overcharged by hydro electric for over 10 years

kiggy

Since we moved into our home over 12 years ago and have complained to the electricity provider that our bills seem to be very high. it all came to ahead at the end of last year when they finally came and checked the meter - it had taken that long. they told us nothing was wrong, then we had an repair man for an appliance come, he happened to put some sort of electrical reader in a socket and informed us that we had too much electricity coming into the house. within a couple of weeks the electricity provider came out to check the wiring again but discovered that the transformer was faulty pushing too much electricity into our home! it was cut off immediately and we had to wait for a new transformer to come. it had been installed on that setting when it was put in place (when electricity was connected to the property in the 1940's). we have noticed that our usage has gone down considerably were we told we were using 52 units a day to 13 average a day. there is only 2 of us in the house and we work! we do noy have electrical heating we have oil. we have also noticed that my husbands electric razor runs slower and the electric shower is cooler on the usual setting. we have complained to the electric provider and have asked for compensation for the over charging for all these years and the replacement of electrical goods that have burned out. needles to say they are not interested. i wonder how they would have acted if it had been the otherway. we now have a lengthy battle to get our money back - we have worked it roughly that we have over paid over £20,000 - we feel physically sick and that is without the electrical goods that met their demise, some were not even a year. so this is a warning to everyone that lives in a rural area to get their power checked as it seems that there are a lot of transformers out their set at similar livels.
regards
burned out:question:

dogshome

Hi kiggy - I'm surprised that you have had no responses to your post, but suspect that's it's because like me, none of the regulars knows enough about the technicalities of the national grid to comment, and what an excess of power, (The Voltage?), will do to domestic 240V appliances and meters.
However I do believe, (Not the same as knowing), that the grid has a duty to supply power within fixed parameters.

I do think you should be gathering information for a difficult battle with HE.
Contact that repair man and ask him to put his findings in a letter
Unless your house are very is isolated, some neighbors would have had the same problems - Knock on doors and if any one suffered a Power Cut when the transformer was changed, sign them up - A group can shout a lot louder than an individual.

You should all note your meter readings weekly, then as time progresses you will build an accurate record of your Qtly consumption to compare with old bills for the same periods prior the transformer change.
You are going to need an authoratitive professional opinion as to what the excess power level recorded by the repair man, will do to appliances and domestic meters - Web search for "Society of Electrical Engineers" or similar?

You don't say if you contacted HE by phone or letter, but if it was by phone, you must write a letter headed Complaint as this puts the problem onto a time track that HE must follow and opens your route the Ombudsman
In the letter, list your previous contact and Complain about HE's rejection, also list your reduced consumption figures since the transformer change and and any 'shortlife' problems with appliances
Wish you all the Best

spiro

It is the HE distribiution business not the supplier that you should try contacting in the 1st place. The 'quality' of the electricity is their responsibiltity. Once they have confirmed that the transformer would have caused the issue with the meter, then you can go to the supplier for a refund. When contacting either party the letter should be addressed to the 'Complaints Department' and I would send it recorded delivery.

Cardew

We really need more details.

I assume you are saying you were getting more than the nominal 240v? How much higher? Was it permanently higher or did it fluctuate.

When you have that information you can start to quantify what it might have cost. However it is not going to make a huge difference to your overall consumption and talk of reducing from 52kWh(units) a day to 13kWh is fantasy.

If the voltage was, say, 260v then as you say your shower would have been hotter on the same setting - but to produce a set flow of water at, say, 40C it will take the same amount of power. The same with an electric cooker - the plates/oven would reach temperature faster but the thermostat would keep the amount of electricity used the same as if it were 240v.

More difficult to quantify will be damage to electrical goods. Bulbs will have a shortened life - a 60w bulb could be using 65w. Many electronic appliances should not be affected as the voltages used internally are regulated by the appliance and can cope with large variations.

However as said above - more information required.

dogshome

Hi kiggy - Spiro is correct that the problem is the final responsibility of the HE Distribution, which is a seperate company from the HE who supply you.

However, your contract is with the HE who sends you a bill and not HE Distribution who as a 3rd party, do not have a duty to give you information or even talk to you..
Write to the people who bill you with your beef - The way it works is that it is they who have a contract with HE Distribution and it they who must pursue it HE Distribution.

This,( Excessive Voltage?) problem is a real mare's nest for HE Distribution.
No matter that it bumped up users meter readings - That's easily fixed with paperwork and some credit notes, but, they have a real problem when it comes to claims for the early death of appliances - How many claims will there be and at what cost?
For this reason I don't expect HE Distribtion to just roll over, so you must get that independant and authorative professional opinion
Good Luck

kiggy

Many thanks for your information. I have, now, many letters from both myself and HE. I have been keeping meter readings on a weekly basis now and recording them as evidence. we are still only using beween 13 to 14 1/2 units a day and nowhere near the 52 units and that is with using tumbler dryers, washing machines, electric fires. i have actually used more than i would normally use and still can not get anywhere near the 52 units a day. i have researched the internet on the usuage of electricity but cannot find anything yet with regards to high voltage being supplied by transformers forcing the electricity usuage up - in this country, i have found it in America but want something that has been written in the uk. would be glad if someone knows where to access this information. we are continuing this battle and know it will be a long one but so was the battle to check the meters! i will keep everyone posted.

kiggy

hi cardew
the usage from 52 units a day to 13 is a reality not fantasy - i have the figures to proove it. It was also permanently higher, from the day we moved in here, in fact since the transformer was put in place. the HE man told us this when it was being replaced but unfortunately it was verbal and not written. we were also told it would burn out equipment quicker, make us use more electricity and could have caused a fire! Not a nice thought.

Cardew

kiggy wrote: »

hi cardew
the usage from 52 units a day to 13 is a reality not fantasy - i have the figures to proove it. It was also permanently higher, from the day we moved in here, in fact since the transformer was put in place. the HE man told us this when it was being replaced but unfortunately it was verbal and not written. we were also told it would burn out equipment quicker, make us use more electricity and could have caused a fire! Not a nice thought.

Your usage may have dropped from 52 units per day to 13 units - what I am saying is this cannot be caused by your voltage decreasing from, say 260 volts to 240 volts.

You don't need to scour the internet for "the usuage of electricity but cannot find anything yet with regards to high voltage being supplied by transformers forcing the electricity usuage up"

It is simple Ohms law.

There will be a marginal increase in the consumption( a few percent) of some appliances and lighting, but the overall effect on your consumption will be tiny.

Even taking some stupid increase like you got 400 volts it still wouldn't account for more than a few units, and most of your bulbs etc would burn out immediately.

dogshome

Hi kiggy - There is a lot of debate here about what increased voltage will or will not do to a domestic supply, but the only reference point you have is the excess reading that the Appliance Repair guy recorded when he metered your power socket - It's vital that you get back to him and ask him to put his findings in writing , then armed with this you can research exactly what xxx volts will do to your meter and appliances.

Bear in mind that the wiring and switch gear in your house and it's appliances, is built to insulate the wiring itself and Switches/Terminals whilst distributing a 240 volt supply, with a safety margin.
The faulty transformer is probably being fed 400 volts, so your over supply could be anywhere between the two - (400 volts could easily jump terminals in a domestic switch and cause a fire)
Chase down that report from the repair man