How to avoid excess capacity charges / unauthorised capacity charges that started appearing April 2018…
For years customers who breached their Agreed Supply Capacity haven’t felt much financial pain, that all changed 01-April-18. The charges end consumers pay for their capacity are set by Distribution Network Operator (DNO) as part of the Distribution Use of System (DUoS). Everyone pays DUoS charges, those on fixed contracts have this charged rolled into the contracted rates, whilst those on pass through contracts will see it listed as a separate line item. The DUoS fee covers the cost of supplying energy from the pylon to your site. To find out who is your DNO contact Direct Power or visit OFGEM’s website.
Changes to the way capacity is charged came into effect 01-April-18, the most noticeable impact will be to clients who regularly use more than their agreed supply capacity, i.e. unauthorised or excess capacity. Up until 31-Mar-18 unauthorised or excess capacity was typically charged at the same rate as agreed capacity, there was no real financial incentive to increase the agreed capacity at a site. From 01-April-18 onward, unauthorised or excess capacity will cost a great deal more, in some cases more than three times the agreed capacity charge. The aim is to encourage consumers to set realistic capacity levels to avoid penalty and avoid excess capacity charges.
Who is impacted by the change?
Anyone with a Half Hourly Meter, including those ex 05-08 MPANs that recently upgraded to Half Hourly Status as part of OFGEM’s P272 may be impacted.
The tell-tale sign that you will be subject to expensive excess capacity charges will be if you see Unauthorised or Excess Capacity charges on your bills. If you see these charges you need to take action. Some clients with varied seasonal consumption patterns may only see excess capacity charges during their peak usage months. It is wise to review your past year’s usage to identify if you have this problem or not. If you are subject to these charges please get in touch, we have 15+ years of experience with clients setting appropriate capacity levels.
At Direct Power we will work with you to help you set a more appropriate Agreed Capacity, so you are not hit by the penalty rates. Direct Power has 15 years’ experience helping clients establish appropriate capacity levels, in fact we help our existing customers fine tune their capacity whenever they make major changes to consumption patterns, all part of our regular service.
At your request, we will liaise with you, the supplier and the DNO to ensure you set an appropriate capacity for your needs. Set it too high and you pay too much each month. Set it too low and you will be charged every time you breach the level.
Save money by lowering Agreed Supply Capacity…
Most Half Hourly customers have an Agreed Supply Capacity which far exceeds their requirements. This means that each month you pay for something that you don’t need. This is often because capacity levels have been inherited from the former building occupiers, or consumption patterns have become less intensive over the years. Don’t pay for more than you need, avoid excess capacity charges! Get in touch and CONTACT Direct Power if you are worried about this scenario and want to see if there is scope to save.
