3-phase Smart Meter installs in UK - when will they happen?

  • Tarja1's Avatar
    Level 1
    Hi,

    It seems that 3 phase smart meters are not the only problem. We are also unable to get NON smart 3 phase meter.
    We had major renovation work done to our house and as part of this thought we should move to renewables as much as possible.
    So about 6 months ago we made significant investment in having 3 phase electricity supply fitted (circa £4,000) and also filled our south facing roof with solar panels.
    I when discovered that only our electricity supplier can change our single phase smart meter to 3 phase meter. We are with Bulb and they get their 3 phase meters from Eon. We were shocked to be told that "3 phase smart meter installations have been indefinitely suspended". How long is indefinite? Nobody can tell.
    Subsequently I learned from difference source that businesses typically have non smart 3 phase meters so thought this could be our solution. Not ideal as we could never get payment for electricity we send back to grid but better than not connecting solar panels at all. However getting non smart meter also seems to be a problem.

    Months have rolled by and we have £8,000 solar panel system we cannot connect, when winter arrives we will be unable to power our electric heating from single phase we have meter for and getting an electric car will just have to wait as could not possibly connect the charger to our already overloaded phase we are able to meter.

    I would really appreciate any suggestions anyone has from their similar experience on how we might be able to solve this. Seems meters are readily available but just not for us! (Grown Energy has meters but cannot change ours as its property of our electricity supplier)

    Tarja
  • theunknowntech's Avatar
    Level 80
    Hi @Tarja1 ,

    There are a handful of suppliers I know of who are capable of installing 3-phase meters. Mostly the former Big 6 but other smaller ones are also capable. I'm with OVO myself and have confirmation from them that they're able to do three-phase meter upgrades for about £325. It's not just businesses that have them either, some homes do now. It's more of a case that half the industry is slow to catch up and many still consider three-phase to be a business thing.

    You'll need to switch supplier in order to get this work done in any realistic timeframe. I will leave it to you to decide who to go to.
    Just another guy passing by... The unknown tech way...
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  • Wadamson's Avatar
    Level 1
    Hi Deb, I’m an EonNext customer seeking a 3 phase meter. How do I find out if you’re fitting in my area please?
  • Han_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Team
    Morning @Wadamson,

    Its great to see that you are interested in getting one! To know more please drop our team a message with your account info and they will get you sorted out if they can do 😋.
    Have a lovely day!
    Hannah 🌍
    Last edited by DebF_EONNext; 10-10-24 at 12:33.
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  • DebF_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Team
    @Wadamson hey welcome to the community, it's lovely to have you here!

    I've tried to locate your account using your email address however it doesn't seem to be associated with your account on our system if you contact our energy specialists with your account details though they will be able to check your eligibility for you, if you need our contact details you can find them here: How to Contact us
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  • Anasa_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Tarja1 Good afternoon! Anasa here one of The Community members! a big welcome to forum! 👋 I'm so sorry to hear that you've not been able to get your solar panels connected after such a huge investment so thank you very much for your patience.

    As you can see from the above replies we've not got much information to go on at the moment, we know that we're working on installing them in some areas and could do with a bit of an up date as to what is happening as we know about as much as we've said already so I've reached out for some further information for you and will be back as soon as I have any news/update for you - you've not been forgotten 🙂
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  • TriMike's Avatar
    Level 1
    I have just installed a 55kW PV array on my land I use about 35% for my domestic use (I have a large house) about 25% for my business, and the rest goes back into the grid (for free!). I have a 3 phase supply, live in Scottish Borders, an import MPAN (no export MPAN), but no smart meter. Please advise me who can provide the appropriate meter since without it I am unable to arrange for the sale of this excess power. Many thanks.
  • Andy65's Avatar
    Level 47
    Based upon previous posts in @TriMike you might well be waiting a very long time for eon-next.
  • TriMike's Avatar
    Level 1
    @Andy65 Thanks. It does seem unfair that people like myself who have invested in a PV array (55kW in my case) and have been put on a 3 phase supply some years ago due to our high useage (we have a large house), are now unable to export our excess green energy for a modest return. At the moment I am ‘giving back to the grid’ some 30 mW a year for free!!
  • theunknowntech's Avatar
    Level 80
    55kW PV Array huh? Erm... That might be a bit too powerful for the Smart Export Guarantee. I'll check with the community moderators.

    It's possible you may need to use a different scheme, but I can't say for sure.