I have just completed a switch for my electricity from SSE on a dumb meter to Octopus Agile on a SMETS2 smart meter.
The whole process took about 6 weeks from the point at which I realized that I would like to be on the Octopus Agile tariff to being live on Agile.
If you are currently on a dumb meter but are considering switching to Octopus, my advice is to consider carefully how you do the switch and the order you do things in.
This is the process I followed:
Why did I do things this way?
In order to get one of the Octopus EV friendly time of use tariffs (Go, Go Faster, Agile), you require half hour billing via a smart meter.
Right now, Octopus appear to have significant issues installing the large numbers of smart meters that customers switching to them need. Without a compatible smart meter, you will be stuck on an interim tariff with Octopus, possibly for a long time and could have a lot of frustration trying to get a smart meter installed.
Conversely the large established electricity providers are falling over themselves to get their customers signed up for smart meters because they have to meet targets for installations or they get fined. If you go onto your current supplier's website, the chances are the first thing you will see is a big banner asking you to get a smart meter.
In order to avoid the fines, the large established electricity providers need to install SMETS2 meters and right now it appears that they have much more installation capacity than there is customer demand. The older style SMETS1 meters don’t count towards installation targets anymore, but obviously it is worth checking that you are getting the newer type of meter.
SMETS2 smart meters are interoperable and can be read by any provider that has a relationship with a company called the DCC which collects the smart meter data. This contrasts with the older SMETS1 meters which would often only work with your original supplier and would go dumb if you switched.
So you don’t need an Octopus installed meter, you just need any SMETS2 meter that has been successfully enrolled with the DCC.
So I stayed with SSE for a couple of weeks longer than if I had switched instantly but then was able to access the Octopus tariff I wanted very quickly.
If this is useful advice and you are switching to Octopus, please consider using my referral code so that we can both save £50.
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The whole process took about 6 weeks from the point at which I realized that I would like to be on the Octopus Agile tariff to being live on Agile.
If you are currently on a dumb meter but are considering switching to Octopus, my advice is to consider carefully how you do the switch and the order you do things in.
This is the process I followed:
- Booked an upgrade to a SMETS2 smart meter with my existing supplier. I was able to do this online and had a meter installed with a couple of weeks.
- Waited to see that the smart meter worked with my online account with my existing supplier and that I could see a history of half-hourly usage. This took a couple of days after the installation to be able to see the data.
- Initiated the switch to Octopus on an interim tariff with a request to be moved onto Agile.
- The switch to Octopus took 17 days and then an additional 4 days for the switch to Agile once Octopus could read the data from my smart meter.
Why did I do things this way?
In order to get one of the Octopus EV friendly time of use tariffs (Go, Go Faster, Agile), you require half hour billing via a smart meter.
Right now, Octopus appear to have significant issues installing the large numbers of smart meters that customers switching to them need. Without a compatible smart meter, you will be stuck on an interim tariff with Octopus, possibly for a long time and could have a lot of frustration trying to get a smart meter installed.
Conversely the large established electricity providers are falling over themselves to get their customers signed up for smart meters because they have to meet targets for installations or they get fined. If you go onto your current supplier's website, the chances are the first thing you will see is a big banner asking you to get a smart meter.
In order to avoid the fines, the large established electricity providers need to install SMETS2 meters and right now it appears that they have much more installation capacity than there is customer demand. The older style SMETS1 meters don’t count towards installation targets anymore, but obviously it is worth checking that you are getting the newer type of meter.
SMETS2 smart meters are interoperable and can be read by any provider that has a relationship with a company called the DCC which collects the smart meter data. This contrasts with the older SMETS1 meters which would often only work with your original supplier and would go dumb if you switched.
So you don’t need an Octopus installed meter, you just need any SMETS2 meter that has been successfully enrolled with the DCC.
So I stayed with SSE for a couple of weeks longer than if I had switched instantly but then was able to access the Octopus tariff I wanted very quickly.
If this is useful advice and you are switching to Octopus, please consider using my referral code so that we can both save £50.

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