robcarolyn

Just to be absolutely certain, if your online leitura says Empresa it has been read by the company and if it says Cliente then I have supplied the reading. I just need to make sure that this is correct as I do not wish to fall foul of my supplier.

RichardHenshall

That's my understanding. Did they manage to get a reading?

Woodstore

That's partially correct. Empresa means the reading has been submitted (as opposed to be 'read' at your dwelling) by EDP. So generally this means it's an estimate that they have made. At least once a year EDP actually visit to verify the reading, again marking it as Empresa. But a word of advice. Try always to input online your reading (even a good guess) within the next due date period which is normally a 3 day slot (which will be stated on the bill) even if you are not at your dwelling do it. Otherwise EDP will estimate it for you and then when you do eventually input your own Cliente reading, EDP then backtracks and make all sorts of weird adjustments in the bill to reimburse estimates, then recalculates consumption cost based on actuals over the last actual period which is then very very difficult to comprehend how they've computed. Net don't allow EDP to make estimates and then at least you are always in control of what they bill for.

RichardHenshall

I have never experienced an estimate being recorded by EDP in their list of readings (leituras) shown on EDP Online. Estimated 'readings' have been described in the small print on individual bills to justify their estimated consumption for the period but are not recorded in the list of readings. I have also had ORDEM SERVIÇO shown against recorded readings when an engineer has read the meter while testing or replacing it. Readings submitted by me have been variously described as Cliente, SMS or Servinet to name three but Empresa has always been an actual reading by EDP or their meter readers.

Woodstore

RH, You wouldn't know if a reading listed as 'Empresa' was an estimate or actual as it doesn't differentiate this in the leituras list. I have an indoor EDP meter and unless EDP have my house key (joke!) 'Empresa' on my bill was always an estimate. Rarely/once a year the EDP man comes to read whilst we are in residence - again it's listed as 'Empresa'.

In any event when the bill detail starts to say ...'estimamos...' (as mine did) it means they have NOT read your meter but have projected the reading so they can bill you an amount. Also when they do estimate your reading, they HAVE TO record this reading in the list otherwise the list gets out of sync with the computation of the bill - surely?

If yours has always been an actual reading by EDP, then you must have an outside readable meter, a smart meter or always in when the EDP comes to your house! So failing this, 'Empresa' means a (computerised) estimate by EDP for sure.

RichardHenshall

Yes, we've always had an outside, readable meter though it was changed to a smart meter last year. Until the most recent meter change virtually all of our monthly bills were based on estimates (unless I happened to submit a relevant and timely reading) but those monthly estimates were never shown on the list of readings. Every third bill would correct the error in the previous quarter's estimates and then start a new cycle of estimates. Now every bill is based on an actual (remote) reading. However every reading recorded as Empresa in the past was an actual reading and was consistent with my own unreported readings.

I suspect that what has happened in your case is that your meter reader has submitted his own personal estimates, pretending they were actual readings, thereby saving him the bother of getting access for actual readings, and you the bother of being cut off due to a lack of actual meter readings. EDP's billing department will presumably be unaware of this subterfuge, just as they would be unaware of any guesswork used by a customer remotely guessing a Cliente reading (as you suggested earlier).

Of course, if you're on Conta Certa, then only one reading each year will be used to correct the annualised estimated consumption. In that case they may just put in some company-generated estimated readings just to fill up the list.

robcarolyn

Wow that was all interesting! Anyway I will find out in a few days when I visit.

Mike

EDP App is good for submitting readings.

robcarolyn

Yes I use that

liveaboard

They haven't read my meter in years. Either I submit the reading myself or they estimate it.
The estimates are always much higher than my usage. The next period, the estimate increases.
Within 3 billing periods if I don't submit the meter numbers, they owe me an entire period as refund.

BillBullock

For RichardHenshall:

I'm not so sure that these new smart meters can be read remotely by EDP. I also had one fitted last year. A few months' later I received an email from EDP to say that I needed to submit my readings because they could not gain access to my meter. Now that's very funny because they have been reading my meter for the past 14 years; it's mounted in the wall of my gate on the outside and, presumably, a little man has been reading it all these years.

I told them this in my email reply but I then received 2 more emails saying they could not gain access and I was being silly. I then became rude and told them they were the silly ones. Eventually they asked me to send a photograph of my meter showing exactly where it was located. I complied with this request showing the meter, my open gate and the public road outside my house. I have heard nothing more from EDP despite asking for an apology for wasting my time.

Ingles

One off the reason's for the above is, EDP are now paying "meter reading agent's" NOT employees , some are OK , some are absolutely bloody useless !

RichardHenshall

There are many possible reasons they can't read your meter remotely:

1. It's not a smart meter
2. It is but it's from a competitor and incompatible
3. It is but it's malfunctioned
4. It is but wasn't set up correctly
5. It is but they haven't got the appropriate bit of kit at their end of the network yet
6. etc etc

Shortly after our meter was changed I requested a reduction to our potência contratada and was surprised that it wasn't done remotely. The visiting engineer said that they didn't yet have the necessary kit at their end to do that and he didn't know when or if they would. However they can, and do, accurately read our consumption remotely, every month.

Maybe your meter reader is actually a parcel delivery driver who is moonlighting as a meter reader and he can't find your house.

BillBullock

I pay a monthly direct debit and we settle up once a year. I've been doing this for 15 years so they didn't need readings from me anyway. That's another reason why the email was silly. I definitly have a smart meter but maybe EDP are not smart yet.