Octopus Estimated Export Billing

Qyburn

Just out of interest, any guesses as to how Octopus will bill based on these readings?

1st April 2025 0 (new meter installed)
1st May 2025 678 (customer)
2nd May 2025 68 (estimate)

MWT

Qyburn said:

Just out of interest, any guesses as to how Octopus will bill based on these readings?

1st April 2025 0 (new meter installed)
1st May 2025 678 (customer)
2nd May 2025 68 (estimate)

Did you already have an export MPAN at the point when the new meter was fitted, or was it applied for after the meter was fitted?

Export prior to the new MPAN would be ignored for billing purposes.

If this is a new MPAN and that estimate on 2nd May represents the opening meter reading then that is a good thing for you.

Qyburn

Export MPAN has been in place since last June.

MWT

Qyburn said:

Export MPAN has been in place since last June.

Then as long as they are getting the smart meter readings and they use the initial 0 as at 1st April it doesn't really matter, as whatever they do with the estimated reading it will fix it self with the next bill based on an actual reading.

My concern would be why there is an estimated reading (or a customer reading) at all as it suggests they are not getting the smart meter data...

Qyburn

They're not, they fitted the replacement meter on 1st  April but haven't managed to get it working yet. They did assure me that they wouldn't issue estimated bills meanwhile, but what they say isn't necessarily what they do.

MWT

I wouldn't worry as long as the meter is correctly recording your export, you will get paid in the end ...

Qyburn

Yes it will sort itself out, and since they're already sitting on some credit note money will actually change hands even if they start whacking out estimated consumption as well.

But I have my answer on how they'd treat those readings. They've ignored the actual and billed (credited) only using the estimate. Idiots. They did the same for consumption when we first joined them, kept over-riding actual readings with over inflated estimates, resulting in a right mess of bills and credits.

I don't know what's behind their current practice of billing on random dates either, like this one. Why bill on the 3rd suddenly? I don't suppose they'd give a straight answer, they couldn't explain why they billed multiple times during February and March.

MWT

Qyburn said:

I don't know what's behind their current practice of billing on random dates either, like this one. Why bill on the 3rd suddenly? I don't suppose they'd give a straight answer, they couldn't explain why they billed multiple times during February and March.

Kraken does not limit itself to a particular billing date each month, nor does it always bill for all fuels/export to the same date every time.

Usually there will be an event that triggers a bill, like a change of tariff or a meter reading.

In this case I'd guess that your manual reading exceeded a threshold on their system which then generated an estimate and caused a billing cycle the day after.

I'd suggest you submit some more manual readings over the next few days and see if you can 'train' their system on your typical export numbers.

Qyburn

MWT said:

Usually there will be an event that triggers a bill, like a change of tariff or a meter reading.

That's my beef with their billing schedule. They're prone to whacking out bills at odd dates for absolutely no discernable reason. 

It doesn't change the overall financial information but it makes it more of a fiddle maintaining consistent records where for example a month's consumption is spread over five or six bills, and export split over a different set of bills. Where those bills overlap the month end it's even worse.