Don't forget!

[Phil Pascoe]

to put in your electricity meter readings.

 

[J-G]

to put in your electricity meter readings.

... but not until the first!!

 

[johna.clements]

It does not matter what day you do. a few days either way will not make much difference unless your usage suddenly decreases. They will estimate back or forward.

 

[J-G]

It does not matter what day you do. a few days either way will not make much difference unless your usage suddenly decreases. They will estimate back or forward.

The whole point of sending a reading -- which is likely to be out of the normal time-scale -- is to avoid them using an estimate!

 

[johna.clements]

The whole point of sending a reading -- which is likely to be out of the normal time-scale -- is to avoid them using an estimate!

Assume you are using 10 units a day on average for the last 100 days when the last meter reading was. So the meter reads 1000
Its starting to get cold and dark so for the next 100 days you will use an average of 15 units a day at the end of which the meter will read 2500.

Now if you read a day late the meter reads 1015.
The electricity supplier will then estimate what it would have been one day before. 1015 meter reading divided by 101 days is 10.05 units per day.
They would assume that your meter readings was 1005 on the rate change day.

Obviously what you use per day goes up and down. If you had read 1005 because you had eaten out and came home late it would be slightly different,
1005/101 is 9.95 units per day so they would assume that the meter reading was 995 on rate change day.

I would not be surprised if the websites crash and the phones will ring off the hook. Put the reading in tommorrow or a couple of days will not make much difference but could save you hassle.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Assuming the average bill under the new price cap will be ~£2500 = ~£7 per day.

Assuming this represents an increase of ~40% over current levels, this is an increase of ~£2 per day

Assuming a reading a week before the price change, and an energy company failing to estimate usage at the old rate of £5 per day. Worst case overpayment would be £14 (7days x £2).

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Martin Lewis advised to put the readings in a day or two either side to save the frustration of sites crashing from everyone's doing it on the day.

 

[Richard_C]

Assuming a reading a week before the price change, and an energy company failing to estimate usage at the old rate of £5 per day. Worst case overpayment would be £14 (7days x £2).

I do like this sort of thinking, but the worst case seems to be much less than that. Your assumption is that the utility company is 100% wrong in its estimate to the change day. That is highly unlikely, chances are they may be 10 or 20% wrong at most, and it could go either way. I don't think the potential error is £14, more like £1.40 to £2.80.

That all asumes that the company is even-handed in its estimates rather than skewing them in their favour but there is no evidence of malfeasance on their part. We all think the worst, but I don't think they cheat, the reputational damage would be huge.

If I was coming to the end of a fixed rate contract, or was a high energy user, I would take the trouble to do it accurately. For a small sum I wouldn't be spending the day trying to log in to an overloaded website.

 

[J-G]

Perhaps I'm just a little paranoid or it could simply be my pedantry. I do take readings of Gas & Electric use on a weekly basis and Solar Panel generation daily and I always send my usual readings (on line) on the 16th of the month - being the aniversary of my contract.

What I was really saying in my initial comment was - take the READING on the first - when you SUBMIT it is less of an issue - there is no need for the 'supplier' to estimate at all. If you were to take the reading BEFORE the 1st and submit that then you would be charged at the new rate (not an insubstantial difference) for energy used prior to the rate change.

There was an occasion that a (confirmed) reading I sent did not get registered which I only discovered when I didn't receive a statement -- it just happened to be at a time when there had been a rate change and when the next statement came in I saw that the estimated reading was at variance with my records. When I did the calculations, I was 'short changed' by 25p - When I pointed out that I hadn't received the previous statement, I mentioned, in passing, that the estimate was incorrect but wasn't pressing for a repayment, I was somewhat surprised when I got their response - not only the 25p credit but a £25 'inconvenience' payment.

 

[selectortone]

a £25 'inconvenience' payment.

I'm guessing they can afford it.

 

[Phill05]

I have always sent the reading in on the last day of the month they have never estimated it.

 

[johna.clements]

What I was really saying in my initial comment was - take the READING on the first - when you SUBMIT it is less of an issue - there is no need for the 'supplier' to estimate at all. If you were to take the reading BEFORE the 1st and submit that then you would be charged at the new rate (not an insubstantial difference) for energy used prior to the rate change.

