My understanding is that you put in Actual meter readings on the last day of your current billing period then you get a bill based on those readings
If this is the case then why am I getting an estimated reading on my heating meter only on the 30 th September when my current billing period ends on the 8 th October which is when I should submit actual readings to obtain up to date bill for that period I only have electricity energy Not gas
If actual meters readings was sent on 18 th September and another actual meters readings sent on 1st October then why is my bill using an estimated readings from the 9 th September The current billing period is 9 th September to the 8 th October surly the two actual readings should be used for the billing
Why is the current billing based on an estimated reading that was on the first day of the billing period with a current actual reading sent say today Instead of a actual current reading sent today with another actual reading sent between the the first billing period and today’s actual reading ie, estimated minus today actual rather than say actual sent few days ago - today’s actual reading. Is there something wrong with this account
+1Hi
Remember that OVO uses a Live Billing model so it doesn’t sound to me like there’s a problem with your account. The account gets updated the moment you send readings in so any estimates are quickly wiped out by actual reads.
It works best with a Smart Meter though.
This is not the case I submitted an actual reading on the 18 th September I have submitted another actual reading on the 1st October Yet the October reading has been used against an estimated reading from the 9 th September so the last previous actual reading on the 18 th September was ignored. Hence this estimate is putting my bill higher than it should be
+1In that case you need to let Support know. We can’t fix that here.
… the October reading has been used against an estimated reading from the 9 th September ... Hence this estimate is putting my bill higher than it should be
I don’t think so. The Billing page shows the state of your account for the billing period as shown at the top of the page. While you may have submitted readings during this period, the only ones that matter for billing purposes are the ones at the start of the period and the latest one (unless there has been a change of tariff in the meantime). While an inaccurate estimate at the start of the period may mean that the bill for the period is higher or lower than it should be, the difference will be wiped out in the next billing period.
The readings you submit during a billing period are only used to make any estimates required as accurate as possible. They don’t have any other effect on the size of the bill when it’s eventually prepared a few days after the end of the period.
Hi
Yep you’ve pretty much nailed it in terms of when to provide a reading, although you can also provide a reading on any date and the billing will update.
Sorry to hear about the confusion caused by the differing dates you were advised to give your meter readings. If you haven’t had smart meters installed, we’ll send you a meter reading reminder a few days before your monthly summary is created. The easiest way to submit these readings is on the ‘Meter readings’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS),
The best date to submit your reading is on or just before the date shown on your bill - the email or text reminder you receive may suggest you enter this the day before to make sure it’s received on time. If you do enter the reading slightly early we’ll only estimate your usage between the date you entered the reading and the date the statement was generated, so it should be fairly accurate.
Every time you enter a meter reading on your online account, your account balance is recalculated to include your usage costs up-to-date. The balance will usually update instantly although it can take up to 24 hours. It’s worth checking the balance before submitting your readings, so you can easily check that the balance has updated. If the balance show on your monthly summary is estimated, you can always check the accurate balance by submitting another meter reading.
If we ever use an estimated reading on your monthly summary, this is calculated based on the last actual reading you gave and your Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC) to give us an idea of what the reading is likely to be. You can always correct any over or under estimated readings by submitting an accurate reading.
As a smart meter can be programmed to send us a reading half-hourly or daily, we can always be sure we’ve got a reading on the date your monthly summary is issued. This will mean no more worrying about reading the meter manually and more accurate billing and usage information on your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS.
If you have estimated meter reading at the beginning of the billing period and you send in exact readings on your last billing day does the generated bill the day after take into account any actual meter readings you gave between the first and last day of the billing period
+1Hiya!
It’s best to not take risks there. It should do exactly that but either way, any estimates would be minimal, the bill would likely be very accurate and the estimates would be wiped out in the next one anyway.
If you have Smart Meters, this problem completely vanishes. :)
Hey
I can see our Community Members have already given some great advice here, just wanted to add this FAQ may be helpful to you:
Hey
I’ve responded on your other topic:
As a customer recently migrated across from sse hydro to OVO I currently have all electric consisting of two meters One being THTU. When clicking on link for smart reader installation it comes up can’t install account does not meet our eligibility test What does this mean surly whatever that means it’s not hard to install modern technology over an older system otherwise OVO live billing system really isn’t of use to myself as its still relies on either estimates or self meter readings each month. Every customer who has a new smart meter had to have their old installation replaced. This doesn’t make sense
+1Hiya!
