e.on - high electricity bills

cfj

I am on economy 18 energy plan3 (have just built a new house with high levels of insulation, Air Source Heat pump/underfloor heating, 30 amp Aga, woodburning stove and A rated appliances and A rated double glazed windows.) We had hoped/expected our energy costs to be low but our last two bills were: Nov 09 to Feb 10 £829.82 (expected it to be high as house drying out) but our latest bill Feb 10 to 28 April 10 was £536.84 (expected this to be what I would consider a normal quarterly usage to be with no extra drying out so £536.84 seems very high). We are very economical with our energy, nothing left on standby, low energy lights etc and also because of the extra insulation the house (which is south facing) is very warm so have had heating switched off downstairs and hardly on upstairs. Long running saga with e.on energy saving team, they agreed that energy bill seems high so have had to do 24 hour hourly readings. Conclusion is that bills are correct except that heat store and night readings have been transposed but our day readings are still very high (I had noticed in January that when keying in meter readings online the boxes do not correspond to the meter readings of 1,2 and 3, e.on said they are aware of the problem and are looking into it but still the same in April and e.on still looking into it! - last bill cost just over £290 for the quarter. Bearing in mind Aga and most appliances are used on night rate and no major use during the day. E.on have concluded that because we have used the ASHP for heating water only for 1 hour outside of cheaper stored heat rate this is why the day readings are high - only realised when checking meter readings that meter timeclock is still set 1 hour behind since the change to BST and we had changed our timeclocks to conform to BST. (Is everyone aware that meter clock does not change when clocks change? So that meant that Aga was on 1 hour early and ASHP 1 hour early. Still not sure if this is the real explanation for the high readings. Strangely, we had an amended bill that came through yesterday with what purported to be our own readings for 6 May but these readings do not tally with any of the readings I have made a note of and I had not reported them to e.on. Should have had a phone call back today to explain but to date no phone call. I did ask if we could have our meter checked but was told that to do this e.on would charge £98 which would only be refunded if the meter was found to be at fault. (When the meter was installed by e.on contractors our electrician found it had not been earthed! so do not have much confidence in the meter anyway). I do hope that we haven't wasted our money on extra insulation and renewable energy if our bills continue to be high - our last house had gas central heating and our annual bills were about £996.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi cfj

I'm afraid I am no expert on Economy 18 metering so can only offer general advice.

Economy 18 provides 18 hours of cheaper electricity per day for dedicated electric space and water heating equipment. This is split into three periods.

Within the 18 hours, this product also provides a 5 hour period of lower cost electricity for general domestic usage.

You are doing exactly the right thing in talking to us about the ways of using this set up to the best effect.

One thing I would suggest is to ask for the account to be re-billed with the readings the right way round. This will give you a more accurate picture of your actual usage.

If you have not already done so, it might also be an idea to talk to our specialist metering people about your set up. They will be able give much more detailed information than me.

Sorry if this is vague cfj but hope it gives a couple of pointers.

Malc

Fire_Fox

cfj wrote: »

I am on economy 18 energy plan3 (have just built a new house with high levels of insulation, Air Source Heat pump/underfloor heating, 30 amp Aga, woodburning stove and A rated appliances and A rated double glazed windows.) We had hoped/expected our energy costs to be low but our last two bills were: Nov 09 to Feb 10 £829.82 (expected it to be high as house drying out) but our latest bill Feb 10 to 28 April 10 was £536.84 (expected this to be what I would consider a normal quarterly usage to be with no extra drying out so £536.84 seems very high).

I do hope that we haven't wasted our money on extra insulation and renewable energy if our bills continue to be high - our last house had gas central heating and our annual bills were about £996.

Electricity is much more expensive per KWH than gas, even with good insulation you notice the cost over and above gas. Secondly we have just had the coldest winter in thirty years, so again bills will be unusually high. I would hope your ASHP would make a difference tho - perhaps down to the transposed figures? Might be best to stop comparing price and start comparing usage in KWH.

Numpty_Monkey

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cfj

I have an update from my original query - have been in contact with E-on giving various meter readings plus updated bills and still very confused. However have now been in touch with a very helpful contact in complaints office who has spent a lot of time looking at my meter readings and calculations and result seems to be that meter readings are correct and have to accept our bills are going to be high even though we are in a new built house with ASHP/u.f. heating/extra insulation etc etc. I then asked if E18 is the best tariff and surprisingly it has been calculated that if we changed to a standard online rate our yearly bills would be £1381 as opposed to £1706 on E18 and £1734 on E7. I had always assumed that E18 and E7 would be a cheaper rate but apparently this is not so. Am I the only person who assumed this? Question for Malc from E-on - would you agree that standard online rate is the better option?
Many thanks

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi cfj

Economy 18 is a bit of a hybrid tariff.

It is only available in the Eastern region and was specifically designed for properties, like yours, with a particular type of water/heating set up.

I'm afraid my knowledge of these set ups is limited. I believe the meter is wired into your existing water/heating in such a way as to allow you to benefit from the set periods of cheaper electricity.

To take advantage of the more standard tariffs, your Economy 18 meter will need to be replaced. We are currently charging £50 for this work.

Additionally, you will need to arrange for an independent electrician to check your set up. This is to make sure changing the meter does not cause problems with your water/heating. The cost of this will also be down to you.

We have tariffs that offer extra discounts for managing your account online. These are currently our most competitive product. However, they have time limits and I cannot say they will always be our most competitive.

At this moment in time, I suspect they will be cheaper than your current arrangement.

I would suggest seeing what your annual usage is in kWh and popping this on to one of the comparison sites. This will list all the tariffs currently available, both with us and other suppliers.

You will need to work out your current costs manually as the comparison sites do not include the Economy 18 product. Alternatively, talk to us again and we will be happy to work this out for you.

If you feel the savings are worth the cost of changing the meter and are happy to do this over the long term, then we can arrange to do this for you. Provided, that is, your electrician gives the all clear.

I hope this at least partially answers your question cfj. Given the amount of variables involved, I'm afraid it is only possible to provide a relatively general response.

Malc