Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about your Hazelmead Community Energy bills, usage, and support options.
Where is my bill?
This will have been sent to the email address you registered with, at the beginning of this month. Please check your Spam folder, and mark our address as 'Report as not spam' so that future emails will appear in your Inbox. Contact us if you still can't find it.
How has my bill been calculated?
Your bill is a monthly prepayment made up of two elements:
1. Your predicted usage for the coming month. This is based on your actual usage in the same month last year. So for example if you used £80 of energy in October 2024 (including the standing charge), your prepayment to cover October 2025 will be £80. This is labelled 'OCTOBER COST' on your bill. In future we're planning to refine our predictions, so that if you're generally using less energy that you were a year ago, the prediction for the coming month will come down.
2. A 'save for winter' amount, labelled 'INCREASE BALANCE' on your bill. This is intended to help smooth out your payments over the year, so that you are not hit with very high bills in winter. It is calculated based on your actual energy usage last winter. During the expensive winter months (January - March), this will turn into a 'DECREASE BALANCE', so that your payment will be lower than what you use. The 'save for winter' function is optional, and shortly we'll explain how to switch it off for your next bill if you'd prefer.
What do the other numbers on my bill mean?
OPENING BALANCE: The balance on your meter at the end of the month, before this bill
PAYMENT TAKEN: The total of the two elements explained above, i.e. for usage in the coming month, plus the optional 'save for winter' amount
TARGET BALANCE: This is the forecasted balance at the end of the coming month. In general, it will be the opening balance + the 'save for winter' increase balance, because the usage component of the prepayment is expected to be consumed in the course of the month.
Why can't I just pay for what I've actually used in the previous month, rather than paying in advance?
You are only paying for the energy you use. The bills are for prepayments to load your meter with credit - think of it as a wallet. But it's your money until you use the energy. We're trying to help as much as possible by predicting (very accurately) how much credit you'll need to cover your usage, with a cushion for contingency. If you use less in the coming month than we predicted, then the credit will carry over and reduce the bill in the following month.
To a large extent it's up to you how much credit you keep in your energy wallet, so long as you don't actually run out. We're happy to discuss options to make it work for you.
How can I see my current meter balance?
Either:
- Log on to the app (https://app.hazelmead.energy), and scroll down within the Home screen
- Press the A or B button on your electricity meter. If your meter is not showing you an amount in £, please let us know.
What happens if I run out of credit on my meter?
We monitor your meter credit and will contact you if you're running low. But feel free to contact us if you're concerned.
How can I see what my likely future payments will be?
Going forward your monthly billing email will include a chart showing your predicted monthly costs, broken down by power & lighting / heating & hot water / standing charge.
My bills are higher than expected. What can I do?
- Contact us. We can give you information about how your power & lighting and your heating & hot water usage compares to other houses in your block. And we can discuss prepayment options that work better for you.
- Keep pushing for broken air-source heat pumps to be repaired. Your usage will be much higher if your water heating is working only in electric mode. We can give you information specific to your house of how this is affecting your bills.
- There are grants and organisations who can help you with energy bills. See our Energy Advice page.
What is the impact of the solar panels? How can I maximize the benefit I get from them?
The solar panels are what enable us to provide the contractually agreed 15% reduction compared to the Ofgem price cap. This 15% discount applies to all Hazelmead energy costs, whether or not the energy has been actually supplied by solar. The solar arrays are in effect communal, feeding all the homes in Hazelmead. This arrangement means that there is nothing you can do as an individual to affect the cost benefits from the panels on your house. Because there are no financial implications you won't see anything directly about solar on your bill, but if you're interested in the data we're happy to give you information about how much energy your solar panels have generated.
If you have questions not answered here, please contact us at hello@hazelmead.energy or call +44 330 828 3096.