price rise oct 2024

This isn’t the first time that OVO have used the arrival of a new price cap to hoick the night rate for Economy 7 customers. They are allowed to do this so long as the average user’s annual cost remains within the cap. It means that for E7 to remain economical, the minimum proportion of nighttime usage of the total will have to be more than before.  You’ll have to check your own figures to find out whether E7 is still right for you.

The average E7 household uses 3900 kWh/year. Ofgem expects an average user to consume at least 42% of this at night. OVO’s rates have in recent quarters been based on a much lower percentage, so you can be sure that they’re still within the rules. Here’s an easy calculation (it ignores the standing charge, which is usually insignificant in this respect): 

For E7 to be worth it, nighttime usage has to be at least
[Day rate ‒ Single rate] / [Day rate ‒ Night rate]
of total usage.

Using some current figures (i.e. pre-October rise) for Northern Scotland, paying by Direct Debit:

• Day rate    25.00
• Night rate  14.20
• Single rate 21.80

(25.00 ‒ 21.80) / (25.00 ‒ 14.20) = 3.20/10.80 = 0.296 or very nearly 30%. Here, the average household would have to consume at least (3900 x 0.296 =) 1155 kWh per year at night rate.

If you told us your postcode area and the current and new rates given in the price increase notification, we could probably work out a comparison for you. If you could find out how much you’ve used over the past year at peak and offpeak times, we could compare costs, too. You would have to find the closing meter readings from your latest bill and the ones for the corresponding period last year, then subtract last year’s from this year’s to get the annual usage.

I have just received an email informing me of my new rate come October and I am flabbergasted at how OVO have calculated the increase.  I live in AB33 postcode and in an all electric house on the THTC tariff.  The increase in the day rate is 3.6% and the cheap rate has increased 14.2%!  When I look at my consumption for the last year and see what my annual bill is predicted to go up, it comes to 10.14%.  I suppose that this is just over the limit of the price cap increase authorised by OFGEM but what if we have a hard winter this year?  As you will use more heating costs will go up by a lot more than 10%.  Below I attach a copy of the rates for my tariff this year. My annual consumption on cheap rate is 6360kWh and normal rate is 1765kWh. Total is 8125kWh
 

Well, you’re better off than @Douglas52 , then: his rates are to rise by 9% and 16%.

I couldn’t find the plan you’re currently enjoying (!)*, but I’d be surprised to find that the overall increase is more than Ofgem’s mandate. I think OVO are very careful to make sure that that doesn’t happen. 

I’m afraid it’s a fact of life: in a cold winter, everyone will have to spend more to stay warm - neither OVO nor Ofgem can predict the weather. With almost 80% of your consumption going towards heating, you’ll be hit harder than someone closer to Ofgem’s figure of 42%. 
  

*   This is what I found, but the rates don’t match what you showed. Is the name of the plan the one you’ve been quoted for? In particular, 24.85p is given here as the single rate, and it matches what you give for the peak rate (24.85 + VAT = 25.81). The standing charge matches, too (59.25 + VAT = 62.21). So your tariff remains a mystery, I’m afraid. Do you have any explanation? It could be a system with more than one meter, of course, but I don’t know where your (18.70 + VAT =) 19.64 offpeak figure comes from.
  

The rates quoted by metalsman are exactly the same as ours. We are DD8 and on Simpler Energy THTC according to our bills.

Firedog wrote:

 

*   This is what I found, but the rates don’t match what you showed. Is the name of the plan the one you’ve been quoted for? In particular, 24.85p is given here as the single rate, and it matches what you give for the peak rate (24.85 + VAT = 25.81). The standing charge matches, too (59.25 + VAT = 62.21). So your tariff remains a mystery, I’m afraid. Do you have any explanation? It could be a system with more than one meter, of course, but I don’t know where your (18.70 + VAT =) 19.64 offpeak figure comes from.
  

 

What you have found is part of the smoke and mirrors that OVO use to confuse folk. When I look at the Tariff Information Label on my online account if shows prices including vat but in the table above it states that it is a muti rate tariff but quotes only one rate excluding vat. You have the option according to OFGEM to have a one rate tariff on an a multi rate THTC Tariff and that single rate is what they are quoting.  The rates quoted do not include vat as you have discovered.  The second multi rate you show has never applied to THTC in my area and I have records of my tariff rates going back to October 2011(yes 2011!).  This showing off tariff rates some including vat (as in the Tariff Information Label) some not (as in my online account shown below), totally confuses people forcing them to read the small print.
Yes, THTC is a muti meter tariff as we have 2 meters, one being a RTS meter but that does not preclude OVO from showing accurate information which patently they are not. Listed below is the present capped rate applicable up to the end of September showing on my online account.

Yes, it’s often confusing. OVO chooses to calculate customer bills ex VAT and then add the VAT as a separate line item. This is just one way of doing it, and it’s probably the most transparent. It does mean, though, that the customer has to be wary when comparing rates on bills with those shown on TIL and in price notification messages. That’s why these messages always include a rider to the effect that “your unit rates and standing charges might show differently on your statements.”

I agree, and the fact that this tariff isn’t published goes against Ofgem’s express wishes:
  

I suppose that makes me an aggrieved ‘third-party intermediary,’ although I doubt that that’s what the sentence is intended to mean. This is the only variable tariff available to you; as such, it should be subject to the price cap (in spirit if not in law) yet you have no way of knowing whether it is within the cap or not.  Has anyone checked, do you know? 

@Cassie511 I can’t remember whether you’ve now got your smart meter or not - it was due last month, I think, but there were a few who had aborted installations for one reason or another. If you have, I’d be interested in seeing your plan page, too.

@Firedog Here's our plan (prices ex VAT).   Hopefully it will all change today🤞 The meter change last month didn't happen...long story.  Engineer due today between 12 and 4 but we're not holding our breath. 

Regarding prices being quoted, sometimes with VAT and sometimes without.....I thought it was a requirement for all prices being quoted to the general public to be inclusive of VAT ..????

Thanks @Cassie511 🙂 I just wanted to be whether your figures represented a smart tariff or not. They don’t!

You took that image from a statement, not a quotation! It would be really confusing if the figures in your table were different from the ones in the Detailed charges section beside it. The Cost of electricity seen there is then transferred to the Summary of charges on the previous page, where the VAT is then added to the bits it’s due on.

Yes, Ofgem insists on VAT being included where appropriate, which is why Tariff Information Labels (TIL), tariff notifications (e.g. by email when prices change) and their own price tables all include VAT. OVO are careful to say if VAT is included, but Ofgem aren’t!

I’ve got my fingers crossed 🤞🏻for your SMEX (insider-talk for Smart Meter Exchange) this afternoon. If there are problems with it (or even if there aren’t), please start a new thread here to tell us about it. All you early-THTC disadopters are guinea pigs for those who come later to the party, so we’re keen to learn about all the pitfalls and obstacles to a smooth transition.

Just to let you know that there are a lot of updates on smartmeter installations to replace the RTS and THTC on another thread -

THTC / Separate Radio Teleswitch and Meter- Can I get a smart meter?

Same forum, different thread ...

THTC / Separate Radio Teleswitch and Meter- Can I get a smart meter? | The OVO Forum (ovoenergy.com) 

Sorry, I should have said thread rather than forum.