I'm a low user so finding it difficult to achieve Power Move target- Can't we just get rid of standing charges instead?

It would be good if there was a small, self install solar that you could simply plug into a 13A socket with panel in garden that would cover the ever increasing standing charges.

Yes, power move promised so much as a concept, but has delivered so little for consumers, because the threshold is stupidly low

To unpack this.

1. Most of what I pay each month is standing charges

Based on my standing chargers of 12.89p & 8.59p per day, this gives a total standing charge of £21.48/month. As this is higher than your consumption charge, your total energy costs are less than this. Assigning % use against % of the standing charges, gives you 48kWh of electricity and 133kWh of gas. 

Or, based on a 100% electricity use, with no gas use, its 80.75kWh. 

Regardless, this is a remarkably low use and I commend you for managing to be so frugal. Using between 1.5 and 2.6kWh per day is an amazing achievement, especially as an old broadband box could use most of this in one day.  

2. I’m not getting my £15

You have to question, should Ovo give you £15 of credit when you’ve only purchased £21 of energy from them?  

I have the same issue. Prior to all this I was successful in reducing my power usage after the power crisis hit and had already done everything suggested by Ovo to cut costs. So I think the bar is now set so low for me that I can't get below the threshold set by them - I assume their reward threshold is based on current usage. ☹️

I felt just as you do when turning off the fridge freezer and living with minimum usage during the relevant period did not bring success. However as others have mentioned , the keyword is “move” and on the days when the challenges are set I  ensure the periodic higher usages such as washing machine or dishwasher take place at off peak times but on challenge days. . That increases the usage against which the challenge is measured. . I don’t use these machines every day—like you being on my own — but I ensure that my use ties in with challenge days. 

Power Move is not about rewarding low usage. It just doesn’t care whether you’re a low usage consumer or a high usage one.  
 

As @buckwheat says, it’s about moving stuff around to make your weekday 4-7 usage look good compared with overall weekday usage.  For anyone using more than, say, 3 kWh a day (most of us, I would suggest) that allows an average of nearly half a kWh to use in the three weekday hours of 4-7.  The more that can be moved from weekend to weekday, and the more that can be moved from weekday 4-7 to weekday non-peak hours, then the better percentage-wise. 
 

Switching off “always on” stuff during 4-7 won’t make any appreciable difference for Power Move purposes.  Fridges, LED lights, laptops etc. don’t really impact on Power Move, except possibly for really ultra-low users. 
 

Although for financial and green reasons, low overall usage is to be commended, Power Move is NOT about switching everything off 4-7, or seeking a reward for low overall usage. Power Move doesn't care about low usage, I’m afraid, only about percentages…

I’m confused by this;  (0.1289+0.0859)*31=£6.66 (😱)

Anyway, some of pay a lot more, like I am paying 50p for electricity, and gas would be around 30p, which coincidentally comes to close to your figure at £24. My always on number is about 70p/day (mostly the fridge; yup, it needs servicing!) So I am also impressed by someone whose standing charge is most of the bill!

Must get the fridge sorted!

My mistake, I was looking at the wrong part of the quick spreadsheet. £8.59 / £12.89 was the monthly cost at 41.57p & 27.72p/day. 

My fridge is very old and uses 1.4 kWh/day, buts working, so i can’t justify replacing it with a newer unit, although it would save 1kWh/day (15%) off my bill. 

Simple things like keeping fridge three quarters full, checking the door seals,cleaning the coils, keeping good air circulation at the back of the fridge, not putting warm food in the fridge, not opening the door for too long can all help a little. I suspect you are already doing all of those.

I often spot free fridges on our local freecycle website. As yours is very old you may find you can flip it for one a bit better with a little patience. You may have local Facebook groups in your area that also advertise free stuff

Are any of your other appliances old/inefficient?

Hi @York21 

If you have some specific ideas, then try posting them in the "Ideas" section which ovo regularly review.

Being as specific as possible rather than general comments can help in the Ideas section 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/ideas

Hi All

Yes my standing charge is about 50% of my bill too so the £15 has nothing to do with green time use for me, like others I dont look to use my washing machine, recharge batteries etc at greener times I use them as boosters on power move days to make sure I reach the target

I’m bailing too - just checked my bill and altho I hit the targets half of it gets eaten up with VAT so whats the point of me sitting here using virtually no power for hours on end for £7. Daft - stupid...can’t be bothered and I’m a true environmentalist.

Hey @York21,

This topic may have some helpful advice:

• What's the biggest impact changes I can make to my usage to help me hit my Power Move target? TIPS

Hi @Joy777, well done on hitting the target…though you shouldn’t pay more than 5% VAT? 
 

Although I may have misunderstood…do you mean the VAT on your monthly bill is paid for by half of your Power Move?  In which case, your Power Move payment has come in handy.  Power Move is only about the electricity side of your consumption, of course, and your £7-odd VAT bill (if I’m correct in my assumption) possibly covers your gas as well? 

It is dispiriting, seeing incentive money going out again in VAT (and those iniquitous standing charges), but every little helps.  And of course, as you say, environmentally too. 
 

It would be a shame if you bailed out now, though, when it sounds as though you’ve got Power Move cracked.  Mind you, I definitely would not advocate sitting with no power for “hours on end”! That sounds very bleak, and is not what OVO or any of us consumers would wish on anyone. 
 

Anyway, best of luck to you and all the best for the New Year…

I’m not sure why you say this. On my bill, VAT is calculated on the costs less the Power Move reward. In effect, the reward for me is £15.75, which easily pays the standing charge for electricity.

How long they will continue to calculate like this remains to be seen …

Hey @Joy777,

Regarding the VAT, can you check this? 

I'm the same.  Already a low user so can't meet the target. 

I'm a low user too, but being retired and living alone I have my usage timing well organised. Weekday mornings or late evenings are for running the dishwasher or the washing machine or the tumble dryer (no other option and it's not every week) as necessary. I batch cook on days when my other usage is otherwise low. With the exception of the fridge/freezer and the freezer in the shed all appliances are switched off at the socket unless in use. 

I'm lucky too in that my living room faces SSE which means that when the sun shines (like today) the thermostat often doesn't cut in until around 1pm, so saving on gas consumption too. 

Just received the Power Move email for December  - well pleased to see my average was 8.07%. But January is looking to be more difficult due to the cold snap, with daily readings often close to 11% and once even above the target!

Hey ho, but I'll do my best to keep below! *edited by moderator*

Yes you can Sandy I only use approx £15 in electric and £16 in charges a month and still hit the target/ There are loads of suggestions on other forum Power Move threads such as making sure you use the washing machine on challenge days but not peak hours, charging ipads and laptops outside challenge times, I also use battery powered lights during challenge period, boiling the kettle at 3.45 and not again until 7.15 -  . Scroll down below the reply box for other useful threads. Give it another go. good luck🤞