Annual statement of the site

Annual Statement of the Site

When the owner mandates Climkit to manage billing and collections from consumers at their site, Climkit prepares an annual statement for the entire site.

This FAQ provides a quick understanding of how it works. Here is a glossary of the main terms used:

• Site: building or group of buildings for which Climkit provides metering and energy accounting services.
• Owner: site manager who mandates Climkit to manage the energy metering and billing of their site. Sometimes, the owner is represented by a management entity.
• Consumers: tenants or co-owners residing on the site who consume energy.
• Supplier: Distribution system operator (DSO) or another external provider supplying electricity or services to the site.

What is Climkit's mandate?

The owner mandates Climkit to manage metering, billing, and collections on their behalf from consumers at their site.

Climkit also pays the electricity bills of the site's suppliers (DSO and photovoltaic contractors).

How is the annual statement of the site prepared?

Climkit prepares an annual statement for the previous year for the entire site.

The annual statement calculates the difference between the total collections received from consumers and the disbursements made to suppliers.

In the context of a grouping for self-consumption (RCP), the difference is generally in favor of the owner and corresponds to the sale of self-consumed solar electricity to consumers as well as the surplus re-injected into the grid and bought back by the distributor.

When is the annual statement prepared?

Between April and June of the following year, in order to wait for the collections of the consumer invoices sent in January for the last months of the year.

How is the owner compensated?

The owner has 15 days after receipt to contest the statement. Without contestation, the amount in their favor is paid into the bank account provided to Climkit within the 30 days following the sending of the statement.

In the case of a balance in favor of Climkit, the owner has 30 days to pay the amount due using the invoice attached to the statement.

What does the statement look like?

The annual statement indicates the difference between the total collections received and the disbursements made for the site during the indicated period of the statement. It is divided into four sections:

1. Details of collections: amounts received from consumers, credit notes from suppliers, and any positive balance from the previous year's statement.
2. Details of disbursements: invoices paid to suppliers including those from the distribution system operator (DSO) and Climkit for management fees, and any negative balance from the previous year's statement.
3. Outstanding amounts: invoices from consumers that remain unpaid to date for the period of this statement.
4. Abandoned amounts: unpaid consumer invoices from previous years prior to the period of this statement that are considered lost. As the owner, you are free to undertake collection actions directly with the consumers.

Only the first two sections are taken into account in the calculation of the balance.

What do collections consist of?

1. All payments of invoices by consumers for their electricity consumption or their use of charging stations.
2. Credit notes from suppliers in cases where they pay an amount in favor of the site. For example, DSOs who compensate for the re-injection of photovoltaic surplus into the grid.
3. Any positive balance in favor of the owner carried over from the previous year's statement.

What do disbursements consist of?

1. Invoices paid to suppliers including those from the distribution system operator (DSO) for electricity drawn from the grid or any third-party contractor for photovoltaic production.
2. Invoices from Climkit for all management fees (metering, billing, sending fees, internet connection, etc.).
3. Any negative balance chargeable to the owner carried over from the previous year's statement.

Where can the invoices and documents referenced in the statement be found?

All invoices and corresponding documents are available on Climkit's online portal under the Finances tab of the site.

What about unpaid invoices?

All invoices sent to consumers that have not yet been paid appear in the Outstanding amounts section of the statement for informational purposes.

When these invoices are settled, the annual statement will be updated to account for these new collections and the positive balance in favor of the owner will be carried over to the statement for the following year. All consumer invoices and their payment status are accessible on the Climkit online portal.

Example: The statement for the year 2022 states a balance in favor of the owner of CHF 2500.-. However, there remains an unpaid invoice from a consumer for an amount of CHF 180.-. Climkit pays CHF 2500.- to the owner on May 25, 2023. On July 17, 2023, the consumer finally pays their invoice of CHF 180.-. The 2022 statement is updated and indicates a balance in favor of the owner of CHF 180.-. This amount will be carried over to the 2023 statement.

Under what circumstances is an invoice considered abandoned?

Any unpaid invoice despite three reminders sent to the consumer and dated more than one year prior to the issuance of the annual statement is considered abandoned.

The abandoned invoice is mentioned in the Abandoned amounts section of the annual statement. It is now up to the owner to undertake any collection actions directly with the affected consumer to obtain the payment due.

Example: At the time of preparing the 2022 annual statement, a consumer invoice of CHF 62.- for the period from October to December 2021 is still unpaid. This invoice is now considered lost by Climkit who indicates it with the status abandoned. The owner is then free to take direct action with the consumer to recover this due amount.

For what reasons could the annual statement have a balance in favor of Climkit?

1. When the invoices from the DSO paid do not correspond to the period of the annual statement. For example, if a DSO bills for the period from April 2021 to March 2022, this invoice is charged to the statement for the year 2022 even though it partially corresponds to the year 2021. This usually occurs during the first year of operation of the RCP or when the DSO invoices periodic advances rather than actual consumptions. In any case, this will be offset in subsequent years.
2. When the outstanding and abandoned amounts are very significant.
3. When the introduction meter of the building installed by the DSO does not measure the electricity drawn correctly and the related invoices are erroneous. In this case, it is necessary to request a verification from the DSO.