Discrepancy in opening meter reading

Football56

Good Morning I have recently changed electric energy supplier and have a query on closing/opening meter read. My new supply commenced on 6th February and I have now received my final bill from old supplier. The closing bill indicates a smart meter reading on 5th February of 9149.1 and a closing reading of 9171.3 on 6th February. My old supplier has provided my new supplier with the meter reading of 9149.1 which I assume they will use for my 1st bill. I have worked out that this would amount to 22 kwh at approx £6.13. If my new supplier uses the opening figure of 9149 this would mean I would have to pay for the 22kwh again . I understand the figure is relatively small and I believe that energy suppliers do not investigate if reading is less than 250kwh difference. Is it worth querying this discrepancy and if so should I approach old or new supplier. Many thanks

Scot_39

You never pay twice - and neither strictly do your new or old supplier set the actual agreed unit count - at handover of billing - traditionally and still afaik it gets processed by a third party.

see Octopus description here

https://octopus.energy/blog/secret-life-opening-meter-reading/

Or dated later here

https://octopus.energy/blog/handover-meter-readings/

it should in theory be closer by smart meter - but not necessarily exact. Ive seen posts when out by 10s if not quite 100s of kWh - possibly not smart though.

itsthelittlethings

Could the readings have been 24 hours apart?

Alnat1

There is a "mysterious 3rd party" who states what the opening/closing read will be. It should be used by both energy companies, so hopefully your new supplier will also use 9171 as a starting read.

gpman

It is the responsibility of the gaining supplier to manage the switch

You should never be double charged, not even for 1kWh (or even a fraction thereof in the case of a smart meter reading obtained remotely). The final reading of the losing supplier must be the same as the opening reading of the new supplier.

As mentioned above, this is done via a third party, but the gaining supplier is ultimately responsible for ensuring a single agreed* meter reading is used.

agreed* in this sense means the agreement of the old & new supplier, not necessarily the consumer. There is a set tolerance permitted within the agreed reading may vary compared to what the consumer would otherwise want. Variation within the tolerance does not need to be investigated/changed. I think because the financial impact to the consumer is so minimal it does not warrant the expense of further investigation

What I would say to @Football56 is that the alleged final bill you have received from the old supplier was very quick. Also it is not for the old supplier to provide the meter reading to the new supplier, but rather the other way round.(There's an exception in the case the new supplier fails in their duty, but that does not kick in for several weeks) . So be prepared for a possible revised final bill from your old supplier. (Perhaps not such a likelihood as you have a smart meter, which presumably both suppliers had access to on changeover day)

WiserMiser

They both MUST use the same figure, no ifs, no buts. A weird industry process means that it isn't necessarily the reading as at 6 Feb. However, it must be within 250kWh.

https://justsoyouknow.so.energy/posts/2110580-opening-reading-validation-process

If there's a variance it's swings and roundabouts, you may gain or lose a pound or two. Complain to your new supplier if it's not resolved after a few weeks.

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874465#Comment_81874465

Many like Octopus here - suggest actually allow upto 14 days to get that meter comms operational and into their bilking systems.

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/how-long-will-it-take-my-smart-meters-to-connect-after-installation/

They probably can then go back in time - but by then the third party vetted reading should have been mutually agreed.

MWT

You may also find that the losing supplier gets a bill out quickly using the 'wrong' reading to avoid the penalties for late delivery of the final bill.

It will then get amended once the gaining supplier completes the process and the losing supplier gets the adjusted final meter reading from the 3rd party.

It is hard to fault the losing supplier for doing this as they have no control over the process with the 3rd party as that is handled by the gaining supplier and if they delay and do not correctly complete the required industry flows it is the losing supplier that gets hit with the penalty for late billing…

Football56

Hi All Many thanks for all your valued input. Think I will wait and see if there is a correction in next few weeks

HillStreetBlues

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874495#Comment_81874495

Would that actually work if someone complained? as clearly that wouldn't be a final bill it would just be a bill. If they send an amended bill, that would be the final bill.

Ildhund

[OT]

@Scot_39 wrote:

… Octopus suggest actually allow upto 14 days to get that meter comms operational and into their bilking systems.

Some would probably agree with your descriptor of these systems (yes, I had to look it up).