24/7 Emergency Metering Service
Summary
This change has been raised to address the issue that Suppliers currently are not required to provide a 24/7 emergency metering service that enables a Consumer to speak to an agent and/or receive a visit from a field operative outside normal business hours when faced with power loss situation relating to a metering issue. This Change Proposal has been raised to assess and consider the options to address this issue.
Latest update and next planned activity
Date of latest update
Latest Update
01/05/25 - Proposal withdrawn at proposers request.
Impacts Overview
Impacted Consumers
Electricity
Domestic
Impacted REC Parties and Market Participants
Energy Supplier
Distribution Network Operator
Meter Asset Provider
Impacted REC Documents
Schedule 1 - Interpretations and Definitions
Schedule 14 - Metering Operations
Other Industry Codes impacted
Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA)
Priority and rationale
Standard
Priority last updated on 17 Sep 2026
Solution development
Problem Statement
In situations where an Electricity Consumer experiences a loss of power, the DNOs who attend site to investigate and resolve the issues, are unable to do so when there is a meter issue, which is the responsibility of the Energy Supplier and it’s Appointed agents. When an issue occurs out of hours, or when an Energy Supplier does not have an out of hours metering service in operation, Consumers can be left without power for an extended period, this can create a safety or health concern, particularly for vulnerable Consumers or vulnerable members of their household.
Proposed solution summary
- As an Energy Consumer, I want my metering fault to be identified and fixed as soon as possible, so that I am not left in a situation where I have no electricity for an extended period. I want to be able to contact the correct Party to fix my metering fault. I want my personal circumstances to be taken in to account when arranging for a fault to be fixed out of standard working hours.
- As a DNO, where there is a meter fault identified I want to be able to contact the Energy Supplier to rectify this, no matter what day or time this is identified, so that Consumers are not left without power for extended periods, during which time they may require ongoing help, support and communication. As an Energy Supplier, I want to provide my Customers with accurate and relevant Emergency contact information. As an Energy Supplier, I want to be able to respond to meter faults in a timely manner and not leave Consumers without power for an extended period.
- As a MEM, I want to be notified, in a timely manner, of faults that occur on Metering assets I am responsible for, so that I am able to rectify these without undue detriment being experienced by Consumers
No documents available.
There is currently no Change Plan.
Original submission
Change details
Bryan Heap - Electricity North West Limited
17 Jun 2022
Change details
24/7 Emergency Metering Service
Address the issue that Suppliers do not provide a year-round emergency metering service that enables a customer to speak to an agent and/or receive a visit from a field operative outside normal business hours. In addition, most Supplier energy bills do not appear to have contact information for customers who have a metering fault and wish to report it, although ‘105’ seems to be in a prominent position on the bills.
Customers are contacting DNOs when they are off supply as a result of a metering fault. This can result in DNO field staff, who should be attending network faults, attending ‘no supply’ jobs that turn out to be caused by faulty meters i.e. no fault with the DNO owned equipment.
Unfortunately, as these situations occur outside normal business hours, when most suppliers contact centres are closed, this can cause frustration/anger for customers which they sometimes take out on the member of DNO staff who happens to be on site.
This results in inconvenience to customers who contacted the DNO but then had to wait until their emergency metering service provider can attend. Vulnerable customers and in particular prepayment meter customers maybe left off supply either overnight or in the case of weekend/Bank Holidays the customer can be off supply for a number of days, before their Supplier can arrange for an emergency metering service appointment.
Unfortunately, as these situations occur outside normal business hours, when most suppliers contact centres are closed, this can cause frustration/anger for customers which they sometimes take out on the member of DNO staff who happens to be on site.
This results in inconvenience to customers who contacted the DNO but then had to wait until their emergency metering service provider can attend. Vulnerable customers and in particular prepayment meter customers maybe left off supply either overnight or in the case of weekend/Bank Holidays the customer can be off supply for a number of days, before their Supplier can arrange for an emergency metering service appointment.
Communication to customers of who they should telephone, together with the number they should call, when they have a metering fault and the provision of an all year-round facility for customers to speak to an agent and/or receive a visit from a field operative outside normal business hours because of a metering fault causing a ‘no supply’.
