Is the new power move criteria a con?

I am sure it isn’t a con as such but the target levels are completely impossible to meet if you are a low electricity user. When the target were higher the only reason we got any reward was because we doubled our electricity consumption by using the immersion to heat the water tank during off peak hours. The problem is though that with kerosene at 56p per litre it is way more expensive to use the immersion heater than it is to have the oil boiler heat the water. The immersion puts up the electricity consumption by nearly 6kWh per day but the boiler only uses about one litre of kerosene to do the say job. In fact it does more because we heat the water to a lower temperature when using the immersion. 
 

We have given up trying to reduce consumption during the peak hours now. The dishwasher goes on whenever now rather than after peak and the oven gets used whenever the cooking lady wants to cook something irrespective. But our daily electricity consumption was an average of 5.08 kWH per day in July. So relatively low. Salad days I suppose do help. In June when the immersion programmer was on the average was 10.78 kWh per day.

No, it's not a con.  It's difficult to achieve but I've always hit the £10 jackpot !!!  The secret is, and a lot of people will disagree and say it's bad for your fridge and whatnot, but I turn off everything except the barest necessities at the electrical mains.  It knocked usage down to .02 kw every 30 minutes between 6 & 9 pm !!!!  To each their own.  I've hit the £10 target every month since this began !!!

Any opinions on Power Move? I've just had an email from OVO saying that I haven't reached my goal of 8%. (for July).As I saw people say somewhere else, I live alone, don't use anything other than lighting and the TV in the evenings, and don't see how I can reduce my usage any further.

I'd also like to know what OVO have to say. Has anyone asked them?

@Middlestreet In your case using kerosene is much more economic than using the immersion heater but doesn’t leave you any room for manoeuvre in trying to offset your in-peak usage with somewhat more out-of-peak usage with the immersion heater. Sometimes it’s a no win situation. Running an immersion heater on a standard tariff is not cheap. The only possible solution is to use the immersion heater just enough out of the peak to get the reward but the reward isn’t big enough in the summer to make it pay. It might not even pay with the £15 reward in the winter.

Peter

I used 2.86% this month and cooked with electric oven, infact, I have 2 ovens and the hob on just now for dinner. I also have a teenager whose Xbox is not off at all during peak times

I do batch cook at weekends but this is for ease after work but helps. 

I agree with previous comments, it is to do with your overall house consumption compared with your usage during peak hours.

I have a larger house and a DIY mad hubby (not forgetting teenager) so our usage is higher. By using all our electric guzzling appliances etc outwith peak hours it offsets against peak hours

Go into the app and reduce your direct debit and/or ask for a refund.

It’s not a con but if you don’t use much power it’s difficult.  We used to hit the middle band regularly when weekends weren’t counting but now they are and the % is lower we will need to be much more pro active and not sure it’s worth the effort 

Yeah I think we try to use less anyway, so the percentage is difficult. If you are big users then you can probably make this work

Interesting comments but I agree with those who are struggling to reach the target.  How do they assess your initial consumption and decide on what you need to save?  I don’t have a dishwasher, I do not use my tumble drier, I use the washing machine in the morning, we eat our main meal midday and tea is often not a cooked one (but I do have a gas hob)!  All the ideas are great but why should I, and others, have to struggle each day, doing weird things to keep food warm, cook, and other essentials.  Now that the nights are drawing in it is going to be even harder - we watch tv with one table lamp on!  I have decided it is not worth the effort for 38p, my last reward!  I want to live a hassle free life not one where I am constantly watching what I am using and cutting corners. YES IT IS A CON!

I have done this before and they always skew it towards me having paid my bills in advance. They tell me they are setting the payment correctly so I pay over the year, but this is a total lie, They set it so I have always paid in advance and lent them loads of money. I will try what you said though. Thank you