Am I in trouble with my electric bill?

[KatyMac]

I pay monthly my average over the last 48 days since 14th Oct is about 2.5% below my direct debit.

Eg if my DD is £100, my usage over Oct & Dec was £97.50

Are you with me?

So for the next 3 months (dec, Jan & feb) I need to use no more elec than I did in Oct & Nov

This doesn't make sense to me because Dec, Jan & Feb are much colder

Am I stuffed?

you will probably use more but it doesn't matter, in the fact that things are supposed to level out during the summer months when you don't use much.

They cannot force you to up the DD if you use more. you can cancel paying DD whenever you like.

Yes it averages out over the year.
If you started pay by DD a while ago then you have probably built up a credit over the summer anyway.

So the fact that they forced me to accept a 2 month rebate in Oct is irrelevant

Why do they give me money back in the winter - it seems bizarre

that is a shame they gave you the rebate, it would have been perfect to bolster you through the winter.

That is what I said at the time - but they refused to allow the money to 'sit on the account'......idiots

Do you have electric heating KatyMac. I don't think the energy companies understand people with electric heating. I was told our usage last winter was way above average, even for people with storage heaters, and that something must be wrong. Well I have measured the usage of these heaters - they are all working correctly and we were only using three! Could it be, perhaps, that people with storage heaters just can't afford to use them which is why the exhorbitant amount of electricity they use is not reflected in the average usage? We're only using one this year.

Following this conversation, I have no confidence that these companies understand that people with electric heating will be using more during the winter.

Incidentally, we're in the same position as you KatyMac. We were well within our payments before the 35% price rise a couple of months ago. Now we can't afford to increase our usage over winter. We take meter readings every single day to make sure we don't go over our daily allowance. It's crap.

Yep & it's a workplace so I can hardly turn it down/off

Can you afford to up the direct debit then? Or maybe just give up on direct debit altogether and pay the bill when it comes?

No - they have told me (in writing) that it will all be OK by next October

So I will do nothing

(& not spend the refund )

KatyMac, it all depends when your "year end" is with the electricity company. Your year end is in the 4th quarter which tells me that you probably set up the DD last year at this time ish. for the ish.

The DD runs for a year then any credit is refunded any debit is due to be paid and the DD increases to cover the deficit for the following year.

There are parameters set into the computer system that if you have a credit more than X then it is automatically refunded. If not then the credit gets carried forward although you can ring up and get the credit refunded anyway.

As the energy bill is averaged out over the year if you are in credit in quarter 4 or 1 then you are onto a winner. Usually the direct debit is adjusted to reflect your actual consumption so comes down a little bit.

I used to work for npower in credit control on both domestic and commercial so credit checked customers and set up DD's.

Unless you are a new company and therefore have no consumption to go off they would add up your last 4 bills and divide it by 12.

Hope this helps.

I know

But DH is pathologically adverse to owing money...so when he sees the bill in Jan saying we owe money he will pay it

& the one in April