Electricity North West [DNO] attended 1,133 [an average of 5 a day] of this type of job between Apr-21 and Nov-21, which resulted in abortive visits as it was unable to assist the customer, apart from advising them to contact their supplier and for customers on its Priority Services Register signposting them to a local partner (e.g. Age Concern). This was also discussed at DCUSA SIG.
Impacts
Electricity, Domestic Prepayment, Domestic Credit
Security of supply, On site experience
DCUSA Issues Form (DIF) 63 was initially raised by Electricity North West and submitted to ElectraLink for the meeting of the DCUSA Standing Issues Group (SIG) on 29 April 2022. The meeting was attended by Supplier, DNO and IDNO parties and the outcome was that as this is potentially dual fuel involving retail parties it would be more beneficial for it to be progressed through the REC change process.
Additionally, it was suggested that it would be useful to issue a request for information to gain a better understanding of the data relating to how many customers this issue is affecting. It is understood that ElectraLink has already contacted the RECCo about this.
It became apparent at the SIG that customers off supply also contact other Suppliers due to a metering issue when they are unable to get in touch with their own registered Supplier. It was also noted that customers may not fully understand ‘friendly credit’ for those with prepayment meters who may worry that they could run out of gas/electricity over the weekend, so more guidance and information around this is needed.
It is worth noting that following the implementation of DCUSA Change Proposal (DCP) 364 ‘Provision of Information on Suppliers Emergency Metering Service Provisions’ on 5 November 2020, there is a ‘Supplier Emergency Metering Service Provisions Register’ on the DCUSA website which Supplier Parties should populate to provide and maintain up to date information on their emergency metering service provisions under that code, but from a retail perspective the REC should take this a step further and provide an opportunity for a customer to ‘speak’ to its Supplier when off supply due to a metering fault, and if required receive a physical ‘visit’ from the supplier’s metering service, where reasonable, to fix the meter fault and restore the supply outside normal business hours.
Examples (Depending on the supplier’s current metering service):
• A customer who loses supply, due to a metering fault, late on a Wednesday night can potentially expect to be without electricity at least overnight
• A customer who loses supply, due to a metering fault, late on a Friday night can potentially expect to be without electricity for at least three nights
• A customer who loses supply, due to a metering fault, late on a Friday night on a bank holiday weekend can potentially expect to be without electricity for at least four nights
Customers do not appear to be aware of suppliers’ policies in this area, some of which may be to leave their customer off supply until the next working day. These types of out of hours scenarios can result in the customer (who may be vulnerable) still ringing the DNO, using up valuable resources which should be dealing with network faults.
On 30 January 2018, Ofgem sent suppliers an open letter on emergency metering services for both gas and electricity smart meters.
Ofgem stated “We expect suppliers to put a plan in place to ensure that they deliver emergency metering services in an efficient manner and, in particular, in a manner that delivers positive customer outcomes.”
A customer staying off supply because of a metering issue would not be seen as a ‘positive’ outcome’.
Ofgem went on to say:
“We consider that, as a minimum, supplier’s plans should take into account the following factors:
1. All suppliers should have emergency metering services in place for all of their gas and electricity customers using smart meters.
2. Suppliers should deliver an emergency metering service appropriate for an essential service to all energy consumers, paying special attention to vulnerable consumers.
In line with the Standards of Conduct, key things suppliers should think about when they are developing their plans include:
• How suppliers plan to communicate to energy consumers what their emergency offerings are. For example, providing clear contact details in the event of an out-of-hours emergency
• Detailed plans for vulnerable consumers. Suppliers should put in place appropriate arrangements to meet the needs of vulnerable consumers, for example, whether to provide alternative heating and cooking, and re-establishing supply promptly
• Details of how suppliers will provide emergency metering services and how quickly they will restore the energy supply to consumers in an emergency metering situation. E.g. Key Performance Indicators for fixing the faulty meters
• How suppliers will engage with DNOs/GDNs in emergency metering situations, to ensure that emergency arrangements are delivered in an efficient manner (given that GDN/DNOs are likely to be the party who identifies that it is a meter issue)
• How suppliers will deal with a more widespread emergency replacement in a large-scale emergency, such as under post-flood recovery scenarios or similar
• How suppliers will provide emergency metering services to customers with traditional meters or advanced meters in a smart world
• Generally, how suppliers can deliver this service in the most effective and efficient way”
Consequently, there does seem to be a need for a well communicated and efficient Supplier-led 24/7-emergency metering service. This would enable, if required, a customer to speak to an agent and/or receive a visit from a field operative, where reasonable, to fix the meter fault and restore supply outside normal business hours.
