Zog has gone 😢

GunJack

Dolor said:

 Not everyone is OCD about setting up spreadsheets etc to monitor their usage and costs. 

Neither am I     

Robin9

Gerry1 said:

Robin9 said:

@Gunjack I'm with you on monthly bills - that's what I liked with Zog.    I have Edf with Electric (following GNE)  and that's 6 monthly - unless you track it yourself that can be a big shock.

Just switch to Direct Debit Whole Amount (Monthly). No big bill shocks, and no credit building up either.

I'm happy with my annual cost spread in 12 equal installments thank you.

GunJack

Gerry1 said:

Robin9 said:

@Gunjack I'm with you on monthly bills - that's what I liked with Zog.    I have Edf with Electric (following GNE)  and that's 6 monthly - unless you track it yourself that can be a big shock.

Just switch to Direct Debit Whole Amount (Monthly). No big bill shocks, and no credit building up either.

Ahh...well, that's where we differ - I prefer to build up some credit, it's been especially useful when transitioning between SoLRs ....but more importantly it guards against any unforseen heavy useage periods. With ofgem protecting credit balances, it's a no-brainer, and if this changes then I'll reconsider

Gerry1

Dolor said:

Robin9 said:

@Gunjack I'm with you on monthly bills - that's what I liked with Zog.    I have Edf with Electric (following GNE)  and that's 6 monthly - unless you track it yourself that can be a big shock.

When people are paid monthly (with, sadly, a very large number on State pensions or benefits) it makes no sense to my mind for Ofgem to allow anything but monthly billing. If a consumer happens to have a billing cycle of early November to May, they could unwittingly end up with a bill for 80% of their annual usage. What happened to Ofgem’s fine words about the need for suppliers to protect consumers from getting themselves into debt? Not everyone is OCD about setting up spreadsheets etc to monitor their usage and costs. 

Ofgem makes no sense on anything...  FTFY !   They should also make Variable Monthly DD the default option: there's still massive confusion about how Fixed Monthly DDs work, hence at the posts about 'I signed up at £5 per month and now my DD is rocketing to £250/month'.  The consumer is always at the bottom of Ofgem's priorities, as Citizens Advice's scathing review showed.

Curiousgirl1

[Deleted User] said:

Curiousgirl1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Keep_pedalling said:

kev2009 said:

I don't have a smart gas meter but when I got my smart Elec meter, I recall being asked how frequently I wanted readings taken so you should be able to change it unless they no longer give you a option (mine was fitted couple of years ago now).  I believe I told them to take readings monthly.  I have since moved Elec supplies but from a rough check, it seems they only take a reading once a month also, occasionally I see 2 readings, sometimes 2 on the same day weirdly but certainly not showing hourly, seems a bit excessive.

Kev

Yes I do have the option to change to a monthly or 30 min interval. The latter would match my Octopus electricity intervals, but it is not so useful for gas.

Given that Ofgem wants 30 minute usage data to be the default smart meter profile then it seems odd to me that a major supplier such as EDF is not offering 30 minute historical usage data. Even more so when other registered DCC Users such as Hildebrand are prepared to offer consumers this data for free. EDF is a supplier that appears to be very set in its ways: the fact that is now about to lease Octopus Energy’s billing platform suggests that they do not have an integral team of IT developers.

FWiW, I believe that 30 minute data is very useful for gas. It has enabled me to play around with the flow temperature on my boiler to achieve some significant efficiency savings. Most gas boilers in the UK never condense because the flow temperature is too high and the return flow temperature exceeds 56C.

Like all other suppliers, EDF does offer half hourly reads but it has to be with the consent of the customer. Without consent the default is monthly 

Enlighten me: what does EDF do with the information? I can see nothing on their portal to allow me to see my 30 minute usage data.

Don’t know, why don’t you ask them? All I did was let you know they do half hourly reads when you said they didn’t. Could be used in high consumption queries maybe? 

GunJack

Gerry1 said:

   They should also make Variable Monthly DD the default option:

no, they really shouldn't.... that in itself would duff many people on lower incomes who NEED to budget and pay fixed monthly DDs

MWT

It comes back to the old question about freedom of choice...

There are suppliers with a range of different billing cycles and payment methods, should Ofgem allow people the freedom to make their own choice, or assume they are incapable and force what they perceive to be the 'best' choice?

I will always be in favour of allowing people to make choices for themselves...

[Deleted User]

Curiousgirl1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Curiousgirl1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Keep_pedalling said:

kev2009 said:

I don't have a smart gas meter but when I got my smart Elec meter, I recall being asked how frequently I wanted readings taken so you should be able to change it unless they no longer give you a option (mine was fitted couple of years ago now).  I believe I told them to take readings monthly.  I have since moved Elec supplies but from a rough check, it seems they only take a reading once a month also, occasionally I see 2 readings, sometimes 2 on the same day weirdly but certainly not showing hourly, seems a bit excessive.

Kev

Yes I do have the option to change to a monthly or 30 min interval. The latter would match my Octopus electricity intervals, but it is not so useful for gas.

