Daily "life" has to stop between 4 - 7pm for Power Move challenge

I work from home most days, I don't sit in  the dark, I cook my tea in an airfryer, I boil my kettle  watch tv after work 5pm onwards and I still got £3.

My property is a 1 bed flat.

I do all my washing, charge gadgets and anything else, outside of 4 -7pm. 

I pay £90 a month for gas/electricity and don't use that much, so I'm a low user.

Don't deprive yourself,  it's power move, not power save 4-7...

@Sanka14 at least you get a chance to take part in the challenges,  us poor duel energy users don't even get a look in. ☹️

Thanks for your kind reply!

I also live in a 1-bedroom flat - the difference is that my average combined monthly winter gas + electricity use comes to only approx. £56 (winter '23 + '22) - so I am a very low energy user already.

You're right: it's about the time shifting of use that's important! And I'm trying hard to implement that, but have difficulties due to winter day light gone from 4 pm onwards.

I'm an OVO dual energy, direct debit customer, too! Unfortunately, my smart meter is only for electricity. A gas smart meter could not be installed for "logistical" reasons.

Best post I have seen so far, just wait for the company men to pile in supporting this flawed scheme 

Hi I’m the same !!! Very very careful!! I tend to try and go out weekdays after 4 !!!   I find the standing charges intolerable for singles and the vulnerable !!! 

It's not flawed, it just doesn't work for you. There is no harm in trying, it does cost you anything (in money) to try.

I am not affiliated with OVO, but I achieve tbe target regularly.

My kids get in from school at 4, everything goes on when they get in. Their tea is cooked in an air fryer between 5 and 6. I am still working, from home, between 4 & 6.

Washing (and drying in the winter) is all done off-peak, as is the dishwasher.

Overall, I am not a particularly high user “compared to similar households” (as per the app.).

Just because something doesn't work for you, doesn't make it a scam, not everything in life is a handout.

No one is forcing you to do this

Dual fuel (energy) users can take part. It’s only not available to Dual Tariff users like E7 or E10 where you have a day rate and a night rate on one smart electricity meter. If you have a single rate electricity meter you can take part. There are also other conditions that apply as well.

Peter

@Peter E My mistake I did mean duel Tariff.

Ps - I don’t t use power at the weekend as that doesn’t count so I wait  until  weekdays for washing , batch cooking  etc!! Even hoovering!!!! 

Yes, it’s easy to get those confused.

There is an ongoing issue with the dual tariff restriction (I’m affected with my E7 tariff and previously took part and suceeded very well in these challenges). As a forum volunteer I can tell you that we have a team discussion coming up to air issues like this on behalf of customers. I’m hoping the issue is resolved in favour of giving E7/E10 customers at least some recognition for actively moving energy out of the peak.  But, it also has to be recognised that E7/E10 customers already move their energy out of the peak and get a discount for it at a reduced rate. From that perspective Power Move can be seen as dual tariff customers getting a double discount.

Perhaps one way of looking at it is this: If you went to a single rate meter would you be better off with a higher unit rate but getting the Power Move reward or would you be better off staying on the dual tariff? My guess is that if you are a heavy user (you have storage heaters etc.) you are better off on the E7/E10 tariff and as a light / very light user you would be better with a single tariff and hope to be consistent at getting the PM reward but any slip up and you would lose out.

Peter

That was the rule for the winter of 23/24 but it changed. Weekend use counts towards your out of peak usage.

Peter

Crikey - thanks Peter - I thought it didn’t happen at weekends- is all confusing . May as well hoover now ! Kay 

I've done about 3 full washes and my dehumidifier is on now... make the most of the weekends!

@Sanka14 
Whan I first joined the challenge I worked out the following tactics;

1. Buy wooly hats and fleeces for the whole family and insist that they wear them from 6pm as I think my target savings time is 6-9pm and as all heating, including the central heating system pumps and motorised valves will be switched off. If I switch off at 5.59pm for three hours it will take till past bedtime to crank the temperature up again so there‘s no real point switching it again at 9,01pm but I’ll have to burn some juice after 9pm to comply with the rules  

2 Absolutely no TV, radio, WiFi or electronic devices from 6-9pm . Smartphones and laptops will be allowed on battery mode but the Router will be off so everyone will have to use mobile data. Lighting will be kept to a minimum so reading books and newspapers will be rationed; we’ll probably have a rota to share the reading lamp  

3 People will be allowed to shower as we have a pressurised gravity fed hot water storage tank not a Combi nor electric shower, but hair dryers will not be allowed and nor will electric toothbrushes.

