High utility bill for a studio?

ChaCha26

Please excuse the long post, but I was hoping someone might be able to shed some light on this for me...I am a new poster, so 'hello'.

I recently received my bill from EDF, which informed me that my monthly gas direct debit would be raised from £29 to £45 a month. My electricity bill will also be going up from £19 to £45 a month. I was, frankly, shocked, and here's why:

My partner and I live in a rented studio flat - one room and a bathroom. I have two lightbulbs, an electric oven and hob, a fridge, an lcd television and dvd, and (unplugged when not in use) a laptop charger, two mobile chargers and a hairdryer. I do not have any other electrical appliances.

Heating and hot water are both gas. I have a single, modern-looking radiator in the main room, no heating in the bathroom and a small size bath. Thanks to our first huge bill, we have the heating on for just a few hours a day at most, in the winter (we both work so are out for most of the day).

So what I want to ask is...how can our bill possibly be so much!? EDF explained that the amount is not what I use per month, but has accumulated over the year. I still don't understand how we can have spent so much (£180 between March and June) on so few appliances and such little boiler use. Maybe this is average and I am being naive..?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

macman

You've answered your own question (or EDF have). It's a 'catch up' bill. Previous bills have been estimated because you've not submitted regular meter readings. Now you (presumably) finally have a bill based on actual readings. Correct?
So you haven't used £180 worth in 3 months, it's accumulated debt from whenever the last actual reading was made.
If you think your actual consumption is too high, you need to post your annual kWh figures, which you can work out from your bills, or get from your supplier.