FAQs

Ovo is a new energy firm with a difference. Based in the glorious Cotswold countryside, Ovo is a truly British company which is completely independent and is taking a fresh approach in a mature industry. We pride ourselves on ensuring that all of our customers receive excellent value and great customer service. We look forward to welcoming you as a new Ovo customer!

There are two ways to switch. By clicking here and filling out the form or calling us directly on 0800 5999 440 to switch over the phone.

Once you have signed up with Ovo, you will be sent a confirmation email with your account details a few days later. If you have not received this email, or can't find your account number, please do get in touch with us on 0800 5999 440 or hello@ovoenergy.com.

It takes about a month to switch from one supplier to another. But don't worry, we'll take care of all the details and keep you informed along the way.

You can view our tariff unit rates for your region with our rate table.

At Ovo, being transparent about our prices with you is a key value. We would love to keep our prices as low as possible but unfortunately wholesale market energy prices do fluctuate. Although we will try and keep our prices as stable as possible, we may sometimes need to change them. So if this does happen, what will this mean to you?

Fixed tariff

A fixed tariff means regardless of whether wholesale market energy costs rise or fall, you will always pay the prices you signed up to on your tariff. Simple! If you have applied to switch to Ovo, and are waiting to go 'live' (i.e. for the switch to be completed) and our prices change, you wonÕt be affected. You will still only pay the prices you signed up to.

Variable tariff

A variable tariff is a little different to a fixed tariff, in that your energy prices may rise or fall with the wholesale market. At the moment we don't currently offer a variable tariff but this may change. If you have already signed up to the previous variable tariff Ovo offered, your prices will still be the same ones you signed up to. If we do make any future changes to our prices we will always let you know in plenty of time, so you can make any decisions you may want to about your energy supply.

If you want to check any information about your energy, your welcome has all the detail including the prices you're paying, the tariff youÕre other and other essential information.

Our fixed tariff comes with a fixed price 12 month contract - which means that even if wholesale prices go up, the price you pay will stay the same - offering you peace of mind in an uncertain market.

You'll have to contact your old supplier directly. Unfortunately we're not able to contact them on your behalf. If you still receive bills from them you can contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

You have seven days to change your mind. All you have to do is put it in writing - by letter or email. After this time, it'll depend where we are in the switching process. Give us a call on 0800 5999 440 to discuss your individual case.

Your Direct Debit will be calculated based on the consumption information provided when you signed up. This information provides us with your energy details- your estimated annual consumption for electricity (EAC) and annual quantity (AQ) for gas. We then apply your tariff unit rates to these figures, add our standing charge and divide this amount into 12 equal payments over the year. Your monthly Direct Debit will be taken in advance on either the 1st or the 15th of each month. We will review your Direct Debit amount every 6 months because we always want to make sure your Direct Debit is accurately reflecting your actual usage. We recommend to all of our customers that they look at their monthly statement to make sure their meter readings are accurate.

If there's a problem with your bill please give us a call on 0800 5999 440 as soon as you can. It's something we take very seriously and our customer care team will work hard to get to the bottom of any issue as quickly as possible. It often helps speed things up if you have a meter reading to hand when you call.

We estimate what your Direct Debit should be from your energy usage history when you join us. As always, it helps if you supply us with a meter reading. We may need to adjust this figure up or down as we get more accurate information about how much energy you normally use. Our number one aim is to make sure that none of our customers gets a nasty surprise or pays too much. If we need to adjust your direct debit we'll let you know in plenty of time.

To keep your energy usage records accurate, we encourage all of our customers to send us a monthly meter read. This can be done by clicking here or by phoning us on 0800 5999 440 - whichever is best for you.

We'll give you plenty of warning when your fixed rate period is coming to an end. You can then fix your price for another year or move onto a variable rate. Whether or not you decide to fix your rate, you can be confident you're getting great value. If you don’t choose to go onto the fixed rate, we are committed to offering you the best variable rate we can.

To reduce the amount of paper we use, and to encourage our customers to do the same, we send your bill via email. If you haven't received an electronic copy of your bill, let us know. We'll send you another copy immediately and do our best to find out what went wrong in the first place. Please do remember to check your junk emails, as our email may have become lost there.

If, for some reason, you absolutely need a paper copy of your bill, we can send one to you. Let us know by email or give us a call on 0800 5999 440.

