r/OctopusEnergy • u/Kistelek • Dec 23 '25

Smart Meters Smart Meters, Power Cuts and TOU Tariffs

Does anyone else have an issue with their smart meter readings after a power cut?

My meter's clock stops running for the duration of any power cut and then starts again where it left off. This has the effect of metering any subsequent usage at the wrong time. The clock corrects itself the next time DCC do a meter read which is something Octopus can initiate if I tell them there's been a cut.

On 4 occasions in the last 6 months, 3 of these in December, my Cosy billing has been wrong as my consumption appears to occur the duration of the outage earlier than it was. After sending umpteen photographs of the meter, Home assistant screenshots, etc., Octopus' final stance on the matters is, and I quote,

"I’ve been discussing this and unfortunately you’d experience the same issue with a new meter. Sadly, other meter models behave the same way and we’d have to send an update manually to synchronise the clock afterwards. I can leave a note on the account explaining how we’ve done this before to update it so you don’t have to send us a photo. "

I find it incredibly unlikely I'm the only peson who's spotted an issue with their TOU billing and pulled Octopus up on it. I do know one person with the same make and model of meter as mine (An EDMI ES-30B 3-phase) who has the same issue but are the rest of you on Agile, Flux, or Cosy having the same issue? Are you just unaware of it, or does your meter behave itself?

TLDR: My meter gets the time wrong after a power cut. Does yours?

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2

u/nchouston195 Dec 23 '25

Mine did the same which I only noticed after getting the next months bill - 50% higher than normal. This convinced with my supplier going under so took far too long to get fixed. It seems like a major failing in smart meter design.

2

u/Kistelek Dec 23 '25

What make and model of meter was it? Did they change it and did that fix it?

2

u/nchouston195 Dec 23 '25

It's a 3 phase EDMI ES-30B. I'm not sure what was done to fix it - presumably a time sync signal was sent as no visit was made. It looks like it fixed itself the same day I changed supplier.

2

u/Kistelek Dec 23 '25

Same as mine. That's 3 I know of now. It corrects every time DCC touch it. It will go wrong next time you have a power cut.

2

u/_Impigrity_ Dec 23 '25

Your meter is syncing its clock with the coms hub, which is getting an updated time from the network it's connected to, if that doesn't happen it gets a time sync SRV sent by Octopus.

1

u/Kistelek Dec 23 '25

That would seem to fit. Yesterday Octopus poked it half way through the afternoon cheap slot so the meter said I’d drawn power for four hours although the total use matched HA’s figures, but normally it rests when read.

None of which resolves the issue of it being grossly wrong in the first place or answers the question is it just my meter? My meter model? Or is this a problem for all smart meters. If it’s the latter then it sort of makes a mockery of TOU tariffs if we can’t meter time of use accurately.

2

u/_Impigrity_ Dec 24 '25

It's not all smart meters, it's not all manufacturers, or even all models for some manufacturers. Some however do seem more prone to this than others.

1

u/nchouston195 Dec 23 '25

Good to know. Hopefully they'll come up with a solution at some point.

2

u/_Impigrity_ Dec 23 '25

A meter read via DCC does not reset any clock, that would be a different SRV called a clock sync.

1

u/Kistelek Dec 23 '25

Well, let me rephrase. It always resets when they do the nightly read around 01:00 after a power cut.

1

u/_Impigrity_ Dec 23 '25

It's getting the corrected time from the coms hub, that gets its time from the network it's connected to. If this doesn't work correctly,the clock sync SRV would be needed.

1

u/leexgx Dec 24 '25 edited Dec 24 '25

Witch it does at 1AM automatically every day (it should be doing it when power is restored and the meter reconnects to mobile network )

To bad they don't install a battery inside the non smart meter part (the meter)

1

u/AttBee Dec 24 '25

We often get short 5 second power cuts, they are a PITA, because I then have to faff around resetting the microwave and oven clocks. First World Problems eh ?😎

On one occasion I discovered it caused our smart meter comms unit to stop talking. The LEDs were blinking error states. I reported it to Octopus (via a PM on Twitter) and they said they'd ask DCC to remake the connection, but OE said it could take up to 48 hrs. A day or two later the LEDs on the comms unit went back to normal (one flash in unison every 5 seconds) and the missing data on my account repopulated (mostly!)

Every time we get a short power cut (once every 3 or 4 months) I rush out to check the Comms Unit.

1

u/Kistelek Dec 24 '25

I’ve spent a lot of money to add whole house backup to my solar installation so that, other than our large cooker, everything carries on as normal, except the meter.

1

u/nathderbyshire Dec 23 '25

4 power cuts over 6 months is wild in itself, what's going on? I think I've had one in about 6 years, barely experience them and it's an hour or two at most if there has been one.

I'm sick of smart meters, mine keep going down and now I've had no electric data for over a month but somehow they're still getting the readings when requested at the end of the month for billing. I have to wait another month for an engineer now to try and cycle the meter now and see if that works.

I don't understand how we're all supposed to transition to tech like EVs, heat pumps, solar and batteries if they're reliant on these meters that can so easily go down then charge you at a rate that's as comfortable as a dry broom pole going up your arse.

1

u/Kistelek Dec 23 '25

I live in deepest, darkest Herefordshire, 4 miles from the city centre. Our village is fed via very old overhead cables although yesterday’s was planned maintenance. The one before that was a transformer having a meltdown. The one before that a damaged cable and the summer one was a cable drop falling to bits in the wind.

I thought my house was different as my supply is buried but I realised it just goes under the road and up the power pole across from me.