OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly summaries - What do I need to know?
Updated on 01/09/23 by Abby_OVO
Here at OVO, we’re always on the lookout for ways to make managing your energy account easier. This is why we developed a new billing system in-house and have now moved the vast majority of OVO customer accounts over to this new platform. As part of this we’re changing the way that we calculate your energy costs and the frequency this is displayed on your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS). This means that when you login, you can now see your account balance update daily, based on the most recent reading you’ve submitted manually or we’ve received automatically from your smart meter.
Traditional Energy billing model
Traditionally energy companies would receive meter reads either
From customers reading their own meters and submitting a read.
From smart meters directly.
On a specific date each month or each quarter, they’d look at the latest meter read they had received to bill you and generate a statement. This might have been based on the latest smart meter read, it might have been based on the last read you submitted manually or it might be based on an estimated meter reading if there was no meter reading received for that day.
This model makes anticipating and budgeting your energy costs harder as you’re only able to see how much your usage is costing at certain intervals throughout the year.
So how does live-billing help?
We started developing this up-to-date billing solution as OVO customers told us that the traditional model of issuing a monthly or quarterly statement can make it difficult for them to feel in control of their energy costs. Particularly at times of increased usage, having to wait until the next statement was issued can cause increased anxiety and may result in customers restricting energy usage or worrying about the next payment due. With up-to-date billing you now get a clearer idea of how much your energy use has cost every day and keep track of your balance throughout the month.
This means that the balance shown on your online account is always an accurate reflection taking into account
The cost of your energy usage, as calculated and billed with each time your smart meter sends us a reading or you submit a reading manually.
Daily standing charges.
Payments and refunds.
Monthly Summaries
Along with the way your charges are shown on your online account, you’ll also notice a difference to the statement that’s emailed or sent to you each month. We’ve streamlined the information we give you into a monthly summary. This will be emailed or posted depending on your communication preferences. All previous monthly summaries can also be downloaded on the ‘’Billing History’ page of your online account:
How to get the best out of the new online account
As we’re able to calculate your charges whenever we receive a reading, the live-billing platform is ideal if you’ve got a smart meter set to send us readings either daily or half-hourly. We’ll then adjust your balance based on actual usage figures each day at midnight. If you’ve not yet got a smart meter installed this might be the perfect time to take the leap.
If you’ve already got one installed but it’s currently sending us monthly readings, we’d recommend contacting our Support Team to request an update to your smart meter reading schedule.
Got any more question about how your account billing works? Comment below, we’re happy to help.
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I always pay what the app tells me is my balance, but then there is always a discrepancy. Today my balance is -£23 which I assume is the standing charges, something else tells me it's -£71 and another page says it's -£80!
Why can't we just get a straightforward bill? Utterly confused. I've only ever had one bill in an email. Can I get back to paper bills? If I die, my wife won't be able to sort the bills as they're in my name and I'm the one with the app.
You may be confused by the ‘live billing’ @AndyJ , it does confuse some. There’s a live feed updated daily on charges to date. Preduming that you’re on direct debit ? or Pay monthly? You only need to pay at the time due, not every time you see an update
I submitted my readings, had an opening balance of 71, and now it says my balance is 80.06 when it previously said 23. God knows what I'm meant to pay. It's the same every month. Is it 80.06? Is it 151?
If I pay the 80.06 will I still be 71 out next month? It'll tell me next month that my charges were more than 80.06, that I made a card payment and that will differ again!
I'm not on direct debit, that's the point. I want to pay only for what I used. I refuse to have a smart meter, I'm happy submitting my readings.
I was happy with SSE, a paper bill every 3 months. Been utterly confused since being forced over to OVO
It’s difficult to tell just from what you’ve said but it sounds like they might be estimating your readings. You should be able to check online. https://account.ovoenergy.com/billing-history Depending on your payment method, there should be a way of getting a bill. I get one sent by email at the end of my billing period but I pay by direct debit so it’s already paid.
Thank you for replying, but it isn't estimated, I submit them every time I get the email asking for it. I will look again after the 5th July. I've had 1 bill by email in 18 months. The history has never matched. If I had an opening balance of 71, why did it say 23 before I put the readings in? And 80 now? We have low usage so 80 sounds right but who knows what it'll say next month lol
Even if you send readings we’ve noticed that they still estimate depending on when you send the reading. As I said, no idea on the various costs you posted. It does look odd
If you’re using the app click on Payments and you’ll see the option Download my Bills
Click that, and each month’s billing period will be displayed, click each one for the bill. That might help.
