How much credit do you keep on your energy account?

[Amandatelly]

How much balance (if any) do you have sitting on your energy supplier account?

I got an email yesterday from Octopus saying they want to increase my DD by another £30. This despite the fact my monthly DD is already £240 (gas and elec), and have a credit balance every month at the moment. I’m currently £280 in credit.

I can’t find it now but recently I saw it suggested I should be having a balance of over £500 just sitting there.

Now, I know my usage is low this time of year and that will begin to increase over the next few months but I will deal with that as it happens. I’m not going to just let them sit with even more of my money in their bank accounts.

I’m surprised you think that’s acceptable.

The direct debit needs to be more than or equal as they have worked out the yearly cost taking the credit into account unless you suddenly start using less energy . I have no idea why they don’t let my credit build .

What do you mean?!

Dunno. Was even discussed in commons
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-02-22/debates/1915EA07-DE85-439A-976B-A9F62F322FE8/EnergySuppliersCustomerCredit

We are currently in credit by £200. DD is £100. Will be £280 in credit by October when I will increase DD to £175.

@TilIy I think @VestibuleWeaver thinks that everyone should be ensuring their accounts build up a lot of credit in the summer, which of course anyone with half a brain cell knows.
Anything else is not acceptable.

Then there is real life 🙄

This is so naive!

We're with octopus, got solar panels and 2 batteries. All electric,we stack up any extra, because we're retired at home all day, and I'm not going to freeze, because we can't afford the heating..

So many posters on here are being so passive about their finances! I like to keep a 3 month buffer on my account. Currently my DD is £130, my July bill was £98 and I’m in credit to the sum of £320 but in the most expensive months my bills are as high as £200. Last year my balance never went below zero. I check each month how my energy usage compares with the same month last year, check my statements every month, tweak my DD payments when necessary and it all balances out over time.
If your credit is really high, just request a refund. If you’re being asked to increase your DD but you don’t want to, just contact your energy company to decline their request. Check your statements every month every month. If there’s an error, sort it rather than moan about it.

It's not something I particularly keep an eye on, but currently I appear to be around £100 in debit, which sounds fine to me.

Ours has just gone into credit (£42). It spends 6 months of the year in the red while they tell us they’re raising our DD constantly (We decline), then it spends 6 months in the black where they say they’ll put it down (feel free). Hilarious, I’ve learned to just leave them to it.

Up to the energy company to determine if they accept it.

You could be making interest off that £700 in a bank account. Instead they’re making interest off your money.

I know! It’s not my responsibility to assist Octopus eg with their cash flow!

No, I’m saying why should the energy company wait months to paid for energy they’ve already supplied?

all businesses wait for invoices to be paid - companies have different payment terms etc. Do you really believe that invoices are settled on receipt?
Question for you :
why should I pay in advance for something I have yet to receive?

Consumers are not businesses. There is a difference between settling an energy bill within 30 days, and running a negative balance in your account for months.

I didn’t say consumers were businesses!
octopus is a business. Do you think octopus pays all its invoices upon receipt? They will have suppliers with different payment terms, they will have hedging strategies, they will look at locking in at a future price ..etc etc.
They are clearly happy for some consumers to run a negative balance or not build up any credit. They no doubt have millions of customers who have a credit balance and this is free money: it can be invested or used instead of borrowing.
Not sure why you are so bothered about people running a negative balance.

I pay "whole bill" direct debit. I think it's a scandal that the energy companies are sitting on all this money. However, I do understand that some people feel they need to budget over the year.

Come off it.

I'm finding really hard to sympathise with the big ole energy company....

Why should I let them keep £100s of my money without paying me interest? 🤷🏽

I'm just dispensing reality.

The energy companies don't absorb the costs of debt, they pass them on to us.

The cost of bad debt is shared out amongst all bill payers. The cost of this in the price cap is currently around £50 a year for the average bill.

I find it easier doing pay as you go, i can see how much I'm using there and then and top up when needed. I never go below £15 on my meters though

When you are in credit with them, YOUR money is in THEIR bank account, earning THEM interest. I'm not happy with that concept.

The only time you should be in credit at all is during the summer months when your energy use is lower than what you are paying for. Then it should all come out in the wash again during the winter when you're using more a month than your direct debit. The end result is that once a year the swings and roundabouts line up and the account balance should be as close to zero as possible.

How much do you use a month?

is this quarterly or monthly?

are you running a cannabis farm?