I live in a 3 bed semi and have for the last 15 years. Recently switched to ovo and then had the smart meters installed .
My usage has crept up over the years like everyone's.
Now on OVO with smart meters and nothing has changed in my home my monthly usage/direct debit has gone to £246 a month that's a second mortgage any ideas why my bills have double since i switched to ovo?
Best answer by Blastoise186
Updated on 10/07/24 by Abby_OVO
Having a smart meter installed won't directly increase your costs. There are no hidden effects on usage, and your tariff won't change. There are two things that will change after getting a smart meter, though:
If you hadn't provided regular reading previously then your bills may have been under-estimated. As we’ll receive a final reading from the old meter when this is removed this could generate a larger than expected bill around the time your smart meters are installed. The good news is that now we’ll be receiving regular readings sent automatically from your meter when we need it you can be sure your bill is spot on. This avoids any nasty bill surprises in future.
The meter will clock accurately. Old meters can slow down, or even speed up meaning they're not measuring your energy usage correctly. We'd only expect to see this with very old meters. A brand new meter, smart or otherwise, will clock what you're using accurately.
It might be worth considering what else could have caused the increase to your monthly direct debit:
Another thing to consider is if you've renewed onto a new plan recently. The unit rates and standing charges will likely have changed from your previous plan. You can check the prices per Kwh and daily standing charge in the ‘Plan’ tab of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS).
If you notice an increase to your suggested direct debit amount after getting a Smart meter installed it is worth checking out the other factors which are considered when we calculate your recommended direct debit amount. We not only consider your average monthly usage but also the current balance on your account or the length left on your contract, so it may be that you have an outstanding balance to repay or are coming to the end of your contract.
There is help available if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills – both from us here at OVO Energy and from government schemes and charities as well. There are many ways we can help – such as setting up a payment plan for you, which spreads the cost of your energy to make it more manageable. If you want to find out about payment plans, you can request one online here – we’ll take you through what you need to do, and ask you for some details. Our dedicated team is also specially trained to support you. They can make sure you’re receiving any financial assistance from the government that you’re eligible for, and take you through payment support schemes that are available.
You can find out more about these schemes and where to seek free, independent advice right here.
OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!
Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!
Looking at those bills for the old meter.
Did you have seperate meters for the ‘Heating’ circuit and the Peak/Off-peak general circuit?
Your screenshots there are only showing ‘Heating meter readings’ - where are the Peak and Off-Peak meterings for those dates?
You appear to be comparing only one out of 3 Superdeal* rates (Heati, Peak, Off-peak) to the total of both of the new Peak/Off-peak rates.
If you do that then of course it’s going to be different because the first one was not your total use but only the dedicated heating circuit.
*The rates shown on your Dec-Jan billing are indeed the same Superdeal rates shown on your ‘Plan’ page.
You should contact support to get that changed to E7 if that is what you signed up for with the new meter.
On Peak-Time tarrif has changed from 20.97p to 28.85
Off Peak time tarrif has changed from 18.66o to 21.85?
No, that isn’t correct.
There was a tariff change/increase at the start of October, but what you are doing there is trying to compare the Superdeal ‘Heating’ rates before the increases to the Peak and Off-Peak rates after the increases.
All 3 are different rates.
Hi again
There was a tariff change/increase at the start of October, but what you are doing there is trying to compare the Superdeal ‘Heating’ rates before the increases to the Peak and Off-Peak rates after the increases.
This is true and, if you’re on the standard variable plan, the rates also increased as of this month following the UK Government’s amendment to the Variable Price Cap. If you’ve logged a complaint on the account, then you’ll have a dedicated Complaints Handler. They’ll be part of the specialist team I mentioned that deal with multi-rate meters. Make sure to ask them about tariffs, ask whether your peak / off peak timings are correct, and ask if there is a cheaper tariff available. They will be able to answer all of this for you, and make sure everything’s set up correctly. They won’t close the complaint until you, as our customer, are satisfied.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for the screenshots, which explain a lot.
As Nukecad points out, the reason your earlier (prior to meter exchange) bills were so low in comparison to subsequent ones is that they appear not to have billed for the other meter, the non-RTS controlled one which should have had two registers for peak and offpeak usage, the offpeak one recording everything that passed through it during offpeak hours. This would have been everything not on the RTS-controlled heating circuit, so it might not have amounted to much - just background stuff like the fridge and whatever else is running overnight (assuming that the water heater was on the heating circuit). When they discover this, you should expect an uncomfortable extra bill - sorry!
