I have a spreadsheet to show what my gas bill should be. It uses the primary rate dived by 365 to give an acurate figure for each of the days my bill was for. It has always been correct until now. I changed to npower 11 months ago. They bill me every 6 months. I didn't notice anything wrong with my last bill but this one seemed very high. It was the small print about seasonally adjusted maximum for primary rate that caught me. Each month has a seasonally adjusted maximum, high in winter and low in summer but as readings are not taken monthly the effect is not to cap each months primary rate units but to push each month up to that limit. Example November and December mildish so seasonally adjusted maximum not reached but February and March really cold and seasonally adjusted max exceeded. without a monthly reading what happens is that you are charged 4 months of seasonally adjusted maximum with rest at secondary rate. It was 1000 extra primary rate units for me each costing approx 5p more. Take the low summer seasonally adjusted maximums for May to Sept. If your bill also includes a cold March or April where the primary units used exceed the seasonally adjusted maximum they will use up your summer maximums before charging secondary rate.

What this all actualy does rather craftly is mean that most will get to the annual max set for primary rate rather that not get there if you are careful with your gas usage during the milder periods.

If you phone in a reading every month you could save hundreds of pounds during mild periods and be capped at a monthly seasonal maximum during cold spells.

The small print makes it sound like the company is doing you a favour by capping each months max primary rate but it is doing just the opposite by charging you that amount before going to secondary rate charges.

Do all companies now have seasonally adjusted maximums and will they accept a 1st of the month phoned in reading?

TOOFIF:

If you phone in a reading every month you could save hundreds of pounds during mild periods and be capped at a monthly seasonal maximum during cold spells.

I doubt you can save hundreds of pounds but you're dead right right to be alert to the system (and to be annoyed that the system is difficult to spreadsheet).

For most people who have annual consumption in excess of 4572 units the main effect will be to load primary unit cost onto the winter bill and anybody who switches just after the winter period will lose out. Maybe that is the idea. The total cost after a year will not be affected by weighting and to be fair NP have a leaflet which describes the system as clearly as it's possible to describe such a complicated system.

If you switch to NP SignOnline the weighted system is not used. Another sneaky NP "idea" on their cheapest unweighted tariffs, which to be fair are the "cheapest" available by quite a way, is only to pay the discount after 12 months. Again anybody who switches before the discount is received loses out.

EON also have a sneaky variation on this.

The lesson is to be alert to these "scams" which unfortunately the regulator OFGEM seems to be currently allowing.

Jalexa

Thank you for your reply

My last bill had 1000 more primary units because of the weighting sytem - cost £55. Had each month been capped at seasonal max I would have saved more because we were away most of Jan and had heating set low.

I agree about those who use more than 4572 primary units a year but our well insulated 3 bedrooom house with someone at home most of the time would not use 4572 unweighted primary units units in a year, and with monthly readings our bill should be reduced by capping primary units in a cold spell. Maybe not hundreds but a £100 certainly. We are on signonline 10 and it is weighted. Our 12 months ends in May and as you say then we get an £84 discount payment and then I want to move as a matter of principle but not sure where to go for an honest no small print catches. I may stay just to see how posting a monthly reading goes down in their accounts dept.

OFGEM like most of the regulators get taken out to lunch too often by those they regulate to be regulators.

TOOFIF:

Hi Toofif

AFAIK the Scottish Power and Southern Electric/Scotttish Hydro-Electric online NSC tariffs don't have any funnies or hidden exit penalties so you if you use less than 4572 units/year you might benefit from either.

I'm with SP online NSC but use >4572 kWHrs/year of gas. The SP system seems to generate an online statement whenever a meter reading is submitted but last time I was with Southern Electric their billing system couldn't do that.

TOOFIF:

To clarify something I said earlier, the NPower Signonline15 tariff (their current tariff) doesn't use weighting and has reverted to a standing charge.

It's possible that this is because the price comparison websites would have great difficulty calculating the cost of weighting for consumption less than 4572 kWHrs/year and the Consumer Focus Confidence Code requires comparisons to be accurate.

Hopefully weighting has had its day, but unfortunately not yet annual discounts or no discount on final bill.