I have just read this passage about FACs in another thread: “… my own experience shows that [the future annual consumption figure] is being based on, (or at least being adjusted based on) actual meter readings. I could see my FAC for gas changing (reducing by large amounts) within minutes of submitting a new meter reading.”
This is what is supposed to happen, if I understand the wording here: Usage projection is a figure produced by our billing system, that uses smart meter readings (if available) to project the usage for you over the next year.
We clearly have a two-tier system: an ineffectual one for smart meter customers, and another better one for everyone else. Those who submit manual readings 'see their FAC changing within minutes.' Those of us with smart meters are apparently subject to a system which can take months to adjust the FAC to actual usage, despite having meter readings recorded automatically every day.
My own (electricity only) FAC got stuck last year after a meter adjustment. I was told last year, as was the Ombudsman, that it would all come right after a meter exchange, which happened in September. There was no change to my FAC until mid-November, when it suddenly started falling from its figure of 2.35 times the actual annual usage. This is how it has progressed, from its stubbornly-maintained figure of 2902.9 where it had been since the previous April:
I can't explain the hiatus in early January, unless there was some manual intervention. The figures are updated every Sunday, and occasionally midweek: there have been 16 updates since 5 November. If manual intervention is possible, then there’s no need to rely solely on this clearly flawed system.
I suppose I should be grateful that my FAC is now only 76% higher than my actual consumption for the past year. Excel tells me that if both curves proceed at the same rate, they will eventually meet on 8 August next, just one year after OVO assured the Ombudsman and me that a meter exchange would soon solve the problem.
For those of us with multi-rate tariffs (e.g. Economy 7), there have to be FAC figures for peak and offpeak usage. It’s the ratio between these that determines how economical the tariff is, so it’s also important that this ratio is also accurate. It’s not, for me. Not only is any Direct Debit calculation worthless, but so are projected costs when trying to compare tariffs.
There is something seriously wrong with the FAC determination if it can't adapt more quickly to actual, readily-available meter-confirmed data as Ofgem mandates and as Tim maintains it should.
