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.

The photos I shared reflect my last three monthly bills. The amounts are all monthly. I do not run a cannabis farm, or have a hot tub or swimming pool.

@MabelsBeats that is extremely high , I pay £150 (. 75 for gas/ 75 electric) and that is above the dd suggested . We have our heating on whenever needed , about 10 fans going all summer , use the tumble dryer all year round ,large 4 bed detached house .

Wow @tinyspinythat sounds blissful! I am forever unplugging things here and switching off lights and reminding my ever-forgetful children to do the same!!

Interesting reading other perspectives. I’ve been on a bit of a”liking” spree on your comments @ShanghaiDiva but you’re verbalising my thoughts perfectly.

Just to be clear to everyone who has told me what I should do, I am aware of the reason they claim they do it, I am aware I can decline the increase (and have done so) and I’m aware I can request a refund, which I’m not going to do right now but may, depending on how my balance is reflecting next month.

I could however do with checking if I’m on the best rate now. I was on an EV rate which recently ended so might check some other suppliers.

Keeping my energy in a lot of credit is also in case I drop dead. Yes, i worry about this, no, I'm not getting help for my anxiety 🙄. Everything would be shit but as least my older teens wouldn't freeze and the house would tick over for a few months.

I’m impressed. £56 a month. I pay £200 and have £300 in credit ( three adults, two wfh).

Zero. Prefer it in my account earning interest to theirs.

It's not normally this low 2bh. I live with just my cat in a flat but even so I think it's because my credit has built up. I pay a lot more in winter nearly 100) so it evens out.

I used to build up credit in the summer which then got used up in winter, but I don't trust energy companies any more, even Octopus, and don't want them using me as their bank account. They send me a bill then I pay it. Focuses their minds to actually send a bill rather than just taking money out of the credit and billing sometime after, and not bothering to credit us for all the electricity we generated for several months at a time, or not letting me put my dd below a certain amount.

Octopus have a tool you can use to check whether your DD will cover projected use. They want me to pay £40 a month more than I currently do but using this I know that what I’m paying is right.

Last 2 months bills for both have been £70...2 adults. Biggest bill last winter £210 in January.

Same

I pay £150 a month. I’m in credit by £300ish. This months bill was £110 for both.

winter can be £300/400 a month for Nov Dec jan Feb

I hate being cold and know I can have my heating on as much as I like

the interest paid would be pennies

Depends how much you are in credit. Several posters on this thread have £700 in credit. I prefer to budge by putting the money in an instant access account (eg Saga 4.5%) and then can withdraw when needed. I don’t need the energy company to mange my budgeting for me.

That bills are not from lights on and things on standby.
What's your monthly kwh usage? Do you have electric water heater or something? There is two of us, 1 wfh, and during summer with mainly drying outside we average £45 a month for electricity.
I woild be flipping fuses trying to find out what's chewing the electricity. Especially if you have smart meter

You don’t have to. You can change your payment arrangements to pay in full monthly if you so wish. They’re not forcing anyone to have a positive balance!

I pay £170 a month and currently £310 in credit

I don't have any. I pay for my electricity (no gas) each month when the bill pops up in my emails. Like hell am I letting them take as much as they want from me to build up and earn interest in their account when it can be sitting in my account and earning interest for me.

Some people much prefer to have regular payments throughout the year - it helps them with budgeting. Having the option to do this is useful for them. My energy costs over year are currently around £1800. My DD is £155. I’m currently in credit as I’m using around £90 energy per month over the summer months. The amount I’m in credit would likely get £5 interest over a year - hardly a massive amount. I’m happy to ‘pay’ £5 annually via loss of potential interest in order to simplify my monthly budgeting. Luckily, my energy company doesn't charge me interest during the winter months when my usage exceeds my DD payments.
It all balances out!

Those who pay in full monthly presumably have a smart meter

Between about £300-400. They often suggest I increase my payments but I like to pay £200 in summer and £350 in winter. As long as I don't owe them money I don't see an issue.

I was 240 in credit with octopus so i just asked for 100 out which was promptly paid . We pay 200 a month . I wouldnt let it accumulate over 200 myself . We can always make a one off payment to cover any shortfall .

I paid in full monthly (by variable direct debit) before I had a smart meter (3 or 4 years ago). Octopus - they asked for a meter reading monthly and billed from that. The odd month I didn't send a reading they raised an estimated bill.

Exactly. Some people would really struggle to pay variable monthly bills, especially as the most expensive time of year coincides with Christmas and if they're not careful, at risk of spending money on Christmas that they really should be saving for winter heating bills.

Being in credit in summer and autumn, to use up in winter protects them from bills they can't afford later.

I don’t have smart meter. I just take a reading on the last day of every month, submit it to my energy company and then I’m billed for the exact amount I’ve used around the 4th via a direct debit.

I set up a reminder on my phone but my Energy company also send me a reminder email.

Mine doesn’t vary a great deal. You could always set up a savings account to and put extra winter payments in that each month instead of giving it to the energy company.