Electric bill help!!

bernardh_2

I also have a 2-bed house with an immersion heater and night storage heaters. My monthly payments to Powergen have been £25 pm.My last estimated bill (4th in a row) said I was £95 in debt. I phoned the meter reading to them and now it seems I am £4 in credit.
So ,unless you heat your house a lot more than I do,£40 does seem excessive.
I don`t recommend storage heaters - it`s cold when you get home from work.

tammy_nadine

ooh, I'm in this sort of position too. Except my electric bill seems to be even more astronomical!!! I must confess to not knowing much about how these bills work, as I am in my first flat. It took me over a year to find an electricity company to acknowledge all existance of me (its a long story) btu now I have just recieved a bill for 3/7/2004 until 23/11/2004 for £473.02. I don't understand how it could be this high as I live in a two bedroom flat, my husband and I both work full time so are not in the flat tthat much and the heating doesn't work (not that I would have had it on in the summer). I wonder if it could be the hot water too. I don't realy know how to work the timer. Its one of those ones with the little bits on it you click in towards the centre or out and I'm not sure how long I should have it on for in order to have hot water for the morning etc. Plus, the time I seem to think I have programmed it to come on does not seem to tally with when it actualy comes on. Could it be this? Is it usual for an electricity bill to be this high?

cattie

Just a thought- are you sure the electricity company have got the dates right as you mentioned living there for a year before they acknowledged your existence. Have you had a previous bill? If so how does it compare?

Or are you sure they're not billing you for electricity consumed before you moved into your flat? This can often happen if the previous occupiers have moved out without giving notice to the utility providers.

Your bill does seem ridiculously high for a quoted period of less than 5months excluding heating costs.

It may be worth you reading your meter each day to give you an idea of how many units are being consumed on a daily basis. I don't know what the possibility of there being a fault with the meter is, but you obviously need to get everything checked out. The electricity company should be able to give you an idea of what the average consumption is for a similar household.

With regards to the timer, haven't you got someone who could come & advise you on how it works? If it's an emersion heater then it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to heat up a tankful of hot water.

AnnieP_3

I don't know about the water heating as I have a comminual heating system that also heats the water, but I live on a very low income and a few years ago realized that I have to cut costs where ever I could. I have all energy saver light bulbs, which do save me a lot on my electric bills. Don't buy them in diy stores unless they have a special offer as they are way too expensive, Ikea have the cheapest. To start you off British Gas have a free offer of 4! Take a look at their website and go from there. I have also had a water meter put in, so did my daughter as we both live alone and we have saved a fortune, it also makes you aware that if you leave a tap running you are literally pouring money down the drain!!

isasmurf

I'm glad I'm not the only one suspicious about my electricity bill. I got my latest Bill today and nearly died! I live alone in a small flat and don't consider myself a heavy user, but my latest bill also works out at around £40/month.

I asked my mate who does use a lot more electricity than me, and he says he pays around £19/month. I've compared my summer and winter bills where the only difference is the storage heater, which it turns out adds £40/quarter to the bill.

In the summer, where I only heat the water on cheap rate, I use around 900 units/quarter on night time rate, whilst my latest bill, which includes a period where I've had my storage heater on, shows I've used about 2400 units. I think I'm going to start wrapping up warm and turning the heater off at that rate!

I consider what it says my day time usage is excessive considering what I use, but maybe most of that is because of the electric shower.

Tiiti

Currently paying £148 a month for electric in a 2bed flat.

We're trying to cut this down alot but it doesn't seem to be working. We can't live with the immersion heater on only during E7 time as the water is still cold in the morning and it takes about 4 hours to heat up again after switching peak time back on.

Trying to go through winter with one electic heater is not good fun either.

Cooker and Fridge are EE A btw and we have cheap running light bulbs coming soon.

Everything is on Electric with Southern Electric btw

Backbiter

My latest elec bill was horrendous too, but it was down to them not reading it for about a year and wildly underestimating usage.
We have no immersion, a gas cooker, gas CH and multi fuel (cola and wood) stove. We have a 5 bed house. In the last two years we've used 8500 units/ year, which costs around £600. We use a tumble drier a hell of a lot, an a dishwasher daily. We use mainly economy bulbs. We have two freezers and two fridges!
Is that typical, or are we being ripped off?

lisyloo

sounds about right for a large house and "family" usage.
I live in a large 5 bed, but use the washing machine and dishwasher weekly rather than daily (no kids).

I think our bill is something like £400 annually.
So yours sounds like the right ball park.

You should certainly shop around for the cheapest power.

Backbiter

Thanks. But with a large debt outstanding, I'm not in a great position to switch!

robnye

sounds reasonable,

you could look at the power rating for your electrical itmes, then gradually change them to more 'greener' electrical items.

I would otherwise argue with the power company, as i believe they are bound by consumer rules, to actually take your meter reading at least once (if not twice) a year...... check the t's n c's, you may be due some compensations