How do EDP work out their bills, I don't get any paper bills and am paying €31 a month? That's for basically a weeks use of electric and a month of fridge freezer

There is a standing charge element based on your potencia rating,

Hello,
I get a paper bill once a year (relates to the date I bought my apartment) it shows how much electricity I have used for year, I pay an agreed rate by direct debit every month , and if at the end of the year I have paid too much they credit me or if I need to pay more they charge me. You can also just check your meter to see how much you are using.

I must have a look and see if I've got this yearly bill. Thanks

We get a monthly bill that we pay by multibanco

We pay by DD, some are estimado and at the year end we get a reconciliation, which can sometimes come as a shock, always keep a some money in reserve, just in case.

We receive a paper bill for each two monthly period and pay by direct debit.

If one period is estimated, it's corrected by an actual reading the following period.

I suppose it all depend on how often you get a meter reading ( a correct one ).
I will be looking into putting our own readings in by email, directly onto the EDP site.

I'd do the same, but as we're not in PT all the time, have to rely on the meter reader's accuracy. Up until now, over a period of 6 years, we haven't experienced any significant discrepancies, such a large unexpected usage.

That is exactly what I do. Have been doing for the last 6 months. I now only pay for what we use. I was always being charged for estimation which was always more than what was used. On the bill it lets you know by what date you should submit your reading before they process the bill for the month. I find it quicker to input the reading on-line.
Another way to reduce your consumption is to unplug appliances that are not being used. Kettle, toaster, microwave, lamps. At night we shut down computers and unplug UPS. Even the chest freezer I unplug at night and plug back in the morning. I have never had a problem with the food defrosting, it is all still solid in the morning.

By taking a reading every month and plugging things not in use there has been an enormous reduction in the bill, close to 60 euro per month.

Not saying everyone should do this, it is a personal choice but it has worked for us.

Could you help me with logging in to the site please. I have tried various numbers to register but it doesnt work. I have found some old bills but not any recent ones

That's great advice. I would also suggest that if you are not expecting anyone to visit you could turn off the transformer for the doorbell. My old gran (bless her) also used to roll small strips of paper and put them in the electric wall sockets - in case anything leaked out.

If you pop in to an EDP office you can tell them how often you would like to receive your bills. The 'default' setting is once a year but you can have monthly, every two months or 6 monthly.

Think I might be on the way to being registered. Filled in an online form.
For the record the only thing that is switched on continuously with it's contents is a small fridge freezer. Everything else is unplugged. Don't want lightning strike on your sky box or tv but maybe the fans are turning when I'm not there

To register for the edponline:

To register follow instructions below, it worked for me with a bit of translation help
1 - Please www.edpsu.pt
2 - Click on "Client Area" and "register"
3 - Select EDP Universal Service and complete the Identification Code and Local Account - Contract
4 - Click on "read and accept the conditions of membership" and "Continue"
5 - Confirm the "abode of reference"
6 - Fill the form with client data
7 - Create a user code, with the number of characters - letters or digits - between 8 and 15.
8 - Create the password with a number of characters greater than 8. Use letters, numbers and at least one special character
9 - Click "Finish"
10 - Follow the instructions in the email you receive immediately to activate the service.