At first glance, this seems like an insignificant detail. However, if you do not do a self-reading by January 15, the energy supplier can only bill you for consumption based on an estimate. And it is often higher than reality.
Most households regard energy reserves as a necessary evil. A permanent order is set up, and what exactly is hidden behind the numbers is no longer resolved. But it is precisely this approach that plays into the suppliers’ hands. If they lack the current data from the self-reading, they can estimate the consumption. Although it is legal, it is rarely advantageous for the customer. The result is unnecessarily high deposits and money that instead of being in the family budget lies with the supplier all year.
Estimates instead of reality
The monthly deposit is not a bill for actual consumption, but just a budgeted estimate for the whole year. It is mainly based on past years, when the household could function completely differently. Someone changed appliances, someone insulated the house, someone no longer lives at home in full. , but the deposits remained the same.
If the customer does not report the self-metering by the set deadline, the supplier has the right to calculate the consumption. At the same time, the estimate often includes a higher reserve so that the supplier does not risk an underpayment. But for the household, this means higher down payments and an overpayment, which will only be returned at the annual bill.
Many people take comfort in the fact that they will eventually get their overpayment back. But in the meantime, many households lack money in their budgets. As a result, the customer lends his own finances to the supplier without interest.
How to defend yourself and reduce backups
So the basis is self-reading. And there really is nothing simpler than copying the status of the electricity meter or gas meter and entering it into the customer portal. For most, it’s a matter of minutes. Once the supplier has up-to-date data, there is no reason to keep backups unnecessarily high.
The second step is an active request to recalculate deposits. The supplier usually does not reduce them on its own, even if there is an actual overpayment at the end of the year. Although the law says that deposits should correspond to expected consumption, the initiative is mostly on the customer’s side.
But watch out for the opposite extreme. Setting the deposits too low can lead to an unpleasant extra payment at the end of the billing period: the ideal is a balance, i.e. payments that correspond to reality and leave a small margin.
Money under control
Self-deduction and adjustment of advances are not complicated, and can also mean a difference in the order of thousands of crowns per year. Those who monitor their consumption and react in time do not let their money lie unnecessarily with the supplier. All it takes is one date on the calendar and a few minutes of attention to prevent overpayment from becoming an unnecessary trap.