Additionally, it was suggested that it would be useful to issue a request for information to gain a better understanding of the data relating to how many customers this issue is affecting. It is understood that ElectraLink has already contacted the RECCo about this.
It became apparent at the SIG that customers off supply also contact other Suppliers due to a metering issue when they are unable to get in touch with their own registered Supplier. It was also noted that customers may not fully understand ‘friendly credit’ for those with prepayment meters who may worry that they could run out of gas/electricity over the weekend, so more guidance and information around this is needed.
It is worth noting that following the implementation of DCUSA Change Proposal (DCP) 364 ‘Provision of Information on Suppliers Emergency Metering Service Provisions’ on 5 November 2020, there is a ‘Supplier Emergency Metering Service Provisions Register’ on the DCUSA website which Supplier Parties should populate to provide and maintain up to date information on their emergency metering service provisions under that code, but from a retail perspective the REC should take this a step further and provide an opportunity for a customer to ‘speak’ to its Supplier when off supply due to a metering fault, and if required receive a physical ‘visit’ from the supplier’s metering service, where reasonable, to fix the meter fault and restore the supply outside normal business hours.
Examples (Depending on the supplier’s current metering service):
• A customer who loses supply, due to a metering fault, late on a Wednesday night can potentially expect to be without electricity at least overnight
• A customer who loses supply, due to a metering fault, late on a Friday night can potentially expect to be without electricity for at least three nights
• A customer who loses supply, due to a metering fault, late on a Friday night on a bank holiday weekend can potentially expect to be without electricity for at least four nights
Customers do not appear to be aware of suppliers’ policies in this area, some of which may be to leave their customer off supply until the next working day. These types of out of hours scenarios can result in the customer (who may be vulnerable) still ringing the DNO, using up valuable resources which should be dealing with network faults.
On 30 January 2018, Ofgem sent suppliers an open letter on emergency metering services for both gas and electricity smart meters.
Ofgem stated “We expect suppliers to put a plan in place to ensure that they deliver emergency metering services in an efficient manner and, in particular, in a manner that delivers positive customer outcomes.”
A customer staying off supply because of a metering issue would not be seen as a ‘positive’ outcome’.
Ofgem went on to say:
“We consider that, as a minimum, supplier’s plans should take into account the following factors:
1. All suppliers should have emergency metering services in place for all of their gas and electricity customers using smart meters.
2. Suppliers should deliver an emergency metering service appropriate for an essential service to all energy consumers, paying special attention to vulnerable consumers.
In line with the Standards of Conduct, key things suppliers should think about when they are developing their plans include:
• How suppliers plan to communicate to energy consumers what their emergency offerings are. For example, providing clear contact details in the event of an out-of-hours emergency
• Detailed plans for vulnerable consumers. Suppliers should put in place appropriate arrangements to meet the needs of vulnerable consumers, for example, whether to provide alternative heating and cooking, and re-establishing supply promptly
• Details of how suppliers will provide emergency metering services and how quickly they will restore the energy supply to consumers in an emergency metering situation. E.g. Key Performance Indicators for fixing the faulty meters
• How suppliers will engage with DNOs/GDNs in emergency metering situations, to ensure that emergency arrangements are delivered in an efficient manner (given that GDN/DNOs are likely to be the party who identifies that it is a meter issue)
• How suppliers will deal with a more widespread emergency replacement in a large-scale emergency, such as under post-flood recovery scenarios or similar
• How suppliers will provide emergency metering services to customers with traditional meters or advanced meters in a smart world
• Generally, how suppliers can deliver this service in the most effective and efficient way”
Consequently, there does seem to be a need for a well communicated and efficient Supplier-led 24/7-emergency metering service. This would enable, if required, a customer to speak to an agent and/or receive a visit from a field operative, where reasonable, to fix the meter fault and restore supply outside normal business hours.
Schedule 1 - Interpretations and Definitions, Schedule 14 - Metering Operations
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No details provided
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No details provided
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Energy Suppliers, Distribution Network Operators, Meter Asset Providers
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Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA)
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No
No details provided
Priority & timing
No
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The change proposal should be implemented at a time to give sufficient notice to parties for any changes to systems and/or processes.
No details provided
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