The consumption cost overview offers users and end customers an overview of their consumption and costs in a clear graph.
Where can you find VKO graphs?
You can find VKO graphs in two places:
In the platform → contract details page → consumption tab
In the customer portal → consumption tab
Activate VKO for the Customer Portal
By default, VKO is not enabled for your customers. Would you like to make this visible in the customer portal?
Go to Configuration⚙️>Customer Portal>Preferences
Check that VKO is visible in the customer portal
What can you do with VKO?
View consumption
You can view both actual and estimated consumption:
Actual consumption: based on the actual meter readings received
Estimated consumption: is only calculated for periods where actual consumption is not yet known.
Compare your consumption with previous periods (you can compare up to 3 periods)
Compare your consumption with your Consumption group (similar consumers)
Cost insight
You will gain insight into:
Invoiced costs based on actual invoices
Estimated costs for future periods
Division into fixed and consumption costs
Compare your costs with previous periods (you can compare up to 3 periods)
Tip: Please note that estimated costs may differ from actual costs, as they are based on consumption predictions.
How is estimated consumption calculated?
For periods where actual consumption is unknown, estimated consumption is calculated based on a synthetic load profile (SLP). This is multiplied by the expected annual consumption (SJV - Standard Annual Consumption).
📚 Be sure to read our help article about estimated consumption on after.
If Zero Friction wants to know the estimated consumption for a specific month, we proceed as follows.
EAV: 400 kWh
Billing period: 01/03/2025-01/03/2026 (billing period)
Actual consumption received for: 01/03/2025-01/06/2025
Estimated consumption required for: 01/06/2025-01/03/2026
For simplicity, we assume that consumption is evenly distributed over the year, so the fraction for the missing period is approximately 0.75.
Total Estimated Consumption = 0.75 * 400kWh = 300kWh
EstimatedConsumptionMonth = 400kWh / 12 = 33.33kWh
💡In reality, the estimate will take into account the SLP distribution (you use less heat in the summer months)
How are estimated costs calculated?
The calculation of estimated costs is done in several steps:
We first identify the periods for which no invoices are available
For these periods we use estimated invoices that overlap with the selected time period
The costs are split into two categories:
Fixed costs (subscription): These are distributed linearly over the period
Consumption costs: These are calculated by multiplying the estimated consumption by the expected rates
Example:Period: 01/03/2025-01/03/2026 (billing period)
EAV: 500 kWh
Actual consumption for the period 01/03/2025-01/06/2025: 150 kWh
For simplicity, we assume that consumption is evenly distributed, so the actual consumption per month is 50 kWh and the SLP fraction for the missing period is 0.75.
Estimated invoice line 1 (subscription) is for period: 15/03/2025-15/05/2026 and amounts to: €40.
Estimated invoice line 2 (consumption) is for the entire invoice period and amounts to: €300.
Let's look at the estimated costs for March 2025 (when we actually have consumption):
The overlap between the March period and the estimated invoice line 1 is: 15/03/2025-01/04/2025. The linear fraction of this overlap over the entire invoice line 1 period is approximately: 0.25 (not exact because the number of days per month differs).
FixedCostsMarch = €40 * 0.25 = €10
Consumption costs March = 300€ * 50kWh / (150kWh + 0.75 * 500kWh) = 15000€ / 525 = 28.57€
Let's also look at the estimated consumption costs for June 2025 (when we don't have actual consumption):
Consumption costs June = 300€ * (500kWh / 12) / (150kWh + 0.75 * 500kWh) = 12500€ / 525 = 23.81€
This ensures that you get a realistic picture of your expected costs, even for periods where actual consumption is not yet known.