4 Obviously we will have to rearrange meal times as traditionally we eat quite late; so, as people will probably also rearrange their sleeping times we will simply move everything forward by a few hours; breakfast at 5am, lunch at 10.30 and dinner at about 5.30.  That will take some getting used to, as here in Spain we eat late; last night’s Salmorejo, Fabada Asturianos, Postres y Queso started at 9.15pm and finished around 11. Although maybe as an occasional treat I will stage a midnight feast when home? In fact, as we may have to take long walks from 6-9pm to keep ourselves amused without TV, WiFi etc, that’s an idea worth floating to the family to keep them on board. 
5 Washing machines aren’t usually in action in the evening so that’s not an issue, and we already don’t have a tumble dryer, preferring to use a clothes line except when it’s raining heavily but I’ll leave a note on the door asking evening visitors not to use the doorbell between 5.59 and 9.01pm as that’s wired into the domestic supply. 

Unfortunately this backfired - My kids rebelled, my wife divorced me, I fell apart emotionally, lost my job and I now sofa - surf.  But look on the bright side; my online bills still show in my in-box and I see that this month, my tactics finally paid off.  An email arrived saying I’d achieved Nirvana; “You hit your Power Move target!”… “Well done, you made it onto Tier 3 in October. That means £2.61 Power Move credit will soon be on its way to you...”  

Now, if I can only beg another £1.39 (I have a prime spot outside the station) I’ll be able to afford a cup of Costa Coffee!   

Be careful to read the full challenge conditions that apply to you for that month because they can change. The FAQs which I've seen are the general ones which show how the calculation is done for both including and not including weekends and the peak times for the challenge which vary during the year.

In the summer it is 6-9pm and in the winter it is 4-7pm. You need to read the conditions for each challenge otherwise you can get caught out. This is not a deliberate move to catch you out but it's a reflection of the varying conditions imposed by the National Grid ESO on energy suppliers at different times of the year. Good luck and I hope you succeed because it can make a big difference to low energy users.

Peter

We are not a high usage household and we’re benefiting big time!

A retired couple at home 24/7 mostly, me with a dodgy hip (and the rest!).

Our October usage £21.54, OVO’s figure for similar homes £71.67. The Power Move email says we used 5.78% of total electricity during peak hours and so qualified for the £12 reward.

We’re not sitting in the dark twiddling our thumbs for three hours, the TV is on as are any necessary lights. The router is always on.  Yes, we have an alarm set for 15:45 to boil the kettle for a cup of tea and maybe a flask for later. The washing machine goes on in the mornings. If we plan to use the drier, then that’s a job for the weekend. We do have the advantage of a gas hob so we can have hot food whenever we want.  

I’m consuming about the same as you and spend most of my time at home. I reach the tier 1 most of the time. I had tier 2 only once when the target was more challenging than this Winter Power Move. Power Move is not about how much electricity you use, but about how much of your daily usage is being used during a particular period. During this winter it is 4pm–7pm. Light bulbs (especially LED ones), TV, computer, and Wi-Fi router, are not going to make a big change, in other words – feel free to use them! It’s the devices like hob, washing machine, microwave, and kettle is better to use outside the said times. I don’t know about the water heating, some people have it heated by electricity, I’m guessing it is also better to use it outside the said times. 

Like others, despite having achieved the target every month, until October, I am now excluded for the rather lame dual tariff reason. Maybe OVO concluded that I was finding it ‘too easy’, so they have now made it impossible. I note that they say that they are working on this issue, even though it has worked perfectly well until now. 

Great to see there’s still some healthy debate about Power Move!!! 😁

If you’d like to give some feedback we have a survey for you to fill in:
 

• Power Move Autumn Challenge News

 

Just wanted to add some clarity about changes that have been made:


Winter challenge

 

The challenge is to use 12% or less of your home’s total electricity between 4pm and 7pm, Monday to Friday.

Weekends count as off-peak.

Try moving your energy use to off-peak hours whenever you can. 

What you could earn each month:

 

Target	Monthly reward
0% to 8.00%	£12
8.01% to 10.00%	£6
10.01% to 12.00%	£3

 

See the Winter Challenge terms.

 
These topics might be interesting to you:
 

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

• Power Move going into Beyond - New Challenge Information News

Some correction to my comment. I said “Tier 1”, but I meant the highest tier (where you are being awarded the highest credit), which actually is Tier 3. My apologies!

It happens :). Generally we can work out what is meant so no worries

Power Move credits should now have been applied 🙂 for those that have a had delayed payments this month