You can either sign up online by clicking here, or you can contact us on 0800 5999 440 and one of our team will be more than happy to talk you through the procedure.

The first thing to do is call us. We'll do everything we can to help you work things out. For wider advice and information on money worries you might find these organisations helpful:

• The Debt Advice Trust 0800 954 6549
• The National Debtline 0808 808 4000
• Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) 0800 138 1111
• Community Legal Advice (CLA) 0845 345 4 345
• Your local Citizens Advice Bureau

To reduce the amount of paper we use, and to encourage our customers to do the same, we send you your bill by email. If you need another copy of your bill let us know by email or give us a call on 0800 5999 440.

I think I can smell gas, what should I do? Click here
I have no electricity, what should I do? Click here

In terms of our green energy contribution, our ultimate aim is to make green energy available to everyone, without customers having to pay a premium for the privilege. A big part of that will be our commitment to building our own generation, which we hope to start in our first two years. However, as a supplier, we think that the best thing that we can do to increase the amount of green energy that the UK uses is to help increase the demand. For us, that means offering a 100% green energy tariff which is very competitively priced. In addition, our standard tariff is the greenest standard dual fuel tariff available in the UK, with 15% of renewable energy. We currently source our green energy from local wind farms, and also from landfill gas.

The easiest way to save money is to reduce the amount of energy you use. click here for a list of ways to make your home more energy efficient.

Another way to save money is to switch energy provider. At OVO we pride ourselves on offering our customers great value and passing on wholesale price cuts. To see how we stack up click here. To switch to OVO, click here.

We've had lots of enquiries about this proposed scheme, so we thought that it would be best to give you a little more information relating to where Ovo currently stands on this. We are keen to be involved with this scheme and hope to be able to offer FITs in the near future, but at present it is unlikely that we'll be in a position to do so by the government's proposed start date. We'll provide you with more information over the next few weeks, so please do refer to this page for future updates.

This scheme is about creating a fairer deal for customers. It's designed to pass on the interest we earn when your account with us is in credit as well as rewarding you for prepayment. The current annual rate of reward is three per cent. Each time you receive a statement - which is monthly or quarterly depending on what you've requested - the reward for the corresponding period of time will be credited to your energy account automatically.

While not connected to the Bank of England's base rate of interest, Ovo's interest reward rate will reflect market conditions. The Ovo interest rate is set until the end of 2010 and will be reviewed every six months thereafter.

Because the Ovo interest reward is actually a prepayment discount for the energy you will use in the future it is treated as other discounts that you receive on goods and services.

No. Ovo interest rewards are only calculated on credit balances.

Your interest reward will be calculated every time your statement is produced. This can be monthly or quarterly, depending on what you have requested. The reward will be credited to your energy account on the date each statement is generated.

The current annual rate of reward is three per cent. When a statement is generated, you will be credited for the corresponding period of time. This proportion is worked out by counting the days between consecutive statements. Divide the number of days between statements by 365, then multiply that by three to see what percentage you will get each time.

This scheme is about giving customers a fairer deal and is something we plan on offering indefinitely from 1 July 2010. The first statement you receive after this date will calculate your reward from 1 July 2010. We will have to review the three per cent rate from time to time in order to reflect market conditions. However, our intention is to have a rate that means customers in credit with us are not losing out.

A section of the statement will show how much you have earned in that statement period. This amount will be automatically credited to your customer account and will appear in the balance.

Ovo Energy is the only supplier to offer a monthly interest reward on accounts that are in credit. It's about creating a fairer deal for customers so we've made our scheme as simple and transparent as possible. We encourage other suppliers to do the same.

In order to offer this reward to customers, we have to impose certain restrictions which you will find in our terms and conditions.

Two examples of this are:

• The maximum sum we will pay you credit on is 12 times the monthly energy account Direct Debit we have agreed with you.
• If you do pay in a lump sum, then request that sum back within six months, we'll calculate how much credit you've earned in that time and reclaim it from your customer account.

If you are unsure give us a call on 0800 5999 440 and we can tell you what your maximum amount is.

Customers can help to keep their statements as accurate as possible by providing regular meter readings. Unfortunately, as you will see in our terms and conditions, we are unable to recalculate interest rewards if estimated readings are later proven to be inaccurate.