Struggling to achieve Power Move target!

I've had my £15 each month so it does work. 

I wasn’t questioning yours, just my own, I can’t speak for yours

Well I am very disappointed too! I got an email from OVO this morning saying that they couldn’t get enough readings from my smart meter so they couldn’t get accurate readings for the month. But no explanation as to why they couldn’t get readings, as they were able to on a lot of the other days, and it’s not my fault!! Anyway I had already decided that I wasn’t going to continue with this scheme through the winter as I didn’t like sitting in the dark and cold between 4 and 7. Not worth it for £15 for me. 

I feel it's sad. I also need to use my electric in this cold spell. There should be a discount to all users anyway. But probably not

Definitely do NOT sit in the cold and dark.  I quite agree @Redfoot123 that it’s not worth doing that. Dangerous anyway apart from anything else.

Have you @chrisnash30 tried looking in your usage pages in your online OVO account? You should see your half-hourly figures for each of the days last month…you need at least 14 weekdays full of half-hourly readings (i.e. 48 each weekday) to qualify for the incentive. Pencil and paper job to add up the 4-7 usage readings (i.e. 6 per day) ideally for all of them or, say, just a week’s worth to get an idea of how you’ve done. Then divide that by the relevant 24 hour usage for those days to arrive at the percentage. Don’t forget to select electricity only for your usage (gas doesn’t count) and use kWh not the monetary usage.

Let us know how you get on, good luck…

The whole reason for the scheme is because demand is high at this time due to the large number of people who need to or chose to use a high level electricity between 4 and 7 (mainly cooking food). There is nothing wrong with using electricity (they say that the can cope with the high demand) you just won't benefit from this scheme.

Hi @Syd 

Welcome to the forum. 

I am just a customer like you.

What energy saving scam are you referring to ?

Lots of low use customers are reporting success every month with OVO Power Move which applies to electricity.

What gas scheme are you referring to?

And we thought doing all the power hungry things at the weekend. We will change tactics. Thank you 🤩 

HI

I think that if I boil 3 kettles during the day and have a shower outside the 4-7 block I would get my £15 simply because they are my biggest electric eaters but I havent checked that yet. However during the block I only have the fridge,freezer on. I use the ipad for TV and Radio and  use rechargable battery lights and  that gets me down to 5.6  = £15.

To check I click on usage, then electric, then day  and you can clearly see your numbers for the day before

Using less total energy between certain times for me to do this I would have to turn everything of as my total usage is so low 

@chrisnash30 

I reckon that you need to check your online account. In Usage choose "Day" and then select "Electricity". Scroll down and your readings should be shown. They need to be half hourly for the Power Move scheme. My smart meter was set to that when it was installed.

I've seen other posts on here where people have discovered that their meter was set to submit daily readings. That really is incompatible with Power Move. Although I've seen it claimed that the frequency of meter readings can be adjusted online, I've never been able to locate any such facility via my desktop PC. Maybe it's only available via the smartphone app. It would seem sensible for such a facility to be available on all platforms.

Hope the above is helpful. If not then you need to EMail Ovo and ask them to change the setting remotely. Good luck.

I find this Power Move Challenge laughable and I’m no longer bothering with it. Look at what’s going on around the world, China and USA burning coal like there’s no tomorrow. Wars raging….polluting everything, yet I’m expected to sit in the dark, not cook during the 3 hours or use heating etc to save pennies? I find it hilarious that people are watching their smart meters like hawks, drawing up graphs and spreadsheets. I’m 65 and I’m certainly not depriving myself for what amounts to nothing. 

@Sally123 

If, like me, maths isn't your strong point, bookmark www.calculator.net and use it to check your percentages each day. I find that it helps to keep me on track. 

I've recently discovered that making sure that everything not in use during the 4 to 7pm block is switched OFF at the socket really does make a difference. The kettle, washing machine, dishwasher, lamps, computer peripherals etc., but also the oven and electric hob (big red switch) - things that we usually just switch on on the appliance itself use small amounts of power which, taken together, count. 

I  first noticed the half hourly overnight usage from fridge and fridge/ freezer being lower when everything else was switched off. 

We are easily achieving the challenge. We don't sit in the dark, we just think more about how many lights we have on. We use our central heating as it is gas and uses very little electricity. I actually enjoy having 2 hours after I get in from work (I get home at 5) to rest and catch up on the TV I have missed. I can prep ours meals over the 2 hours calmly and it is much more enjoyable. And with a £15 bonus which over a year will cover at least 1 months gas and electricity for us it is well worth it.

We are surprised how many people who are retired or who work from home and therefore can use electricity whilst the rest of us are at work struggle with the shift in electricity usage (obviously there are exceptions on medical grounds were electricity must be used all of the time.)

You are doing the right things clearly. Most people don't seem to realise how much electricity popping the kettle on uses, we have got rid of ours completely.

Maybe l might try doing that. do like a cuppa when l come in from work which l finish at six. don’t get into after 6.30. I do my jobs when l am not working like washing and hoovering. so will give it ago. see what happens .

I don't have a problem with it, and have earned my £15 each month. 

Yes its laughable. 24p for sitting in the dark for an hour. You are so right

The monthly target is also so low, as to be unattainable unless you close down the house and go on holiday for a month. Should be a realistic 20pc

2 versus 1. I only have a light on in the room where I am anyway. Can't reduce any more than that short of candles for 3 hours!

Closing down your house and going on holiday won't help you achieve the target as you need to use more electricity out of the 3hr slot to reach the target. The challenge is not about reducing your usage but moving it away from peak times.

Are you using any other electricity during the 3 hours? Ie kettle or microwave?

You can get half-hourly readings from the Ovo website or others such as Glowmarkt. 

I was out of the country for two weeks so all that was on was fridge freezer didn’t achieve my target! *edited by moderator*

3 hours is 12.5% of a 24 hour day. The original 12.5% target was set so that people who used less than average between 4 and 7pm would hit the target. It has been revised to 13.5% in recognition of the fact that many of us need a bit more juice at that time of day.

Also @Sleepysusie, Power Move is not primarily a net zero initiative. It aims to reduce the peak usage during the day to make it easier for the system to cope. There is a small net zero effect in that the extra power needed at peak time is more likely to come from a high-carbon source but that is not its primary purpose.

I hope that helps. 

Hi @Topsy ,

You can opt out of Power Move by following the instructions under point 21 on this faq page:

https://www.ovoenergy.com/power-move-faqs