Add ability for OVO Support Team to reset the Future Annual Consumption figures

How does that work if the previous half year is all winter months, or all summer months? (Sorry I’ve not looked back at your previous explanation)

Any industry usage figure tied to our property certainly was not used when our first dd payments were calculated. We joined in an October and the first few months of use was used as a basis with no significant adjustment made for winter/summer use. 
As I’ve mentioned in another thread, it took a few calls to agree an initial level for the dd and since then I’m told that I will have a surplus at the end of my contract. 
One of the fundamental differences with OVO’s system is maintaining a credit in your account which I had not come across before, paying quarterly and at the end of a quarter 

1. I suspect it might be hard to use a smaller time frame due to annual and seasonal differences, holidays etc. But it is an interesting idea in the current environment. We haven't reduced our usage this period, but did in the first year we got our smart meter. 

2. Currently OVO don't use a 12 month time frame for calculating the Future Annual Consumption. They use a longer time frame to attempt to mitigate short term fluctuations due to holidays etc.

3. I assume OVO have tested various algorithms for how to calculate and refresh the Future Annual Consumption. We know it does not update particularly quickly and takes 6 months to settle down if the starting value is too high for whatever reason, hence the need for some customers to have their direct debits frozen for 2 three month periods by the Collections Team. 

4. It is probably challenging to get an algorithm that works for everyone and reacts quick enough. We see examples where people have installed solar PV and it takes time for the OVO system to automatically adjust as no manual adjustment is possible. 

Be interesting to know what algorithms OVO have tested, including any like the idea from @Firedog

You raise some good points @Firedog 

I must admit i and others stopped looking into this once it became clear the best advice was call collections and ask for your DD to be frozen at a lower level as suggested by @Tim_OVO . OVO wouldn't adjust the Future Annual Consumption. There didn't seem much point digging any further to understand the approach, features and issues. 

I am not sure if this helps, here are a few thoughts on the good questions you raised. 

1. I wonder sometimes if we get confused with the Future Annual Consumption figure that OVO say they calculate, with the EAC which OVO say they don't personally calculate, but is updated as meter readings are fed into it. 

You mentioned quarterly updates, i assume you mean the EAC? My Future Annual Consumption figure is definitely updated much more often?

2. Is it a common problem? I don't know the statistics, but we tend to see more cases whenever the SSE migrations pick up pace for example. There are similar cases raised on the ovo Facebook and Twitter feeds from time to time for example. Certainly the impact can be big for some of those impacted.

3. Is it related to a dearth of meter readings? We have seen a variety of examples some people have smart meters, others traditional meters. We sometimes help customers via private message so not all the data is visible on posts. There are a sample of customers referenced in this thread, but I suspect some of the links may not work as threads have been combined. 

4. Are people complaining when the issue is really about rates? I haven't seen that. The combined issue of a high starting value for the Future Annual Consumption and someone coming off a fixed rate is clearly big. Certainly some people are surprised how much rates have risen, but that tends to be a different cohort of people in my experience. 

I’m certain we do! I rather thought that Future Annual Consumption (FAC) was the mandatory one, to be used for tariff comparisons and thus stored centrally for other suppliers to access. I see it on my Plan page. The EAC, which I couldn’t find anywhere when I had a quick look just now, I rather thought was the one that OVO can manipulate and then use to calculate Direct Debit suggestions. Annoyingly, neither figure is now shown on monthly statements (although I’m fairly sure it ought to be), and, on the TIL on my Renewal page, I see yet another incarnation of this figure: the Estimated Yearly Use. I suppose, because I have a smart meter that’s been churning out figures regularly for years, they all appear to be identical, if a bit out of date. Incidentally, if I look at the code behind the website’s UI, I see a similar level of confusion as far as these and similar terms are concerned.

Perhaps @Tim_OVO could explain to us the precise meanings of these various terms (inasmuch as they have precise meanings, that is!).  

No, I was referring to the quarterly DD review. The FAC appears to be updated irregularly, but about weekly. I guess that this coincides with a new batch of data being transmitted to wherever ‘industry’ lives.   

@Jeffus The whole point of my suggestion was to work around the unacceptable 6-month DD adjustment period you referred to earlier. If a more realistic estimate of current usage were used in the first place, the DD could reach an appropriate level much more quickly without the need for CS intervention, possibly as soon as the first review (after two months for new customers). 

This would of course be a temporary arrangement until the energy market settles down. Sadly, no-one is predicting when that might happen.

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-account-140/estimated-annual-consumption-eac-what-this-means-and-how-it-affects-your-ovo-energy-account-8615#:~:text=The%20EAC%20is%20calculated%20using,accurate%20this%20figure%20will%20become.

Info on when they use EAC or not

@Jeffus  Thanks. Your Q1 mentioned confusion - I think we’ve successfully demonstrated it. Doesn’t Tim’s article describe the FAC shown on plans and the EYU shown on TILs? If not, where would I expect to see the EAC?

A search revealed lots of pages, official and otherwise, mentioning EAC. In most cases, they were referring to the Ofgem-mandated quantity, Estimated Annual Cost - a different animal altogether. 

I think I’ll just crawl back under my rock. 

particularly for the attention of Tim_OVO

I have just been referred to this entry by Jeffus who picked up my frustration on a separate entry.

I was directed to your tutorial (extract below) but can categorically say that the calculation is not operating as you set out (which would be a sensible and acceptable approach to adopt).

I do have a Smart Meter and before that reliably provided monthly meter readings throughout the time I have been with OVO (over three years) - yet despite that the forecast for my property - and more significantly the basis for your direct debit charges to me are based upon estimates that appear significantly out of date.

If as you suggest the EAC is specific to my property and is computed in line with an industry standard then it clearly is not a suitable basis for establishing the direct debit charges. I would accept the use of previous years usage, or better still last 12 months rolling average.

In the current environment where customers have had an increased awareness of energy costs and taken action to reduce their usage - continuing to charge them in line with a long term historical trend is not only incorrect but could be argued as being immoral.