Given that Ofgem wants 30 minute usage data to be the default smart meter profile then it seems odd to me that a major supplier such as EDF is not offering 30 minute historical usage data. Even more so when other registered DCC Users such as Hildebrand are prepared to offer consumers this data for free. EDF is a supplier that appears to be very set in its ways: the fact that is now about to lease Octopus Energy’s billing platform suggests that they do not have an integral team of IT developers.

FWiW, I believe that 30 minute data is very useful for gas. It has enabled me to play around with the flow temperature on my boiler to achieve some significant efficiency savings. Most gas boilers in the UK never condense because the flow temperature is too high and the return flow temperature exceeds 56C.

Like all other suppliers, EDF does offer half hourly reads but it has to be with the consent of the customer. Without consent the default is monthly 

Enlighten me: what does EDF do with the information? I can see nothing on their portal to allow me to see my 30 minute usage data.

Don’t know, why don’t you ask them? All I did was let you know they do half hourly reads when you said they didn’t. Could be used in high consumption queries maybe? 

I have. I was told that EDF does not offer 30 minute usage DATA to its consumers Yes, EDF can set the smart meter to the 30 minute profile (as could the minnow Zog); however, usage data has to be accessed through a third-party such as Hildebrand or N3rgy (both Registered DCC Users). 

When I get my Octopus monthly bill it runs to 29/31/32 pages depending on the month. This is what smart metering is all about: information is power.  If smart metering was designed just to get an automatic monthly reading then we have all been badly misled. 

EDF as one of the first suppliers to introduce smart metering should now be at the forefront of the sector but from what I have seen so far it is lagging behind. Sadly, it has required energy supply disrupters like Octopus to show consumers what is possible with smart metering which is why, like E.oN, EDF is now buying into Octopus Energy’s billing platform. If you cannot beat them join them. My guess is that we will see time-of-use tariffs from both EDF and E.oN in the not too distant future.

Gerry1

MWT said:

It comes back to the old question about freedom of choice...

There are suppliers with a range of different billing cycles and payment methods, should Ofgem allow people the freedom to make their own choice, or assume they are incapable and force what they perceive to be the 'best' choice?

I will always be in favour of allowing people to make choices for themselves...

The problem is that many suppliers, probably most, insist on Fixed DDs unless you opt for a significantly more expensive method of payment: it's their way or the highway.  It's helped to bring about the Ponzi suppliers who just increased the DDs until they went bust, resulting in all customers being hit with a surcharge of around £94 according to Citizens Advice's scathing report.  Thanks, Ofgem.

All suppliers should have to offer Variable DDs as well.  Agreed it's not for everyone because the winter bills can be high, but everyone should be given the choice.

Curiousgirl1

[Deleted User] said:

Curiousgirl1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Curiousgirl1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Keep_pedalling said:

kev2009 said:

I don't have a smart gas meter but when I got my smart Elec meter, I recall being asked how frequently I wanted readings taken so you should be able to change it unless they no longer give you a option (mine was fitted couple of years ago now).  I believe I told them to take readings monthly.  I have since moved Elec supplies but from a rough check, it seems they only take a reading once a month also, occasionally I see 2 readings, sometimes 2 on the same day weirdly but certainly not showing hourly, seems a bit excessive.

Kev

Yes I do have the option to change to a monthly or 30 min interval. The latter would match my Octopus electricity intervals, but it is not so useful for gas.

Given that Ofgem wants 30 minute usage data to be the default smart meter profile then it seems odd to me that a major supplier such as EDF is not offering 30 minute historical usage data. Even more so when other registered DCC Users such as Hildebrand are prepared to offer consumers this data for free. EDF is a supplier that appears to be very set in its ways: the fact that is now about to lease Octopus Energy’s billing platform suggests that they do not have an integral team of IT developers.

FWiW, I believe that 30 minute data is very useful for gas. It has enabled me to play around with the flow temperature on my boiler to achieve some significant efficiency savings. Most gas boilers in the UK never condense because the flow temperature is too high and the return flow temperature exceeds 56C.

Like all other suppliers, EDF does offer half hourly reads but it has to be with the consent of the customer. Without consent the default is monthly 

Enlighten me: what does EDF do with the information? I can see nothing on their portal to allow me to see my 30 minute usage data.

Don’t know, why don’t you ask them? All I did was let you know they do half hourly reads when you said they didn’t. Could be used in high consumption queries maybe? 

I have. I was told that EDF does not offer 30 minute usage DATA to its consumers Yes, EDF can set the smart meter to the 30 minute profile (as could the minnow Zog); however, usage data has to be accessed through a third-party such as Hildebrand or N3rgy (both Registered DCC Users). 

When I get my Octopus monthly bill it runs to 29/31/32 pages depending on the month. This is what smart metering is all about: information is power.  If smart metering was designed just to get an automatic monthly reading then we have all been badly misled. 

EDF as one of the first suppliers to introduce smart metering should now be at the forefront of the sector but from what I have seen so far it is lagging behind. Sadly, it has required energy supply disrupters like Octopus to show consumers what is possible with smart metering which is why, like E.oN, EDF is now buying into Octopus Energy’s billing platform. If you cannot beat them join them. My guess is that we will see time-of-use tariffs from both EDF and E.oN in the not too distant future.

Well there you go, didn’t need me to enlighten you after all did you?