If you read early or late they will still make an estimate of what the reading would have been on the change date. They wont as you suggest assume you have used no electricity between an early reading and the change date. The bigger the gap between the change date and the reading date the bigger the error will be with the estimate (especially as we are moving into winter) but a few days will not make much difference.

 

[J-G]

If you read early or late they will still make an estimate of what the reading would have been on the change date. They wont as you suggest assume you have used no electricity between an early reading and the change date. The bigger the gap between the change date and the reading date the bigger the error will be with the estimate (especially as we are moving into winter) but a few days will not make much difference.

If you submitt a reading which you certify has been TAKEN on a specific date why would they estimate at all? You have given a reading and - well certainly with my supplier - you have to state the date of the reading, no question of 'adjustment for a different day' or 'no use'.

If for some peculiar reason it became impossible to submit a reading for a day or two (or three!) but you stated that the reading had been taken on the 'Rate Change Day', why would they assume that you were lying?

My point (now and always has been) is that it would be silly to submit a reading that was taken before the Rate Change Day. Of course you could do so and still provide the date of reading. Then, yes, of course, they would estimate the figure accordingly but why leave it to an estimate when it is very easy to provide an accurate figure.

 

[Fitzroy]

I've been saving electricity under my bed for the last month, so I can use it next month when it is more expensive. Otherwise known as putting in a higher meter reading than actual. Do you think anyone will notice?

 

[J-G]

I've been saving electricity under my bed for the last month, so I can use it next month when it is more expensive. Otherwise known as putting in a higher meter reading than actual. Do you think anyone will notice?

That will depend upon how vigilant your supplier is (physical readings taken) and/or how far ahead you have fraudulently reported

 

[johna.clements]

I've been saving electricity under my bed for the last month, so I can use it next month when it is more expensive. Otherwise known as putting in a higher meter reading than actual. Do you think anyone will notice?

I am sure there will be a lot of fraud about.

 

[johna.clements]

If you submitt a reading which you certify has been TAKEN on a specific date why would they estimate at all? You have given a reading and - well certainly with my supplier - you have to state the date of the reading, no question of 'adjustment for a different day' or 'no use'.

You stated my high light

""What I was really saying in my initial comment was - take the READING on the first - when you SUBMIT it is less of an issue - there is no need for the 'supplier' to estimate at all. If you were to take the reading BEFORE the 1st and submit that then you would be charged at the new rate (not an insubstantial difference) for energy used prior to the rate change.""

You are incorrect. If you submited a reading yesterday they will assume that it is yesterdays reading, not today's. They will estimate what electricity you use today (I assume the prices go up at midnight) and will be charged less for today's estimated usage in the next bill. I doubt that you have the option to specify that a reading was taken in the future, I have not tried it myself.

 

[Fitzroy]

Obviously, I'm far too law abiding to do such a thing. I still feel guilty for the 2p sweet i shoved down my sock in Fryer's news agency as a boy in about 1978.

 

[Richard_C]

A serious point about fraud though, back in the day meter readers looked to see if there was any evidence of meter tampering/by passing. In the 26 years I have lived here a real person used to come round every quarter, then every other quarter, then irregularly maybe once a year. I don't remember when we last had one, 4 years ago maybe. We would know because the external meter box has a faulty catch so gets a bit of tape on it to stop it banging in the wind. Off to get the jump leads and strip a bit of insulation back ....

The various comments (argument almost) about date of reading and date of submission suggest to me that collectively we might have different suppluiers who have different website functionality and different estimating algorithms. and billing policies. Mine lets me put a reading in and leave it on the default "today" or pick a date from the recent past (not future though, wonder why?). They might not all have the same customer facing front end so everyone might be right. If I am going away and put a reading in very early it triggers and early bill and early DD collection, so my electricity "month-iversary" creeps steadily forward. I don't like that much but its their "new way to better serve our customers". The number of days for standing charge is always right though.

 

[D_W]

I would guess the digitizing of meter reading and the ability to do data analysis from points all over the grid as well as each meter, probably even on a real time basis, eliminated the need for boots on the ground.

I can't imagine that paying those readers these days would ever be recovered cost-wise.