Your meter readings show that this month at least you’re using almost half (43/92) of your energy during offpeak hours. I’d frankly expect this proportion to be higher since you apparently don’t use much heavy-duty stuff during the day - unless it’s that pesky shower. In any event, once they re-bill you using the Economy 7 tariff you say you signed up for, the monthly cost should come down from its current Superdeal level. Do you have a confirmation letter or email specifying the plan you were put on after the meter exchange?
You questioned my computation about five days’ usage. I used the readings for the five-day period 11 to 16 January, so I’m not sure what you’re disagreeing with. You’ll find it more helpful in general always to examine the draw (in kW) and usage (in kWh) figures instead of focusing on the costs you see on the IHD; these are just a guide and can’t be relied on for various reasons. For example, looking at the IHD at 2am will show you the cost inclusive of the whole day’s standing charge, which will be added at midnight or soon after. That would account for £0.71 of the £1.10 you recorded. Get into the habit of touching the Now button to see both the instantaneous draw in kW and what it would cost if it persisted for an hour.
The ‘thin wires’ the installer mentioned won’t have any bearing at all on your usage or bills. They were probably ‘up to code’ when the old meters were originally installed, but regulations have changed since then. So long as no new power-hungry equipment has since been installed, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. The landlord will probably have to pay to have them upgraded when he next commissions an EICR, which he’s bound to do every five years.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Just make sure OVO aren’t still charging you Superdeal rates when you no longer have the meters to match. You don’t have to pay anything until they send you a bill, although you might want to make sure you’ve got £150 handy for each month until they do. Billing errors can take weeks to sort out.
Sep 13th - Oct 12th: £57
Oct 13th - Nov 12th: £68
Nov 13th - Dec 12th: £72
Note that this is the total amount I have paid. I am not sure what how much of this is for peak/off-peak/heating.
As Nukecad points out, the reason your earlier (prior to meter exchange) bills were so low in comparison to subsequent ones is that they appear not to have billed for the other meter ...
I have stated the total amount I have paid for the previous months above (in this thread). As you can see, the total prices had been pretty normal. What is happening now is that these prices are getting doubled in the course of a month right after the installation of the new meter. It is pretty clear something is going on. Either there is some hidden energy-hungry device somewhere or my habit of using energy has dramatically changed in the course of a month. Although the weather is much colder, I do not use more energy and I am out for most of the day.
Your meter readings show that this month at least you’re using almost half (43/92) of your energy during offpeak hours. I’d frankly expect this proportion to be higher since you apparently don’t use much heavy-duty stuff during the day - unless it’s that pesky shower.
True. Actually I am out for the most of a day, and take a shower per day, usually during the peak times. I am not sure how much it was costing before but I see on IHD that it costs £0.4 for each shower now.
You questioned my computation about five days’ usage. I used the readings for the five-day period 11 to 16 January, so I’m not sure what you’re disagreeing with.
You are right. I thought you we computing from the beginning of the new billing period which is Jan 13th.
For example, looking at the IHD at 2am will show you the cost inclusive of the whole day’s standing charge, which will be added at midnight or soon after. That would account for £0.71 of the £1.10 you recorded. Get into the habit of touching the Now button to see both the instantaneous draw in kW and what it would cost if it persisted for an hour.
Ok, this sounds helpful. I will update once I get home tonight.
The ‘thin wires’ the installer mentioned won’t have any bearing at all on your usage or bills.
Another very helpful point. I was always thinking this may be the issue.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Just make sure OVO aren’t still charging you Superdeal rates when you no longer have the meters to match. You don’t have to pay anything until they send you a bill, although you might want to make sure you’ve got £150 handy for each month until they do. Billing errors can take weeks to sort out.
No problem at all. It is always better to have the accurate information even if they are bad news. I have filled a complaint and still waiting for the result. Once I hear back, I will call then and ask about the rates, whether they are superdeal or E7.
OK. I’m still in the dark about what you were consuming prior to the meter exchange. You say your bill for 13 September to 12 October was £57, but your screenshot shows only a total of £34.62. You must have had a demand for payment for the other £22 that you haven’t shared with us.
It’s not impossible that there was originally a second account just for the non-RTS supply. I’d ask you to have a look at this page if it exists: Select account - OVO Energy If it doesn’t, then my dual-account theory is disproved.
Then try this link:
https://smartpaymapi.ovoenergy.com/bal/bill/nnnnnnn?from=2024-09-13&to=2024-10-12
substituting your account number for nnnnnnn. If you did find a second account on the Select account page, try the link with both account numbers.
I won’t be surprised if that doesn’t work either, but it was worth trying. If it does work, you could repeat the exercise, changing the dates at the end of the URL to match the later billing periods.
We should probably have asked for this before, but better late than never: could you take a photo or two of your meter cupboard? Ideally,
This lot may help us to get to the bottom of what appears to be quite a conundrum. At any rate, you’ll have a lot more information to beat your complaint handler about the head with instead of just saying ‘my bill’s gone up a lot’.
