Has anyone..

[GrannyMac]

Our bathroom rarely gets warm, we've had the heating on  briefly the last few mornings to take the chill off. OH is layered up and I have a fluffy blanket.

I can check my daily usage on line. However it only shows the unit charge, not the standing charges or VAT.

[Scrumpy]

As you well know, ours isn't on yet. 

It's 16c at the front of the house but still 21c at the south-facing rear of the house so I'm still in a tee shirt.

When the temperature at the rear of the house drops to 14c I may switch on the boiler's central heating function.

21c South facing rear of the house..   Sounds good to me.. The rear of my property is south facing where my living room is..
I don't use the heating in the bathroom.. I turn the shower on.. and jump in..  

[klondike]

Careful with the jumping....

[Diasi]

Based on our last year's energy consumption, Shell have estimated this year's total post-budget annual cost to be £1915 so £1915 / 12 = £160 per month.

The £400 over 6 months = £66 per month & if you take the £300 over the same 6 months & then the £200 WFA over the same 6 months we could be paying £11 per month from October to April.

[Ashy]

It's a bit chilly for a ride in an open top bus today.

[GrannyMac]

Based on our last year's energy consumption, Shell have estimated this year's total post-budget annual cost to be £1915 so £1915 / 12 = £160 per month.

The £400 over 6 months = £66 per month & if you take the £300 over the same 6 months & then the £200 WFA over the same 6 months we could be paying £11 per month from October to April.

I've been factoring in those payments too. Plus we're quite a bit in credit.

[Diasi]

I've been factoring in those payments too. Plus we're quite a bit in credit.

We're in credit by £426.61 at the moment but we use less energy than our DD payment each month.

Now, remember, we had an email saying our annual energy cost would be £1915 after the October price cap.

Well I've done a quick calculation of what Shell said was our last year's energy consumption (accurate readings as we have smart meters) would be based on the October kWh prices & our usage for the year would cost £1653.

Well here's what's on our account & talk about confusion & what looks like a complete con.

Current balance
£426.61credit

Please be aware that your tariff will increase on Saturday 1 October, in line with the Energy Price Guarantee.

To keep your account on track, we recommend increasing your monthly payment to £173.00. This doesn't include the EBSS discount, as it will be applied as a reduction of your Direct Debit payment when we collect it.
How we calculate your monthly amount
We review your account frequently to make sure you're paying the right amount.
First, we calculate how much energy you're likely to use between now and the anniversary of when we collect the first Direct Debit.
We then combine your predicted energy use with your current account balance. This leaves us with your total remaining amount to pay.
We divide this amount by the number of months left. This gives us your new recommended monthly payment.
Remember, the 12-month period isn't based on the calendar year, but the time you've been with us.

Predicted energy use
£1200.35
Minus current credit
£334.15
Remaining amount
£866.20
Divided by remaining months
5
New monthly payment
£173.00

[klondike]

It looks like they predict you will use £1200 over the next 5 months or £240 a month and because of the current credit level £173 will pay that. BUT you won't actually pay £173 because the government payment subsidy will be knocked off what they actually take.

It's an odd way of doing things.

I've heard nothing from mine.

Do you think wou will be using the predicted amount though? I can't see how any of them can predict that because thay have no idea whether or not behaviours will change because of the high prices or by how much.

[Diasi]

It looks like they predict you will use £1200 over the next 5 months or £240 a month and because of the current credit level £173 will pay that. BUT you won't actually pay £173 because the government payment subsidy will be knocked off what they actually take.

It's an odd way of doing things.

I've heard nothing from mine.

Do you think wou will be using the predicted amount though? I can't see how any of them can predict that because thay have no idea whether or not behaviours will change because of the high prices or by how much.

We've had smart meters since 2015 with three providers all using them.

Our annual energy consumption has remained virtually unchanged thoughout all this time with an average of 3,000 kWh for electricity & 6,000 kWh for gas & as I said, I've done a quick calculation of what Shell said was our last year's energy consumption (accurate readings as we have smart meters) would be based on the October kWh prices & our usage for the year would cost £1653.

Of course, the standing charges are now £15.36 for electricity & £8.83 for gas which adds £290.28 per year, so the total would be £1943 or £162 per month.

But if you look at the figures they show a credit of £426 on the account & a credit of £334 on the calculation, so even that doesn't make any sense.

I wonder if it's done on purpose & they hope customers will be too dim to be able to do a couple of simple calculations.

[GrannyMac]

We've had smart meters since 2015 with three providers all using them.

Our annual energy consumption has remained virtually unchanged thoughout all this time with an average of 3,000 kWh for electricity & 6,000 kWh for gas & as I said, I've done a quick calculation of what Shell said was our last year's energy consumption (accurate readings as we have smart meters) would be based on the October kWh prices & our usage for the year would cost £1653.

Of course, the standing charges are now £15.36 for electricity & £8.83 for gas which adds £290.28 per year, so the total would be £1943 or £162 per month.

But if you look at the figures they show a credit of £426 on the account & a credit of £334 on the calculation, so even that doesn't make any sense.

I wonder if it's done on purpose & they hope customers will be too dim to be able to do a couple of simple calculations.

We're with Shell too. Not home ATM to look at the figures but ours is worked out in a similar way but based on higher usage.  I'm not planning to increase our DD  to their suggested figure.

[klondike]

Yes. I didn't look closely enough to see the change in credit. Regardless of what they say I'm pretty sure you can just set the DD to whatever you want. I certainly can. Plus I think you can simply ask for all credit to be repaid.

I don't mind just letting it even out over the year so long as it does. I'd expect to see a zero balance about the end of April.

[Diasi]

Yes. I didn't look closely enough to see the change in credit. Regardless of what they say I'm pretty sure you can just set the DD to whatever you want. I certainly can. Plus I think you can simply ask for all credit to be repaid.

I don't mind just letting it even out over the year so long as it does. I'd expect to see a zero balance about the end of April.

When I put petrol in the car I pay whatever the pump reading is so it shouldn't need rocket science to be able to pay, each month, what the smart meter readings are via a variable DD.

I think I'll ask Shell the question.

Since we have smart meters I don't see why we can't just pay whatever the meter readings are at the end of each month.
When I put petrol in our car I pay whatever the amount the pump shows.

I suppose I should have warned them that their reply will be slapped all over the internet.

[klondike]

I imagine they'll say that the bulk of their customers prefer to pay the same each month. I do anyway. They should be able to handle your way too though as pre the DD era that's exactly what they used to do with quarterly bills iirc.

[GrannyMac]

I prefer to pay the same. But I accept not everyone does. The problem isn't with people like Diasi who can afford extra costs in winter, but with those who don't make any provision in the cheaper months. I like a credit balance, sitting in the bank at 0.02% wasn't earning, although the increased interest rates could mean a rethink.

[Diasi]

They should be able to handle your way too though as pre the DD era that's exactly what they used to do with quarterly bills iirc.

That's part of my gripe, we paid for exactly what we'd used pre-DD so I can't see any advantage, for the consumer, of a fixed price DD as all we're doing is providing the energy companies with interest-free loans.