Hi OVO energy.My account number is *Edited by Mod*.
My *Edited by Mod*.
My electricity meter reading :
Credit-0000065.4
Coast-00017.48
My gas meter reading:
Credit-000292.51
Coast-00017.24
15/05/2023
For the last few months you guys have been sending me some random bills.We dont use much electricity divices like heaters but still you guys are sending me random bills which arw very expensive.
Also the bills for the gas is a lot even though we dont use much of it.
2nd of may you guys sent a me a bill which costs £2884.92.This so to expensive.
Please send me proper bills.
I not sure if there is a problem with my meter please send someone over to check it out.Because i dont use much energy.
Please give an update soon as possible.
Thank you
21st April I suddenly got a £2000 debit from being £350 in credit. No explanation. My guess is they estimate bill based on the year ahead and then increase the direct debit from the estimated quote and then the debit reduces along the way. It would be really unjust if they are billing based on forecast usage, but that is how corruption works. I’m guessing because their explanation is so vague on the back of that bill and live chat was of no use. I’m quit Ovo today and movign to Octopus, but quite worried that estimate will be my bill to settle. Others on Trustpilot alluded to what I have said here.
Not sure why you’re posting here as well @nuru26. Your original thread is best to get any answers.
I’ve also noticed you’re posting at a high rate. Please can we ask you to slow down for a little bit, just to help us catch up?
I do download the bills, and it doesn't help. Every single amount differs.
It will tell me the opening amount which differs from what I paid based on what the balance was that they asked for. Then what I paid, and the new charges. I've tried paying just after the readings and at the end of the month so I paid almost double the norm to see if it cleared. Not once has it said zero. Today it still says £80.06. If I pay it today I guarantee it will generate a completely different opening balance in July
Would you like to post an image of a bill here, but without any personal details address account number etc ? We may be able to shed some light on it.
A thought about this @AndyJ , on your account page
you will see several things including a section on charges and balance
This will change from day to day in-line with their live billing system. If you scroll down further to bills
You will see your billing summary by billing period. As far as I’m aware, it’s this billing section which you should watch mainly. As I mentioned, the charges and balance section will always be changing. There is a part of ‘Today's Balance’ which offers a pay now part .. I wonder if this is what you’re referring to. If you pay in there, your payment will show in bills at an accumulated level
Can you please double checked my charges and the deduction on my account. I double paid on June and this July my bill reach up to more than £900. How come???
*edited by moderator*
Thanks.
Sorry, but that can't be done from here. Please check with OVO directly via https://help.ovoenergy.com to use Live Chat
As this is a public forum @bevsbernido , you shouldn’t post private info here. A moderator will remove it. No one here has access to your account.
Hey @bevsbernido,
Sorry for the issues you’re having,
If you’ve paid twice by accident, please contact the Support team for a refund.
If you are surprised by a large statement this is often due to a meter reading submitted which was higher than the estimated usage or is out of line. As we don’t have access to your account we can only case assumptions based on the information you’ve provided.
Hi everyone, I pay by direct debit and am in front but I paid some extra in and it went onto my balance but has no been deducted and is showing up on consumption charge? Does anyone know why this is, and I'm wanting to keep in front but if their going to do this I wont bother
Hey @Tracey335,
Sorry to hear this!
That’s very unusual, can you please post how this appearing on your bill and Online Account.
I’ll take a look into it.
I have spoke to someone via phone and they said when my bill is due eg . If the bill is £300, I would pay 250? But I'm not convinced, I suppose I will just have to wait for the bill I guess
None of my business but you have a huge amount in your account. You can see your payment of £50 has increased your balance. I’d take OVO’s advice and decrease the dd.
No the £50 DIDN'T increase it, it was taken off and went onto a consumption charge? And i want to be in front you never know when prices are gonna get hiked up, plus I can ask for a refund if needed
By my calculations it did increase the balance, but got countered by that £57 charge. If you hadn’t made the payment, your balance would be at least £57 lower than what you’re showing us.
I cannot find a fault with this. But I’ll call in a third and fourth opinion from @BPLightlog and @Firedog as well. They know their number crunching better than almost anyone else here.
I will also comment that your balance is awfully high. I’m not saying you should refund every penny, but I would recommend pulling back at least some of it.
Reply
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