By THTU did you mean THTC by any chance? Smart Meters aren’t quite ready to support that setup just yet - and this isn’t just OVO either - so please hang in there for a bit longer! I’ve seen the testing happening at OVO’s HQ last year so I know it’s coming soon.
+1It’s definitely in the works, but what I can’t give you is an ETA I’m afraid. At a rough guess, I’d say it’ll probably be ready within the next 1-2 years.
It’s definitely in the works, but what I can’t give you is an ETA I’m afraid. At a rough guess, I’d say it’ll probably be ready within the next 1-2 years.
But the radio teleswitching is supposed to be switched off end of March next year. Do we have any guarantee that our heating and hot water will still reliably come on and off at the correct times and rates?
+1The engineers of yesteryear considered that possibility. All RTS Meters have a built-in fallback/failsafe feature in the form of a local timeswitch. In the event of RTS failure for any reason, the meter falls back to the local timeswitch and continues to operate using the last known switching times - it’ll just keep repeating the same ones indefinitely.
However, this isn’t designed for long-term use and should not be relied upon forever. Many of them are also getting rather old, so I cannot offer a 100% guarantee that such functionality will definitely work as intended. This isn’t OVO’s fault either because OVO basically didn’t exist back in those days. We’re talking 1970’s/1980’s technology here!
If you are able to, I strongly recommend migrating to Smart Meters ASAP as that’s the only way this is guaranteed to keep working post RTS shutdown.
Can I ask as I have to give actual readings Is there a CUT OFF time on your last billing day to submit your readings before the system provides estimates OR do you have until midnight on your last billing day to provide actual readings to avoid estimates
Some customers have found that a reading submitted in the morning after the end of the billing period is recorded at the preceding midnight, and then used to calculate the bill.
You can see this on two consecutive bills; the closing reading of the earlier one is the same as the opening reading of the following one. On the first bill, this reading is dated on the last day of the billing period, but a day later on the second bill.
Entries on the meter readings history page are dated on the day the reading is submitted even though that day isn’t yet finished.
Your billing period is coming to an end. I would suggest that you submit a reading on the last day of the period and another one the following day. Then wait to see which of them is used to calculate your bill, and come back here to tell us. This will help other customers who may be confused about when to submit readings.
It won’t hurt to submit more readings than you’re asked to.
Hey
Thank you for your question about THTC,
You can find out more on our website:
If you have a meter that’s affected, we’ll be in touch to arrange a meter and tariff upgrade to keep your heating and hot water working.
Or contact us now to arrange your upgrade.
If your home is all-electric and you live in the north of Scotland, you could be on Total Heating with Total Control (THTC). It works best with electric storage heaters rather than gas, oil or wet electric heating.
With THTC you get two meters. One is for off-peak energy you use and the other records all your normal usage like lights, kitchen appliances and sockets. Just so you know, energy used on the normal meter costs more than our standard rate.
We also have an FAQ with more info:
Hope this helps.
Hey
Welcome to the OVO Online Community,
I can see our Community Members have already given some helpful advice here, just wanted to add that we have a live billing system so whenever you submit a meter reading your account balance will update accordingly.
We have a great FAQ on this topic:
This is Not the case if it was the recent actual reading submitted would be set against the previous actual reading given and Not further back to the beginning of the billing period where the recent actual reading set against the an estimated reading. Even when you contact help line they stated it’ll balance in the next billing period. It should balance itself Now against the the two recent actual readings so it’s not a live system as some seem to make out It’s only live if you have a smart meters which I can’t have at the moment So I’m not convinced
If my opening balance is £5.16 debit for current period 9 th September-8th October then why has this opening balance suddenly increased to £9.07 debit now your current charges are separate from your opening balance so although your current balance will change during your current period your opening balance should stay the same if you haven’t made any payments and certainly should not increase
Sorry
I should have made myself more clear in the previous message, your online account balance will update accordingly. So you can see your balance up to date when you submit a meter reading. You’ll be able to see the submitted meter reading on your next billing period.
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