Pre Payment Electricity Help Please!

KellyB

Hello there

I'm trying to find out if there is any way of saving money on my electric bill.
I'll give you the story !!

I live on my own in a small 1 bedroom flat with Economy 7 electric on a pre payment meter. I have no gas.

I'm currently paying between £15 and £20 a week for electric. I never leave anything switched on at night or when I go out (except the fridge freezer....Grade A energy efficiency).
When home I have only one light on, the TV and the laptop plugged in for a few hours a day. The washing machine is used once a week and that is graded A. I'm very conscious of my electric usage and boil the kettle once a day and put the water in a flask etc etc etc.

I'm currently on JSA receiving £60 a week but I can't put my heating on (storage heaters) as the cost then rises to well over £25 a week. I'm absolutely freezing and damp is now appearing in my bedroom (sorting that out with the HA). I'm wearing layers of clothing, have blankets over me, wear a hat and scarf, use hot water bottles etc but it's so cold that you can see your breath when you breathe!

I've had someone out to check my meter and that's working ok apparently.
I've contacted my Housing Association to check if anything is faulty in the flat (heaters for example) but still waiting for them to come out.

I did get hold of a Calor gas heater but it's in my tenancy agreement that I'm not allowed to use Gas appliances in the flat. I've also tried an electric plug in heater but that uses so much electricity too!

I cannot understand how my electric costs so much. My mum lives in a 4 bedroom house and they leave things on all the time, have all the lights on and her bill is less than mine!

I'm kinda at the end of my tether really and just want to be warm. Does anyone know if I can get a fuel payment or a cheaper supplier?
I have checked the various websites for a new deal but on Economy 7 the prices are more or less the same.

This sounds like some lame sob story :rotfl: but I'm really just after advice and the best way to achieve that is to give all the details

espresso

If you are on E7 tariff but not making use of the cheap rate for heating, it is likely that you will be paying more for your day time units than if you were on a standard tariff. Who is your supplier? What tariff? How much do you pay per kWh? Is there any debt being recovered on the meter?

KellyB

espresso wrote: »

If you are on E7 tariff but not making use of the cheap rate for heating, it is likely that you will be paying more for your day time units than if you were on a standard tariff. Who is your supplier? What tariff? How much do you pay per kWh? Is there any debt being recovered on the meter?

Thanks for your response, espresso.

My heaters only come on at night. They heat up at night and give off heat during the day. It comes on at 11.30pm and goes off at 6am.

I'm with Southern Electric (sorry, forgot to include that in my post) and the prices are:

18.36 pence per unit for Day energy.
6.90 pence per unit for Night energy.

I used to pay a service charge but they scrapped that in August but put the prices up slightly afterwards.

There's no debt being recovered on the meter.

I'm not sure about the kWh.....how do I check that?

Sorry if I sound thick, I have no idea what per unit or kWh means....I've looked it up but don't understand it all.

espresso

Storage heaters are expensive to use but you may be able to change to a cheaper tariff. The price that you quoted above per unit is also per kWh. I'm not familiar with these prepayment meters but there should be a button that you press to cycle though the various different displays, one of which should display day time usage and another should display your night rate usage both in kWh. If you read these displays and then read them 24 hours later, you should see your daily consumption and be able to work out your cost.

tuggy12

How many night storage heaters do you have switched on overnight?
There should be a data plate visible somewhere on the heaters which shows the power consumption:- a figure something like 1.7kW or 2.55kW for example.

Magentasue

If my maths is correct, you're using about 11kwh a day which isn't a huge amount for a family but is a lot for what you describe. I'm working with your £15 a week and no heating.

How do you heat water - do you have an immersion heater and does it come on overnight?

Fire_Fox

For comparison when I lived in my flat alone, using no heating at all (warm winter!) and being very frugal with the hot water I was using 7.5kwh per day. It sounds to me like the tariff/ supplier is very expensive - have you tried switching?

Damp will make the flat feel MUCH colder - you may need to run a dehumidifier or at least open the windows daily, especially if you are drying laundry indoors. You don't want to use a calor gas heater - they pump out a lot of water.

KellyB

espresso wrote: »

Storage heaters are expensive to use but you may be able to change to a cheaper tariff. The price that you quoted above per unit is also per kWh. I'm not familiar with these prepayment meters but there should be a button that you press to cycle though the various different displays, one of which should display day time usage and another should display your night rate usage both in kWh. If you read these displays and then read them 24 hours later, you should see your daily consumption and be able to work out your cost.

