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K
Rank 1
Krish
Rank 1
April 25, 2023
Solved

Spike in energy usage during vacation

  • April 25, 2023
  • 21 replies
  • 1869 views

Hi Forum,

We were on a vacation from Mar 29th - Apr 9th with only the fridge and boiler turned on. However our energy usage shown for days from 29th - Apr 1 is pretty high. For the remaining days i.e from Apr 2 - Apr 9 the per day usage reported is the same each day and as expected since we were out on vacation. 

But why would the 29th - Apr 1 usage is not the same and very high compared to the rest of days we were out on vacation. 

 

Best answer by Jeffus

Updated on 14/03/25 by Ben_OVO

If there is a period where your smart meter doesn’t send us daily or half-hourly reads then your online ‘Usage’ section will not display correct data for this period, and never will. The ‘Usage’ graphs only update when we are getting regular readings. 

 

 

Hi @Jeffus @BPLightlog ,

Thanks for your response. However, I don't see any readings recorded from Mar 7 - Apr 2. Please note that I moved to this apartment on Mar 7th. 

OK as you only moved in on the 7th  March it can take up to 6 weeks for the smart meter readings to completely settle down.

During this period in particular unfortunately the Usage page and the Reading page can show the data on different days. 

You are definitely only charged what you see on the Reading page, never what you see on the usage page. 

The data on the usage page on those days with missing smart reading data on  the reading page are just estimates as OVO had no readings on those days so is simply estimating the split of data over those days. In your case the estimated split wasn't easy due to holidays.

However just to reiterate that doesn't matter.

It can be confusing as you can't quickly see what are estimated data on the usage page.

The good news is you are now seeing daily smart readings on the readings page. 

The following topics may also be helpful:

21 replies

Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
April 26, 2023

Hi @Krish 

Welcome to the customer forum, i am just a customer like you. 

No one on the forum can access your account. 

Have a look at this page where you see actual meter reading. 

This is what you are actually billed

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/electricity

If you want to contact ovo about account specific issues

https://help.ovoenergy.com/#contact_us_container

Or a direct message rather than a general post on their twitter or Facebook feed

https://www.facebook.com/ovoenergy

https://twitter.com/ovoenergy

    BPLightlog
    Super User
    BPLightlogSuper User
    Super User
    April 26, 2023

    Hi @Krish as Jeffus suggests, look at the readings recorded. Where others have seen and described something like this there have been estimated readings. It’s worth checking

    Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
      K
      Rank 1
      KrishAuthor
      Rank 1
      April 26, 2023

      Hi @Jeffus @BPLightlog ,

      Thanks for your response. However, I don't see any readings recorded from Mar 7 - Apr 2. Please note that I moved to this apartment on Mar 7th. 

       

       

      Thanks,

      Krish

      BPLightlog
      Super User
      BPLightlogSuper User
      Super User
      April 26, 2023

      Hi @Krish interesting that there’s a large gap between 7th March and 2nd April for readings. Is it possible that the usage was just catching up during that time and so the daily level is not so accurate?

      Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
        juliamc
        Rank 20
        juliamc
        Rank 20
        April 26, 2023

        Was a request made to change the readings from monthly to daily or hourly ?

          K
          Rank 1
          KrishAuthor
          Rank 1
          April 26, 2023

          @juliamc No request was made from my side. 

          @BPLightlog There seems to be something off, I don't see any meter readings but usage was marked. I am raising this again with customer support. Thanks for all your help

            Jeffus
            Rank 20
            JeffusSolved
            Rank 20
            April 26, 2023

            Updated on 14/03/25 by Ben_OVO

            If there is a period where your smart meter doesn’t send us daily or half-hourly reads then your online ‘Usage’ section will not display correct data for this period, and never will. The ‘Usage’ graphs only update when we are getting regular readings. 

             

             

            Hi @Jeffus @BPLightlog ,

            Thanks for your response. However, I don't see any readings recorded from Mar 7 - Apr 2. Please note that I moved to this apartment on Mar 7th. 

            OK as you only moved in on the 7th  March it can take up to 6 weeks for the smart meter readings to completely settle down.

            During this period in particular unfortunately the Usage page and the Reading page can show the data on different days. 

            You are definitely only charged what you see on the Reading page, never what you see on the usage page. 

            The data on the usage page on those days with missing smart reading data on  the reading page are just estimates as OVO had no readings on those days so is simply estimating the split of data over those days. In your case the estimated split wasn't easy due to holidays.

            However just to reiterate that doesn't matter.

            It can be confusing as you can't quickly see what are estimated data on the usage page.

            The good news is you are now seeing daily smart readings on the readings page. 

            The following topics may also be helpful:

              K
              Rank 1
              KrishAuthor
              Rank 1
              April 26, 2023

              @Jeffus Thanks again, so provided the smart meter readings get updated in 6weeks or so, should I expect an updated usage and refund for additional bill paid. 

              Jeffus
              Rank 20
              Jeffus
              Rank 20
              April 26, 2023

              @Jeffus Thanks again, so provided the smart meter readings get updated in 6weeks or so, should I expect an updated usage and refund for additional bill paid. 

              You may never see those missing smart meter readings filled in on the readings page. The 6 weeks is the time it can take for that first good reading to appear and the subsequent readings to settle down. Yours did this on the 2nd April. 

              If you moved in on 7th March, i am guessing your first bill was something like 7th March to 6th April.

              So you have a good smart meter readings on the day you moved in and on 2nd April, and then every day. 

              So the bill will be fine. 

              The 2nd April reading correctly covers the missing readings on 8th March to 1st  April automatically.

              The bill will be accurate. You won't get a refund as you haven't paid too much. 

              The usage page may never update, but you are not billed using that data.

              Yours is actually one of the better examples as your readings settled down before the first bill finished. 

                K
                Rank 1
                KrishAuthor
                Rank 1
                April 26, 2023

                @Jeffus Got it. Thanks. The bill was £190 and usage around 420kw, which I feel is quite high provided we were out for 10 days that month. But that is something I should work with the OVO support. Thanks for all your inputs

                 

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