[GSimpson]

This seems to be one of the main points of disagreement between customer and EONext so here's an easy way to do it yourself.

1. Look back through your electric bills to find the meter reading nearest to 1st October 2021 (last year).. Make a note of the number.
2. Do the same for this year, or go and take a reading today. Note the number.
3. Take one away from the other and that's the number of kWh you've used in the past year.
4. Multiply this by today's unit rate (for example about 0.33p for electric)
5. Multiply the current standing charge by the number of days in a year, 365.
6. Add the two amounts together for the year's usage.
7. If you owe EONext anything add that to the total. If you are in credit, deduct that from the total.
8. Divide the total by 12 (months) and that's about what you should be paying in a direct debit.

Now you can take away the monthly £66 from the government for all your electric direct debits from now to next April. That gives you an approximate idea of what you should be paying each month.

For gas, do the same but before point 4 apply the conversion factor shown on the right hand side of the bill. This will give you kWh instead of the meter reading sq meters. If you don't feel up to doing the fully conversaion, just multiply your meter reading by 11. That will be near enough. Then carry on from point 4.

[JoeSoap]

@GSimpson

That's a good list of steps. Some mention of building in a slight buffer in case of a harsh winter wouldn't go amiss. The DD could then be reduced in the spring if it's a mild winter. I intend to request a reduction to my DD soon but it will need to be ascertained how the £66/67 reduction will be dealt with. ie. if I want my nominal DD to be £300 do I set it as such and hope the reduction is applied again by Eon Next or do I set it at £234 and hope it rises to £300 automatically in April?

[GSimpson]

[QUOTE=JoeSoap;18239]@GSimpson
That's a good list of steps. Some mention of building in a slight buffer in case of a harsh winter wouldn't go amiss. [QUOTE]

I agree with you, but was wanting to keep it as simple as possible just for the next six months. In April we can work it out again and ignore the government support.

[JoeSoap]

@GSimpson

Fair enough, but confusion reigns regarding that £66/67 and it needs to be discussed when contacting C.S. to change the DD.

[GSimpson]

Originally Posted by JoeSoap

@GSimpson

Fair enough, but confusion reigns regarding that £66/67 and it needs to be discussed when contacting C.S. to change the DD.

I'm not confused, although CS might be. As long as you know your usage, who is going to pay for it is open to discussion if they wish. I will be willing to pay for one twelth of my expected annual bill, less the government support of £66 each month for the next six months. After April we can all think again.

[JoeSoap]

@GSimpson

I'll just say fair enough this time then.

[Johnh1995]

"Take one away from the other and that's the number of kWh you've used in the past year."
Remember that this works only for electricity. To calculate KWh for gas, you need the conversion factor

[GSimpson]

[QUOTE=Johnh1995 Remember that this works only for electricity. To calculate KWh for gas, you need the conversion factor[/QUOTE]

Right! The conversion factor is on the back right hand side of the gas bill. Looks complicated, but a calculator makes short work of it.
Mine looks like Units x 1.02264 divided by 3.6 = kWh of gas.
Perhaps anybody needing help could post here and get the magic figure applied?

[meldrewreborn]

@GSimpson
The calorific factor varies over time slightly because the properties of the gas in the network changes depending on the source gas feed. However I use the fully converted values from my bills, so by dividing the kWh figure by the volume consumption i get a reasonable accurate figure for quick work. My meter is chronologically gifted like me and measures in '000 cu. ft. so i use 31.6 as a multiplier., and so one unit =£3.50 at current prices for me. For the trendy sorts who have meters measuring in cu.mt. i think the conversion factor is approximately 11.

Although the bills list all the elements of the conversion only the calorific value changes, and that only slowly.

[meldrewreborn]

@GSimpson

I think its better to ignore the government contribution in working out what a normal DD should be. If the government chip in then the customers DD is reduced- if the government doesn't - what happens next April is anyone's guess at the moment - the then customer pays the full amount.

Customers including the government contribution in their own calculations is causing (unnecessary) confusion