let's say, approx 15 years), the meter may only continue to record usage using the power stored in the capacitors for around a month after the internal battery has failed. So it may only contain 13 months' worth of data up to the point it stopped recording and won't help in this situation.