Smart meters and energy spikes

shar46y

Earlier this week, our gas and electricity meters were replaced with smart meters by British Gas. The monitor seems to be working perfectly fine during waking hours as we can see usage shooting up when the kettle or oven is on, or when someone takes a shower.

What we have found puzzling is that the monitor shows a HUGE spike in usage (at least 3-4 times higher than baseline) around midnight (00:00 hrs) - the electricity spikes every night but sometimes also the gas. This translates into "real" money as when we check the monitor first thing in the morning, it already says we have used so many pence of energy

We were wondering if this is some sort of software problem as everybody is asleep and nothing is switched on. We have nothing on a timer set to come on in the middle of the night, it is summer so the central heating is not on. I have been Googling but there is no mention of this issue?

Do I have to wake up at midnight to search the house?

bsod

kwh or £'s?

if the latter, standing charge.

molerat

Is it kWh use or purely £ - standing charge applied ?

shar46y

OMG thank you! It must be the standing charge! The engineer set up the monitor to display £ not kWh!

shar46y

I'm hugely embarrassed to admit that I never realised there was a standing charge. All these years I've been paying household bills and never knew :mad:. What is the point of a standing charge anyway?

jackandcoke

shar46y wrote: »

I'm hugely embarrassed to admit that I never realised there was a standing charge. All these years I've been paying household bills and never knew :mad:. What is the point of a standing charge anyway?

Have you never check any past energy statements/bills?

[Deleted User]

@shar46y
The standing charge is to pay for the cost of the pipes /cables/sewers etc and their maintenance.

footyguy

shar46y wrote: »

Earlier this week, our gas and electricity meters were replaced with smart meters by British Gas. The monitor seems to be working perfectly fine during waking hours as we can see usage shooting up when the kettle or oven is on, or when someone takes a shower.

What we have found puzzling is that the monitor shows a HUGE spike in usage (at least 3-4 times higher than baseline) around midnight (00:00 hrs) - the electricity spikes every night but sometimes also the gas. This translates into "real" money as when we check the monitor first thing in the morning, it already says we have used so many pence of energy

We were wondering if this is some sort of software problem as everybody is asleep and nothing is switched on. We have nothing on a timer set to come on in the middle of the night, it is summer so the central heating is not on. I have been Googling but there is no mention of this issue?

Do I have to wake up at midnight to search the house?

Was the property ever previously supplied on E7 (or other multi rate tariff)?

It sounds probably like an extra circuit is coming live at midnight. I know you say you have gas so unlikely (but not impossible) you have a storage heater; more likely to be an immersion heater coming on.

Otherwise, it's just coincidence that it seems to be midnight every time, but probably a fidge or freezer cutting in.

Or it may be a combination of smaller things like a set top box updating.

Sorry, I don't believe you use NO electricity at night - have a look round and discover all the items that are still consuming electricity through the night.

If that really does not thow up any light on the matter, turn off the electricity at the meter at midnight, and turn it on again when you get up. Then you will see the effect of using no electricity at night.
(even if it's just resetting a clock/timer on something)

shar46y

New problem! I logged into my BG account online to look at my usage and projected bills (I pay by monthly DD). It turns out I was almost £500 in credit, which made sense when I looked at my most recent bill using actual meter readings (this was the most recent bill before the smart meter). Also seemed to tally well with the few days of smart meter usage we've had so far, even allowing for the summertime.

Furthermore, the page said "At the end of your plan, we may owe you" and there's a graphic showing that I pay quite a bit too much. Next to that, there's box saying "To get on track, we recommend you Get A Credit Refund".

Stupid me, I clicked on the link. This took me to a page where I could put in a refund amount and it would recalculate the monthly payment. So I cautiously put in for a £300 refund, clicked recalculate, and it came up with a very similar monthly payment (a difference of pence). This seemed logical (as I was overpaying compared to usage). So I went ahead and requested the refund.

This morning I woke up to an email from BG saying that, because I've requested a refund, they've had to recalculate my DD and it is now about double:eek:Why?

I've looked online again and it says I am still in credit (less the amount refunded, obviously) with the graphic now showing I will be paying WAAAAY too much and, yes, a link for "getting back on track".

I'll be contacting BG as soon as phone lines open, but has anybody had a similar experience? Was I a fool for requesting a credit refund?:(

[Deleted User]

No, the money is yours. Make a formal complaint in writing using the word COMPLAINT as often as possible. Outline with the sums what they have done wrong and why. Tell them how much the DD should be based on your real usage. Phoning may not be any help and you will not have any evidence of what was said. But if you wish to try that first then good luck.

The foolish bit was using British Gas which is 1 of 2 companies I have used and would never go back to. The other is Scottish Power if you're interested.

footyguy

shar46y wrote: »

New problem! I logged into my BG account online to look at my usage and projected bills (I pay by monthly DD). It turns out I was almost £500 in credit, which made sense when I looked at my most recent bill using actual meter readings (this was the most recent bill before the smart meter). Also seemed to tally well with the few days of smart meter usage we've had so far, even allowing for the summertime.

Furthermore, the page said "At the end of your plan, we may owe you" and there's a graphic showing that I pay quite a bit too much. Next to that, there's box saying "To get on track, we recommend you Get A Credit Refund".

Stupid me, I clicked on the link. This took me to a page where I could put in a refund amount and it would recalculate the monthly payment. So I cautiously put in for a £300 refund, clicked recalculate, and it came up with a very similar monthly payment (a difference of pence). This seemed logical (as I was overpaying compared to usage). So I went ahead and requested the refund.

This morning I woke up to an email from BG saying that, because I've requested a refund, they've had to recalculate my DD and it is now about double:eek:Why?

I've looked online again and it says I am still in credit (less the amount refunded, obviously) with the graphic now showing I will be paying WAAAAY too much and, yes, a link for "getting back on track".

I'll be contacting BG as soon as phone lines open, but has anybody had a similar experience? Was I a fool for requesting a credit refund?:(

You need to contact the supplier.

I'm not sure how you could be in £500 credit? It sounds like you have not given an up to date meter reading, and if you have, that the supplier has not produced an up to date bill based on that meter reading.

Once you've done that, you need to see what the credit situation really is.

At this time of year, where a customer pays monthly by DD, suppliers usually expect you to have built up some credit as it balances out the higher consumption most of us incur in the winter period, but if you still have £200 credit left that should certainly be more than enough for most people.

This MSE article should help you further
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits