v high electricity bill - anyway to get someone to check usage independently?

j2011

Uswitch maybe didn't give me the atlantic tariffs cos I'm already with atlantic perhaps?

Try it with putting BG as your present supplier.

Ignore how much it says you will save or pay extra, it is the actual tariffs for atlantic that you want.

Or post your kWh figures and area and we will do it for you.

ukphd

j2011 wrote: »

Try it with putting BG as your present supplier.

Ignore how much it says you will save or pay extra, it is the actual tariffs for atlantic that you want.

Or post your kWh figures and area and we will do it for you.

Thanks - my annual electric is basically 7100 kwh and the gas is approx 15200

when I did it on energyhelpline the only atlantic one that came up was fixed 4 but then it said I couldn't switch to that for some reason.

My postcode is kt8 9ee

macman

On energyhelpline with your usage as above it gives BG Websaver 11 as the cheapest tariff, saving you £320 (21%). The cheapest Atlantic tariff is Fixed Price 4, saving you £182 (12%). The reason only FP4 came up in your search is that it only displays the first 10 results by default. If you lick on 'Show All', it will display every tariff-and you will find Atlantic Domestic Standard very near the bottom.
If you can't switch to BG because of the debt, then it's a no-brainer to choose FP4.

ukphd

macman wrote: »

On energyhelpline with your usage as above it gives BG Websaver 11 as the cheapest tariff, saving you £320 (21%). The cheapest Atlantic tariff is Fixed Price 4, saving you £182 (12%). The reason only FP4 came up in your search is that it only displays the first 10 results by default. If you lick on 'Show All', it will display every tariff-and you will find Atlantic Domestic Standard very near the bottom.
If you can't switch to BG because of the debt, then it's a no-brainer to choose FP4.

Thanks - On energyhelpline though next to the atlantic FP4 it says "enquiry" and when I click on that it says I can't switch to FP4.... so not sure I can choose that either....

macman

I don't think you can switch tariffs through a comp site as an existing customer. Log into your Atlantic online account and see what options it gives for switching.
I think that FP4 may only be available for new customers.
Since Atlantic are now part of SSE, you should be able to pick any SSE tariff, not just Atlantic ones-which are now very limited as the brand is being absorbed.

ukphd

macman wrote: »

I don't think you can switch tariffs through a comp site as an existing customer. Log into your Atlantic online account and see what options it gives for switching.
I think that FP4 may only be available for new customers.
Since Atlantic are now part of SSE, you should be able to pick any SSE tariff, not just Atlantic ones-which are now very limited as the brand is being absorbed.

Thanks.
I've tried on the atlantic site but can't find any options for switching. I'll give them a call to find out where on the website it is (not to discuss tariffs as I know I won't get the cheaoest deal).

I'm still not sure I want to be locked into another 12 months with them though when they are so much more expensive than other companies. I think if we can find a way to clear the debt in the next 3 months then it might be better to wait and move to BG or someone at that point.

I'm still trying to figure out why we're using so much. So far I've accounted for about 50% of the background usage on my energy monitor i.e. standby tv's, tortoise lamps etc. It still leaves quite a lot that isn't accounted for yet...

macman

Try contacting SSE, not sure if it's the same call centre now. Since you are already through the winter period it would be better to can clear the debt and then switch soon, rather than lock yourself in for 12 months. Or, given the huge premium you are paying, you might be better off borrowing the money to clear the debt now so that you can switch ASAP.
Remember that if you switch via a cashback site you'll get anything up to £100 on top of any supplier bonus.
Sure you don't have a immersion heater switch that has been left on 24/7? That's one of the most common causes of unexplained high bills.
Go to your consumer unit, and switch each circuit off in turn and check the monitor, that will help you isolate where the usage is happening.

victor2

ukphd wrote: »

I'm still trying to figure out why we're using so much. So far I've accounted for about 50% of the background usage on my energy monitor i.e. standby tv's, tortoise lamps etc. It still leaves quite a lot that isn't accounted for yet...

You're getting there then.
If you have circuit breakers near your electricity meter, switch them off one at a time and see where your usage drops so that you can narrow it down. If they're not already labelled, now would be a good time to do so! Typically, you would have separate breakers for light circuits, sockets, cooker, immersion heater etc. You might find one thing is taking more power than you think, or more likely it will be the cumulative effect of several items. If you do switch off the ring main, you'll find all kinds of things with clocks or timers in them have reset themselves though!

ukphd

macman wrote: »

Try contacting SSE, not sure if it's the same call centre now. Since you are already through the winter period it would be better to can clear the debt and then switch soon, rather than lock yourself in for 12 months. Or, given the huge premium you are paying, you might be better off borrowing the money to clear the debt now so that you can switch ASAP.
Remember that if you switch via a cashback site you'll get anything up to £100 on top of any supplier bonus.
Sure you don't have a immersion heater switch that has been left on 24/7? That's one of the most common causes of unexplained high bills.
Go to your consumer unit, and switch each circuit off in turn and check the monitor, that will help you isolate where the usage is happening.

Thank you.
Yes it is the same call centre - as they answer as "southern electric" not atlantic.

I'm certain we don't have an immersion heater. We had the boiler replaced recently and ripped out all the old system.

I'll have a go at switching each circuit off - I assume that's done via the fuse block? There doesn't seem to be any other way?

thanks again for all your help

ukphd

victor2 wrote: »

You're getting there then.
If you have circuit breakers near your electricity meter, switch them off one at a time and see where your usage drops so that you can narrow it down. If they're not already labelled, now would be a good time to do so! Typically, you would have separate breakers for light circuits, sockets, cooker, immersion heater etc. You might find one thing is taking more power than you think, or more likely it will be the cumulative effect of several items. If you do switch off the ring main, you'll find all kinds of things with clocks or timers in them have reset themselves though!

Thanks - I think we cross-posted. The cicuit breaker has some old labels on it so that should help.

Good point about the clocks - thanks!