How are my charges calculated?

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• What is my standing charge?
• How do you estimate my usage?
  • Electricity
  • Gas

Your energy charges are made up of two parts:

1. Standing charge (a fixed daily charge regardless of how much energy you use)
2. Unit Rate (a charge for each kWh used, i.e. based on how much gas/electricity you've used)

Below you can find an example using theoretical unit rates and standing charges (which have no relation to your actual unit rates and standing charges, those can be found on your energy statements and on your online account in the Tariff section).

Example 

You use 700 kWh of gas and 200 kWh of electricity over a month (30 days)

You should always check whether the unit rate and standing charge are including or excluding VAT. In this example, the unit rate and standing charge are quoted excluding VAT and the VAT is then applied afterwards.

It is also important to note that your gas charges are calculated using kWh whilst your gas meter records your usage in either m³ or 100's ft³. Your meter units are converted to kWh each month (the calculation is shown on page 2). For more information, check out our Guide: Understanding your energy statement.

What is my standing charge?

A daily standing charge is used to cover the fixed costs of making gas and/or electricity available for you to use. It is charged against each meter, so if you have one gas meter and one electricity meter, you will be charged two standing charges. Standing charges are usually given in terms of pence per day (per meter), e.g. 25p/day.

Your standing charge keeps your home connected to the energy network, including maintaining your meter, maintaining the network, and ensuring energy can be transported to your home. Your standing charge also contributes towards the cost of government initiatives like reducing carbon emissions and supporting vulnerable customers. When an energy supplier goes out of business, Ofgem often appoints another energy supplier to take over the customer base left without a supplier as part of the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process. The new energy supplier often incurs significant costs as part of this process, and under Ofgem rules they are allowed to recover those costs via a levy on everyone's energy bill - this also factors into the standing charge.

How do you estimate my usage?

We encourage monthly meter readings so that we never have to estimate your usage. However, if we do not receive a meter reading from you at the end of your billing period, we will produce an estimated value so we can generate your monthly statement. Each time you provide meter readings, we will use these on your next energy statement, correcting any previous estimates.

Electricity

We estimate your electricity usage by using your Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC). This number is calculated and managed by a centralised industry database which estimates the yearly usage expected for each meter. Each electricity meter point in the UK has a corresponding EAC associated with it (a typical EAC for an ‘average’ home is 3,100 kWh each year).

Gas

We estimate your gas usage in a similar way to electricity, using a figure called Annualised Quantity (AQ). This number is calculated and managed within a different centralised industry database and estimates the yearly gas usage of each meter. Each gas meter point in the UK has a corresponding AQ associated with it (a typical AQ for an ‘average’ home is 12,000 kWh each year). Note, your AQ is always given in kWh but your gas meter records your usage in either m³ or 100's ft³.

Your estimated usage is regularly reviewed, so you are likely to see different figures being used on different energy statements. To find your estimated usage on your So Energy statements, see page 2, as below. For more information, check out our Guide: Understanding your energy statement.

If you don’t think your estimated values are reflective of your usage, please submit more meter readings.