Smart meter billing errors

CCandJJ

I have been emailing my energy supplier for the last few weeks since I noticed that my smart meter was showing the day rate (which should be from 8am-8pm) way into the night when it should have been much cheaper on my tariff for a night rate from 8pm.  I have asked them whether the bills are created using the rates from the smart meter or from the time of usage provided by the smart meter half hourly readings - no reply still about this.  My smart meter was installed on 4th August 2022 and I have received a bill today.  It's possible to download half hourly meter readings from the energy supplier into an excel file which I have done and calculated the electricity used based on the times of day. Looking at the bill split between day and night rate I've calculated that the day rate has been applied as per the smart meter and not by the time of day used. This has meant that I have been overcharged about £300 from 4/12/22 to 3/12/22.  This may be useful for more people to check since the energy companies do not seem interested to correct this when it means they have overcharged us!  

CCandJJ

This should read that I have been overcharged £300 from 4/8/22 to 4/12/22 (not 4/12-3/12!)

[Deleted User]

Almost nobody bills on 30-minute readings.  There are only a couple of specialist ToU tariffs that do this.

They bill on two register readings.

It sounds like your supplier has set the smart meter up wrong - if you actually have a 12 hour peak and 12 hour off-peak tariff, which would be very unusual.

ariarnia

can you tell us who your supplier is and what your tarrif is called? that might help understand whats happening. 

CCandJJ

Here is my tariff with Octopus Energy.  We are billed a day rate & night rate based on the half hourly meter readings they have logged from the smart meter.  I asked them in an email to confirm that the rate applies from 8am/8pm which they confirmed as correct. 

Occupier Flexible Octopus Occupier Flexible Octopus October 2021 v1

DAY RATE	NIGHT RATE
42.90 p/kWh	14.61 p/kWh

STANDING CHARGE
51.09p/day

(All rates inc. VAT)

[Deleted User]

The description of that tariff says Economy 7 - not 12-hour off-peak.

Are you sure they don't mean that your 7 hours of off-peak will be somewhere between 8pm and 8am?

ariarnia

agreed its an e7 tarrif by the look of it so only seven hours of night rate. 

https://octopus.energy/tariffs/



more info about the octopus eco 7 tarrifs here  https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/what-is-an-economy-7-meter-and-tariff/

[Deleted User]

Previous posters are correct. Octopus only bills on 30 minute usage for its Go and Agile tariffs (and its legacy tariff Go Faster). All other Octopus tariffs are billed on register readings. 

There is however no convention as to which register is used for peak and Offpeak; the R2 register on my smart meter records peak usage.

Ryan_Holden

You are not alone. 

Every month I have to contact Octopus to reset my readings because I am being charged E7 night rate for my day usage and E7 day rate for my night usage. I verified my meter readings were the right way round, but still the meter submits in the reverse.

They are currently investigating it but it is highly irritating. It means I'm being undercharged and I've been trying, for months, to right the record to avoid having a lump sum deduction but they are extremely casual about it.

I am in touch with someone called Charlie who keeps referring to an expert they are investigating with but it has been months.

CCandJJ

Thanks for the replies.  Not much I can do until they reply it seems.  On the bill they have invoiced separately for day and night rate meter readings and the tariff rates seem to be correct but the times these apply are the issue. I'm not being billed based on half-hourly readings as such but these reading times should be used to see the readings as the rate changes twice a day.  The excel readings I have exported are just the 30 minute usage so easy to see the times of day that the electric has been used.  It's not possible to see on this excel sheet exactly how much has been charged/what rate applies at all but if I go by their confirmation email saying it is from 8pm-8am then there is 1,000 kw billed the wrong way around. I've been holding off putting the heating & appliances on until 8pm to save money so if they have confirmed the wrong start times for the night tariff on their email then I need to know urgently but worrying how much more I've spent thinking that was correct. 

pochase

As others have already said, the tariff you quoted is an E7 tariff, and so it will only give you 7 hours of cheap electricity at night rate, not 12 hours.

Also the 7 hours will be at night, usually after 11pm, most times even later, and not start at 8pm peak time.

Can you please copy the email where they are telling you that you have 12 hours of night rate between 8pm and 8am?

See the follwoing link for Octopus E7 description

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/what-is-an-economy-7-meter-and-tariff/