£52 for a two week period - normal?

Mehmoo

I moved into a new student house on 4th September. I share with only one other person, so we use a typical amount of electricity for two people: tv, washing machine, lights, lamps, laptops, ect.

Today we received our first electricity bill. For the period of 07th - 21st September, Scottish Power are charging us £52. Of course, I balked at this when I received it. In my last house where I shared with three people, our electricity wasn't even that for a month. And we paid using the prepaid card, so knew what we were spending.

The bill says the reading is the actual and not an estimate, but I don't think anyone has come to read the meter whilst I've been here. And the meter currently shows a higher reading than the one listed on the bill.

Is this a normal amount and should I just shut up and pay up?

whatatwit

It does appear to be a bit on the high side.
Is the opening reading estimated, or did you check it when you moved in?

Start taking a daily reading and make sure things are turned off.
How is the house heated and more importantly, how is the water heated?

Check that your house mate has not got an electric heater in their room.

From your bill, you will now know your unit prices and if you do a daily reading, you will be able to work out how much it is costing you per day to see if the £26 is average.

But, if the bill is based on actual readings, then there isn't much you can do...other than be thankful you got a big bill after 2 weeks and were ale to act on it, rather than getting one after 3 months.

Mehmoo

Thank you for your reply.

Is the opening reading estimated, or did you check it when you moved in?

I didn't check when I moved in, sadly, but on the bill it says actual and not estimated.

How is the house heated and more importantly, how is the water heated?

The house is heated by central heating, which includes the water. So no hot water without it being on. Though we've only had the heating on no more than five times since we moved in.

I will follow your tip to see how much electricity we are using. Generally most things are switched off though the occasional lamp has been left on overnight. And you're quite right - I'm glad that I've been able to see it now, as a few months down the line, the price would be unbelievable.

whatatwit

I take it your heating is gas....start reading the gas meter then, my usage jumps even when I only have the heating on for an hour in the evening.

If your housemate is aware of the usage and costs, then you will both be able to keep the bills down, but if the housemate likes to wander round in shorts and a t-shirt, then you've got trouble.

tessie_bear

id at least phone up the power company and see what they have to say

Mehmoo

whatatwit wrote: »

I take it your heating is gas....start reading the gas meter then, my usage jumps even when I only have the heating on for an hour in the evening.

If your housemate is aware of the usage and costs, then you will both be able to keep the bills down, but if the housemate likes to wander round in shorts and a t-shirt, then you've got trouble.

Yeah the heating is gas, which is thankfully pay as you go. So not met with bills like this.

Housemate likes to have the heating on with windows wide open. So it's going to take some discussion to get her reduce her usage of anything.

whatatwit

In that case, do make sure she hasn't got an electric heater in her room, especially if you start to nag about the heating

Mehmoo

Update on the situation:

We called up Scottish Power and explained the whole situation. They said to make a note of the electricity meter readings each day and then call back a week later. We did, and they said they'd see what could be done.

We received a new ammended bill on Monday. From £52 for two weeks, it's been changed to £5.70 for the whole month.

It's pretty much from one extreme to another. Not that I'm complaining, but surely this amount is now too low?

Magentasue

How many kwh of electricity did you use each day when you were taking readings?

Mehmoo

I think the average would be 80kwh per day.

When we began making note of the readings, we started with 738336 and nine days later it was 738936.

Magentasue

That makes no sense unless I'm missing something.

80kwh a day would be at least £8 a day!

You know, when you read a meter, it tells you to ignore numbers in red or whatever? Could your meter readings be 73833 and 73893? That would make the results far more realistic.