Is it OK or not OK to have a debit balance?

The idea of energy account balances is fascinating as I used to specifically try to switch supplier during the last few months of a year so that I got to use their ‘credit’ during winter and catch up during summer. 
With OVO that has not been possible. When I switched (October), their calculations suggested I needed a much higher level of direct debit than I was prepared for. When challenged, I was able to manage my account but promised to keep it in credit - even by a pound or two in some cases - keeping my direct debit at reasonable levels. This has actually meant that by the end of my contract, I will be in a significant credit situation (hence my original calculations were correct) and am now in a situation to need to manage this. 
The overall question of account balances does need some attention but I do agree that any supplier should be sufficiently capitalised as to be able to manage their cash flow efficiently. The consumer also needs guidance as to what the expectation is for the contract term. 

The DD calculator shouldn’t allow this; it’s designed to produce a zero balance at the end of a contract, or in a year’s time for those on a variable tariff. What does your say?

Well at the moment it’s telling me to reduce my dd to £5 (a minimum I believe)

So what’s the problem?

I’m not saying that I have a problem as such but … early in my contract, I couldn’t set my dd at a level I had calculated as appropriate. Now, even though I can reset it to the lowest level, I would still end up with a fairly high credit balance. 
Perhaps with more recent developments the calculator has been adjusted. I was simply commenting on the various inputs to say that although the op (and others) mention the nature of a credit and debit balance through their contract, mine originally would not let me set a level I knew to be correct which would have smoothed out over the term

I’m surprised to hear you say that with a Direct Debit at the recommend amount (£5) you’d still end up with significant credit, @BPLightlog by your contract end date. As Firedog says, the system is designed to get you to £0. 

Interesting just how common it is for customers to go into into negative balances over winter with suppliers. 

This is from an Octopus blog last year

"This is fairly normal, within reason – and is the case for a lot of our customers. At the end of March, the average customer ‘owed’ us £214. At the end of last Summer, we owed the average customer around £36." 

Hi again everyone,

I’m a little bit bewildered here. I marked @Abby_OVO ‘s answer as the “best answer” because I thought it represented the official OVO stance on the issue. Now I find that @Firedog ‘s answer has been marked as “best answer” instead.

While I genuinely value @Firedog ‘s contribution, it wasn’t my choice as best answer. I don’t feel I “missed an important factor” when doing my sums - I did make it clear that I was starting with a zero balance, not a negative one. Also, I can’t really agree that there is a moral issue at stake here (“it’s really up to you and your conscience...”). If OVO paid interest on the credit balance without charging interest on the debit balance, then I could see a moral case against balancing a period in credit with a period in debit. But that isn’t the situation.

More importantly, Abby and Firedog take entirely opposite stances in response to my question. Abby says it’s OK to have a debit balance; Firedog disagrees. All I wanted was a clear, unequivocal answer as to what the official OVO position is. I thought ( had that with Abby’s reply, which is why I marked it “best answer”. But now I find the “solution” has been changed. So who is right? I’m plunged back into confusion.

Sorry about that, JP, but it wasn’t me! 

Some of us regular contributors have had a bit of a chat about this off-board, and apparently it’s not quite as straightforward as it ought to be. 

• Existing customers may be treated a bit more gently than new ones;
• New customers starting during the summer may be treated differently from those starting in the winter;
• The legally-enforceable terms of the contract may be varied by text on help pages or by agreement with a support agent;
• Marking best answers is done either by the original poster or by OVO staff. I’m not sure why the answer marking was changed in this case, but it doesn’t smell right. 

Your basic question still isn’t answered, so perhaps it’s best just not to ask it. It’s fairly clear to me that your potential dip into debt in the winter won’t raise any red flags, so long as you’re still on track to zero in twelve months’ time then. 

Meanwhile, please check your private messages.  

Many thanks @Firedog! That’s a very clear presentation of the situation. I would mark it as best answer (if I could) 😀.