Average electricity consumption

 Average annual electricity consumption. 

    I spotted a small comment at the top of page 2 of my electricity bill which piqued my interest. It said (and I am faithfully retaining the punctuation):

“Your Annual Consumption (based on average usage): Electricity kWh:4200.”

It struck me that 4200 kWh might be a bit high, so I dug out my data for the last few years. In the 12 months to the end of August 2022 I imported 847 kWh. In the previous two years I imported 1051 kWh, and 926 kWh respectively. My average consumption must lie in the region of 940 kWh per annum over the 7 years I have been in this property. So I challenged the company. Their defence surprised me: 

"This is the figure we are told to put on the invoice by Ofgem."

    

Well I do not think so! These OFGEM people may not be top-flight economists, but they are civil servants. I quote:

"The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) regulates the monopoly companies which run the gas and electricity networks. It takes decisions on price controls and enforcement, acting in the interests of consumers and helping the industries to achieve environmental improvements." "OFGEM is a non-ministerial department."

The concept of "Your average consumption" is ambiguous. It implies averaged over time.  It surely does not mean averaged over me and a number of other people in like circumstances. Describing somebody else's consumption as "Your Annual Consumption" it is plain false.

What I think we can conclude is that OFGEM orders supply companies to tell their customers "an average annual consumption of energy" (electricity in my case), leaving undefined what they wanted consumers to know, and why.  I think OFGEM must have intended companies to indicate the consumption of the average household, with its 2.4 members aged 40.4 years. That is not much of a guide for a single pensioner of 80.  

(I also found recently that OFGEM impose a surcharge on companies to recover the money lost in the bankruptcy of suppliers, and set an upper limit to the standing charge that suppliers may charge –– see my blog. Perhaps OFGEM is not quite as sharp as I have been assuming.)

I decide to put this to OFGEM. For the sequel, see: Part 2