Smartmeter with off-peak usage

blanestobbs

I have always been of the opinion that electricity meters are infallible and when I got an electric car, I had no hesitation in getting the British Gas Electric car tariff (cheaper electricity between12-5am) and a new smart meter capable of a high enough resolution for this tariff. 

I have been in the same property for 10 years and know what my electricity usage is (consistently ~3000kWh/year) and the electric car charger gives a read out of what the car uses each charge (as well as per week, month, year), so I was surprised when my first bill came back and my estimated annual peak usage had almost doubled to 5534kWh, with an off peak addition of 1200kWh per year. Total of almost 7000kWh estimated for the year. 

Now 7000kWh for the year is roughly what i estimated for both, so it seems the total electricity usage form the meter is roughly correct, but that ~2500kWh of off-peak usage had jumped into peak usage. 

I looked at the bill in more detail and a period of 17 days in February jumped out, with 0kWh (actually 0, the meter reading in the bill has not changed) off-peak usage over this period and 385kWh peak usage (equivalent to 8000kWh is you extrapolate to a year) over this period. I know from the car charger that I used 208kWh off-peak (I have checked timings are accurate and charging doesn't start before 12am or finish after 5am) and there will be more off-peak usage from fridge/freezer etc, even if minimal. Interestingly, if you remove 208kWh from the peak usage for this period you end up with the expected 3000kWh/year peak usage typical for the house.

British Gas investigated and found there was a fault with the meter for a two month period and have given a good-will gesture of £89, however I have evidence that it was not working when first installed (car used 340kWH in Aug-Sep 2023, meter reads 28kWh off peak) and it is still not working now (car used 565kWh and meter reads 478kWh off-peak). 

British Gas are now not communicating with me, not that I ever heard from the complaints team. My calls are being hung up once the operatives see the extent of the issues and I am now left with a bill of £2000, when I estimate the real cost of what I have used is ~£500. 

I am looking for anyone else with similar issues and how best to resolve:
Is the energy ombudsman the best option and do I really have to wait 8 weeks from complaint (British Gas have closed the complaint, against my wishes, but I assume as I am not satisfied that I can ignore that it has been resolved in British Gas' eyes.)
British Gas have started the debt collection process for this bill, is it best to pay this incorrect amount to avoid debt collection/credit score effects and try to recover later?

Any and all advice is welcomed.

MeteredOut

Yes, go to the Ombudsman. You either have to wait 8 weeks from when you opened your complaint, or get a deadlock letter from BG. 

Since BG have closed your cases, ask for a deadlock letter.

Remember the Ombudsman is not a consumer rights champion - they take evidence from both sides and make a decision, so get all your evidence in place for your submission.

I think it might be prudent to pay the bill, if you can afford it, as much as it would hurt to do it. You'll be spending enough time fighting the right fight rather than having to worry about that too. But, before that, tell BG your going to the Ombudsman and ask them to pause the debt collection process and see what they say.

Chris_b2z

Could it be that off-peak charging times are between 12am-5am during winter (GMT) and then change to 1am-6am during summer (BST)? That may explain the anomalies this month if the original fault has been resolved.

Did BG explain what problem they found and how they fixed it?

What is the make and model of smart meter?

Scot_39

I am pretty sure there have been posts for that GMT / DST problem here in past on that very BG EV tariff - it might be worth the OP searching for them.

But I seem to remember that the problem was more with pre-existing meters - not the preferred model BG themselves were fitting.  And the OP implies he has had an upgrade.

It might well be worth the OP registering for one of the apps (loop / bright)  or data access sites like n3rgy - to get direct access to the relevant half hour measurement slots. The meter stores them for 13 months iirc.

But their are some differences in how even these show timings iirc that threads discussions.

As the above post - if were say 1 hour out - chances are the first hour will be when the car charges at the full rate - 7kW out by an hour - 7kWh per charge - potentially 200+ kWh per month if charging nightly.

PS OP did you accept the £89 - and by doing so - did you accept that was in full and final settlement ( or similar type wording)  for past charging errors.

Reed_Richards

If your meter makes half hourly readings then there are various apps or websites you can use to see what these are.  To download your historical data try https://www.n3rgy.com/consumer/ for example.  Armed with this information you won't be "flying blind" if you need to dispute your bill with BG again. 

My smart meter records my total usage correctly but failed to record the half hourly readings for 12 days in March.  I have yet to find out how my supplier will deal with this as they have not yet issued a statement covering March.    

thozza

British Gas Electric Driver definitely moves to 01.00 - 06.00 during BST, they don't use half hourly readings but use the two registers to record on and off peak. 

Scot_39

Thats not what it used to say on their website - or for that matter what you said in your earlier post - re the situation with those with actual BG meters - vs those with others - including yourself.

See e.g.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80103024/#Comment_80103024

Which is in part what I based my above post on.

But that whole thread then got into how people were checking it - and the timings from different monitoring apps.

So what really happens with BG own meters ?

thozza

Posted rather hastily, should have said if you have a BG installed SMETS2 meter then the off peak 'should' be as advertised, 12.00am - 5.00am all year round, however, if you have a non BG meter then it may not correct for BST. When I was with them I had to change the charging schedules for BST to 1.00-06.00.

Qyburn

If it's 00:00 to 05:00 GMT in Winter switching to 00:00 to 05:00 BST in Summer, then you have one night with only four hours, and one with six. 

Scot_39

I think the moral is to always check actual meter behaviour if reliant on matching timings to get best off peak rates.

EV, non ALCS restricted circuit storage heater or immersion timers etc.

 

blanestobbs

Thanks for all your advice, the n3rgy data was a game changer. Although the smart meter display and car charger were showing the correct time, the 30 min bins were all out by 1 hour (early). I did a timed charge between 18:15 and 19:30 and the energy use was recorded in the 17:30, 18:00 and 18:30 bins by n3rgy, which I believe covers usage from 17:00 to 18:30 (i.e the time stamp on n3rgy is the end time of the usage) as exporting a day always ends with 00:00 of the following day (usage from 23:30 to 00:00). It would have been so simple to resolve if BG showed electricity usage on their app/website, but this is apparently impossible on the Electric driver tariff. Surprisingly this does not appear to be due to daylight savings, as it is consistent all the way through the last 8 months, so I can only assume there is a clock on the smart meter itself that is incorrectly set. 

To answer some questions form above, this all started when I got the BG SMETS2 smart meter installed. I did not have any choice around the £89, it was applied to my account with only a letter saying that it had been done, but it was not accepted as final. This is currently with the ombudsman and payment is still outstanding (Ombudsman have requested a debt collection hold), but I feel I have a strong case.