Thank you. I'm going to monitor it, now I know how to

tuggy12 wrote: »

How many night storage heaters do you have switched on overnight?
There should be a data plate visible somewhere on the heaters which shows the power consumption:- a figure something like 1.7kW or 2.55kW for example.

I have two storage heaters but rarely have them switched on.
I've looked on both and there are no data plates anywhere on either of them.....I checked underneath too :rolleyes:
But thanks for responding

Magentasue wrote: »

If my maths is correct, you're using about 11kwh a day which isn't a huge amount for a family but is a lot for what you describe. I'm working with your £15 a week and no heating.

How do you heat water - do you have an immersion heater and does it come on overnight?

I have an immersion heater which I have to turn on at the plug to get the hot water (It takes about 15 minutes to heat the water up). I rarely use it as I wash up using the water from the kettle. Unless I use the electric shower which is probably 3-4 times a week. The rest of the time I use the water from the kettle to wash.

My washing machine is cold water fill.....which I think means it's more energy efficient?

Fire_Fox wrote: »

For comparison when I lived in my flat alone, using no heating at all (warm winter!) and being very frugal with the hot water I was using 7.5kwh per day. It sounds to me like the tariff/ supplier is very expensive - have you tried switching?

Damp will make the flat feel MUCH colder - you may need to run a dehumidifier or at least open the windows daily, especially if you are drying laundry indoors. You don't want to use a calor gas heater - they pump out a lot of water.

I've looked at switching before but am waiting for prices to come down a bit......not sure if that'll happen though! :rotfl:
I've checked the various sites recommended by Martin and some others and they all work out roughly the same as some have standing charges and others don't. I'm going to have another look today though, to see if I can save even a small amount

Thanks for the info on damp.....I'll try opening the windows to start off with and see if that has any effect....while I'm waiting for my housing officer to come out and see all the problems I'm having with the flat (There's a long list :rotfl:)

I hate to think what my bill would be if I did use the hot water heater, storage heaters, shower daily and everything else that most people use in their homes!

welshsue

Your rates sound high. I am with Swalec who charge 14.98 ppu daytime. I am not on economy 7 so wouldnt know what that rate is. Sounds like the standing charge is hidden in your rate as Swalec supposedly scrapped standing charges in August but have just admitted to me that they still charge this but hide it within the rate.

As you are on a low income, have you asked for a social tariff. I have just gone onto one with Swalec and my daytime rate now is 8.09ppu plus £1.00 per week standing charge (thats how I found out they still charge this).

I would shop around as there are cheaper rates you can get.

Fire_Fox

KellyB wrote: »

I have an immersion heater which I have to turn on at the plug to get the hot water (It takes about 15 minutes to heat the water up). I rarely use it as I wash up using the water from the kettle. Unless I use the electric shower which is probably 3-4 times a week. The rest of the time I use the water from the kettle to wash.

My washing machine is cold water fill.....which I think means it's more energy efficient?

Your day rate is almost three times as much as your night rate electricity, and heating water eats electric - are you putting your immersion and washing machine on overnight when you do use them? Use a timer plug (pound shops, Wilkinsons etc.) on each to set them to come on at, say, 3am. Also be sure to use the economy button on your washing machine if there is one, or only use the 30C programme.

KellyB

welshsue wrote: »

Your rates sound high. I am with Swalec who charge 14.98 ppu daytime. I am not on economy 7 so wouldnt know what that rate is. Sounds like the standing charge is hidden in your rate as Swalec supposedly scrapped standing charges in August but have just admitted to me that they still charge this but hide it within the rate.

As you are on a low income, have you asked for a social tariff. I have just gone onto one with Swalec and my daytime rate now is 8.09ppu plus £1.00 per week standing charge (thats how I found out they still charge this).

I would shop around as there are cheaper rates you can get.

Thanks for that, I'd never heard of Swalec before. I looked on their website but it redirected me to Southern Electric, who I'm already with I will ask them about a social tariff though.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Your day rate is almost three times as much as your night rate electricity, and heating water eats electric - are you putting your immersion and washing machine on overnight when you do use them? Use a timer plug (pound shops, Wilkinsons etc.) on each to set them to come on at, say, 3am. Also be sure to use the economy button on your washing machine if there is one, or only use the 30C programme.

I only ever wash at 30C.....I'm tight like that :rotfl:

Thanks for the info on the timer thing....I think I'll have to give that a try.

I try to use the washing machine and immersion after 11.30pm but it's not always possible so I reckon the timer would be good.