[zappedtoe]

Trilliant comms hub

[retrotecchie]

That's the issue then. It's likely that is either completely dead or simply cannot establish a network signal. If it's not visible on the existing cellular network, then it physically cannot be migrated without an engineer making a modification to it (effectively changing the internal SIM card) or replacing it. Your meters themselves may well be fine on an SMETS2 hub and will work OK, but it's rare an engineer would be able to just swap out a hub.

[zappedtoe]

So should EON Next have sorted this ages ago? they have never told me this?

[retrotecchie]

@zappedtoe

Not something they can sort until DCC confirm the BG meters cannot be migrated. They can request DCC to attempt meter migration, and likely have on more than one occasion, but that's as much as they can do. They didn't provide the original meters and migration and adopting of meters and providing the secure comms network is entirely the bailiwick of DCC. Once all attempts to migrate have been tried and failed, then the problem goes back to the supplier who can then flag you up for an SMETS2 upgrade, which they should complete by the end of this year.

[zappedtoe]

Thank you @retrotecchie for your help , I'll await an explanation from a EON Next rep as to how to move this forward as I feel waiting since 2019 for something to be done is not really acceptable.

[retrotecchie]

@zappedtoe

What I can do is tag @PeterT_EONNext for you. He seems to be the 'go to' person for chasing smart meter issues. Not sure when he's in next but he'll pick up this message and hopefully get back to you.

[zappedtoe]

@retrotecchie Brilliant, thanks again 👍

[PeterT_EONNext]

Hi @zappedtoe

@retrotecchie is absolutely right in the information that he's given to you. I've reached out to a colleague in our Smart Team who has taken a look at the meters installed in your home and has advised me of the following:

The meters have been installed by a different supplier and are legacy SMETS1 meters (pre 2018). Once the supply was switched away from the installing supplier, the function to get automatic meter readings stops and they become dormant smart meters. To be able to re-connect to the meter it needs to be enrolled into the DCC.

The DCC are working on enrolling all dormant smart meters onto their network. Due to the type of meters they are, these can only communicate with the supplier that installed the meter currently, we'll have to wait for the data communications company to enrol the meters fully before we can communicate and start to get automatic meter readings. The deadline we've been given for this is a blanket "by 2025" and manual requests to enrol these meters to the DCC are rejected, so we're unable to request enrolment or replace these meters currently.


I'm sorry, as I know that this probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but this will be a case of waiting for the meters to be re-enrolled on the DCC network before they can function as smart meters again.

[zappedtoe]

Having got solar in June I'm now stuck in the awful situation of not being able to fully utilize them to control my costs because my meter (electric) does not send half hourly or any readings. Now you are telling me it might be beyond 2025, 6 years from going dumb! I've been told many times it should be done by the end of each year 2019, 20, 21, 22... Who do I need to contact to move this forward and get the electricity meter working?

[retrotecchie]

@PeterT_EONNext @zappedtoe

Here is a little explanation that I've come across, which through a bit of research and actually opening up and looking inside a couple of old comms hubs myself I think is the case.

In the southern half of the UK, smart meters use the cellular/mobile networks for communication. They use legacy 2g data communications over the 2g/3g networks in the same way that early mobile phones connected to mobile data using WAP. The hub itself actually contains a cellular modem, which effectively has a SIM card (a physical SIM in some hubs and a software SIM on others). Now, with SMETS1 meters, this SIM was very much supplier specific and each company dealt with it's own communications, rather than using a 'universal' data network like DCC have implemented. So a British Gas SIM could only send data to and from British Gas, and likewise an EDF SIM would only communicate with EDF. Think of the SIM as only having one access point programmed into it for WAP access, and that was the access point for the specific supplier. If you change suppler, the access point needs to be reprogrammed.

Another slight complication was that different suppliers also had arrangements with different mobile networks. Some meters used O2 or Vodafone and others used EE.

So, the meter could still be trying to 'phone home' to the original supplier, but their end is no longer taking calls as your meter is no longer on their books.

Step forward to today, and the only way to get the meters back on line is for the DCC to effectively phone the meter. If they can make a connection, they can download new configurations to the hub, set the access point to the DCC network rather than the old supplier, and thus get the meter talking again. DCC then channel the data from the meter through their networks and on to the appropriate supplier.

Think of this like you changing your phone contract, not PUKing your old phone number to the new network, and then having to manually go through your contacts list and call all your family and friends to say you've changed your mobile number.

So, now imagine 5 million meters in this situation. DCC need to try and 'phone' each meter, wait for the meter to answer, then if it does, reprofile the access point and get them onto the new network. Some of the meters will be 'engaged', some meters will have failed hubs, and some would have even been on mobile networks that have been switched off, as Vodafone and EE have been in my region.

Many meters do indeed 'take the call', allow reconfiguration and migration to DCC, but a significant number don't. DCC will keep retrying for as long as possible to get the 'unanswering' meters to pick up the call, so to speak, but if the hubs have failed or their network is down or communications are patchy, then it just won't work.

Eventually their whole 'friends and family list' so to speak will have a bunch of ticks to say that yes, these meters are now in touch again, as well as a bunch without ticks that simply cannot be contacted as the hubs have failed or the networks are not available. This list is then divvied up by supplier, and sent to the appropriate company who will then know who's meters aren't talking, and need to be replaced.

This is not a quick process. It is automated to a high degree, but still requires an individual 'shout out' to each individual comms hub to bring it back on line if at all possible.

It is also eminently possible that some suppliers, especially those that no longer exist, may not even have 100% accurate records of all their meters - the phone contacts list to use the phone analogy. They should be able to be tracked down eventually but that is rather like trying to find someone ex-directory by phoning unlisted numbers at random until you actually find the number you need.

This should help answer the question of 'why does it take so long' and 'why are some meters unable to be eventually migrated'.