EDMI Mk7B SMETS 1 meter upgrade

[Indyfras]

Try emailing the service centre at DCC.
Servicecentre@smartdcc.co.uk
They were extremely helpful when I emailed them.

[smuj]

Try emailing the service centre at DCC.
Servicecentre@smartdcc.co.uk
They were extremely helpful when I emailed them.

Many thanks, I’ll try tomorrow.

[shire-dweller]

Thanks everyone for the comments

I emailed Octopus with the details on their website: https://octopus.energy/joining-smart-tariff/
And now phoned them too.

The good news is that they confirmed, both by email and phone, that they would be prepared to replace a SMETS 1 meter with a SMETS 2 meter (unlike Bulb, EDF or British Gas) to ensure compatibility with an EV tariff with cheaper overnight rates, as @jhg, @Leccy, @Utumno and others said.

The bad news is that they are not willing to take new customers at the moment, and even on the phone they did not want to give me a quote. Currently, if you try to get a quote in Octopus's website, you get these messages:

You need to know this
Right now, energy prices are at record highs, and most homes will be better off staying with their current energy supplier for the winter.
If your fixed term is coming to an end, don't choose a new tariff or switch supplier.
Instead, let your supplier automatically move you to their default tariff, so your prices are protected by the Government's Energy Price Cap.
I've read and understood the above, and I would still like a quote to switch to Octopus

Clicking the link at the bottom leads to another warning:

With global energy prices at record highs, you're unlikely to be better off by switching at this time.
If you think that's incorrect and would like a personalised quote, please call and speak to one of our experts on 08081693274 with your current energy prices to hand. Our lines are open 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am - 4pm on Friday.

I phoned that number and I was told: "We could go through a personalised quote now, but there is no point because you will be worse off" -- and he didn't even ask me what supplier I am with now, how much energy I use or what I currently pay!! Puzzled, I insisted: But what about the cheaper overnight rate for electric cars, isn't it worth it? How much is the overnight rate at the moment? His reply: "Phone back in January because prices will change. Right now is the worst time to be switching suppliers and we recommend that you stay with your current supplier." I thanked him and ended the call.

A supplier comparison (personalised switch quote) using the MoneySavingExpert.com Cheap Energy Club tool tells me that I would be about £400 worse off switching to Octopus's cheapest available tariff, although the comparison was not separately taking into account how much energy I use during the night and how much energy I use during the day.

Are there any whole-of-market, personal-quote comparison sites that allow you to enter separately how much electricity (KWh) you use overnight at cheaper rates, and during the day at higher rates, with a smart meter? Several comparison sites ask whether you have a dual-rate "Economy 7" meter, but that's not considered a smart meter and I understand that SMETS 1 meters cannot be replaced with old dumb-yet-smarter-than-smets1 meters. Otherwise, it is difficult to compare EV tariffs.

Comparison sites also needed to allow filtering by suppliers who are willing to replace SMETS 1 meters with SMETS 2 meters, as there is no point switching to a supplier with cheaper smart overnight rates if the supplier is not willing to replace the existing smart meter for compatibility -- like Bulb or EDF. By the way, during my searches, I found that Shell Energy has a similar stance to Octopus at the moment: they would be prepared to replace a SMETS 1 meter with a SMETS 2 meter for a customer to take advantage of an EV tariff with cheaper overnight rates, however Shell Energy are also not taking new customers (via supplier switch) at the moment.

I found this other website that lists EV tariffs (does not provide personalise quotes), but it is badly out of date, listing suppliers that have gone bust and tariffs that are no longer available to new customers: https://www.smarthomecharge.co.uk/guide ... -costs-low
MoneySavingExpert.com also have a useful related article: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utili ... y-tariffs/

Finally, if I do nothing and stay with Bulb, I may soon involuntarily end up with another supplier anyway (maybe even Octopus or Shell Energy), as Bulb has been in the news as the largest UK supplier to date likely to go bust in the next few days/weeks because of the interplay of Ofgem's price cap and wholesale energy costs.

What a mess...

[Scratch]

The whole industry is in flux at present. What they told you is correct. Stay with your existing supplier. Who knows what's going to happen. If it all settles down, then maybe the comparison sites will get their act together, even though we may not need comparison sites again.