OK. I’m still in the dark about what you were consuming prior to the meter exchange. You say your bill for 13 September to 12 October was £57, but your screenshot shows only a total of £34.62. You must have had a demand for payment for the other £22 that you haven’t shared with us.
When the new meter is installed, all the prices of the previous months have been randomly changed and updated. The prices I listed above (57, 68, 72, all in GBP) were the amount I received the paper bills for each period. So, they are the actual prices. I do not have access to the previous prices, they are gone.
It’s not impossible that there was originally a second account just for the non-RTS supply. I’d ask you to have a look at this page if it exists: Select account - OVO Energy If it doesn’t, then my dual-account theory is disproved.
There is only one account here.
Then try this link:
https://smartpaymapi.ovoenergy.com/bal/bill/nnnnnnn?from=2024-09-13&to=2024-10-12
substituting your account number for nnnnnnn. If you did find a second account on the Select account page, try the link with both account numbers.
This page does not exist, at least it does not show anything for me
We should probably have asked for this before, but better late than never: could you take a photo or two of your meter cupboard?
Yes, I can when I got back home.
Here is today’s bill (4 days, 20.22 pounds!!!)
And the readings … How I have used this much when I am not even home now and everything except the fridge is off?!
Also, I am going to take the photos and will send. Again, hopefully they will be published.
I have typed the answer but it is being moderated by admin. Hopefully, it will be published.
I wonder why? There are some automatic filters that pass new posts over to moderators, but it’s usually because there’s bad language or that sort of thing. We might be lucky and see a mod at work over the weekend, but it might have to wait until Monday 😡
+1Don’t forget that the AutoMod also picks up possible spam.
If it ever gets a false positive however, the Mods will almost certainly release the content as-is.
Just something to be aware of, and I’m not sure if it’s the same here but wouldn’t be surprised if it is.
Without giving any moderation secrets away:
Where I moderate the automatic filters will often trigger if you compose your post in a text editor/word processor and copy/paste it in, and make that always trigger if a paste-in contains multiple links or images.
That’s because it’s a common spambot tactic, the spammer knows about it but isn’t bothered if some get auto-modded because some will always get through at other fora where there is little or no automod.
I will send the photos soon.
+1You need to uninstall Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader for a start - that thing interferes too much these days and is no longer needed since all web browsers can do PDF files now.
Please see https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/acrobat/kb/problems-uninstalling-reader.html for instructions.
I also noticed that you may have leaked personal info by mistake. I will arrange for this to be fixed - please bear with me.
Always make sure to triple check for these things before pressing Send! :)
I also noticed that you may have leaked personal info by mistake. I will arrange for this to be fixed - please bear with me.
Damn, again?! Which personal information?!
+1Your account number. Lucky for you, BlastoiseLabs has invented the Automatic PII Detection And Cleaning Solution Deluxe 5000 Pro Max Ultra. :P
It’s our latest invention and we’re really proud of it - especially cuz it helps keep YOU safe! :D
+1It’s well hidden but I don’t want to make it any easier for anyone else to spot it… Hence my new APIIDCSD5PMA gadget to do it for me because I’m a Lazy Blastoise :D
Apparently, it appeared now.
So it did - thanks.
Sorry about the magic link. You just clicked it - the idea was that you copy it, then change the account number to your own and change the dates to those of your own billing period, which I took to be 13th of the month to 12th of the next. Try it again:
https://smartpaymapi.ovoenergy.com/bal/bill/nnnnnnn?from=2024-09-13&to=2024-10-12
Your meter readings indicate that you’re using about 7 kWh at peak rate each day; that’s including 2-3 kWh for the shower. Overnight offpeak is about 11 kWh. That’s what a 750 W storage heater would take to store up enough heat in 7 hours to release during the daytime, so it’s not an alarming amount. Your photo of it will help us to confirm or refute this. The 4-5 kWh over and above the shower is a lot for a single person in a small flat, especially one who’s out all day. I’d suggest using the IHD to see what it is that’s using so much. It’s most probably heating equipment of some sort that’s gobbling up most of it.
Eagerly looking forward to seeing your photos ...
You need to uninstall Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader for a start ...
The screenshot shows Edge’s PDF reader. It uses an Adobe plug-in, so it’s Acrobat-based but not a standalone app.
+1You need to uninstall Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader for a start ...
The screenshot shows Edge’s PDF reader. It uses an Adobe plug-in, so it’s Acrobat-based but not a standalone app.
Oh good… More Adobe code full of security vulns in a web browser… Just what Microsoft needs right about now… Really don’t get why they can’t just use the Chromium built-in PDFium one…
Anyway…
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