Electricity bill for 2 bedroom flat...

livewire_82

I own a 2 bedroom ground floor flat with my girlfriend which is completely powered by electric (no gas).
We have been with Eon for about 2 years and we are currently paying £84 per month which I feel is overpriced for what we use.
We both have 9-5 jobs during the week so we are only using appliances such as the oven, washing machine, dishwasher computer & television at evenings and weekends. We do not use any of these excessively and the only other significant appliances that run 24 hours a day are a fish tank and the fridge freezer. The heating is economy 7 but we do not turn on any of the heaters during spring/summer and the water system is programmed to come on only during the night.
During winter months we use about 25 kWh per day and currently and during the summer months we have been using about 16kwh per day.

I want to know if £84 for this time of year is excessive for what I've described. I would ideally want to stay with Eon for the benefit of Tesco Clubcard points but if I do a price comparison and find I can get it much cheaper elsewhere, I may have to switch.

Ken68

Something wrong, Liv ewire, I use 20kwh per WEEK, 3 bed house, live solo and in all day.
Do you need permanent hot water. Could you not use a kettle.
Do you know the wattage of the fisk tank heater, it is on 24/7.
Microwave ovens are cheaper than conventional. Electric blankets are cheaper than storage heaters.

UncleZen

Check to see if your bills are estimated or actual meter readings. You may be in credit. Most companies wont willingly offer you the credit back, you'll have to request it and if you are in credit they should reduce your monthly DD.

james2012_2

we are currently paying £84 per month

You are not paying £84 per month.

You are paying 1/12 th of £1008 per year.

Your bill is averaged out over the year, that is how direct debits work.

McKneff

What you pay per month is irrelevant.

Look at your annual statement for a proper assessment.

Your winter electricity may be £700

Summer bill may be only £308

Total £1008 divided by 12 to average it out and make it easier for you to budget.

livewire_82

Yes, but my question is, does £1008 per 12 months for my property and my usage sound high or does it sound about right?
I have logged onto my Eon account and called up the usage chart. It definitely reads approx 25 kwh per day during winter months and approx 16 kwh per day during summer months.
However, my bill states that I officially use 19.4 kwh per day which equates to 7,277 kwh per year. Eon have forecast that my next 12months electricity will cost £900.
So does this sound right for an average 2 bedroom flat?

Oldernotwiser

How often do you use the oven, dishwasher and washing machine? I know you said it's not excessive but everybody has different ideas of what this means.

For how many months do you have the heating on, for how many hours and how many heaters?

Lifestyle is often a better predictor of fuel usage than accommodation size.

livewire_82

On average I use appliances as follows:

• Oven: 1 hour per day
• Washing machine: twice per week
• Dishwasher: twice per week

The heating is used for about 5 moths per year between november - march. Rather than having a timed setting, we switch individual storage heaters on depending on where we are in the flat. We rarely at any time have every heater on regardless of the time of year and even during the winter months, the heating will be switched off during weekdays whilst we are both at work.
However there is a timed setting for the water heater which is used every day.

james2012_2

So does this sound right for an average 2 bedroom flat?

It is if you are all electric.

I will be paying £1100 plus for gas and electric for 2 people in a 3 bed semi.

Ally74

25 kWh sounds really low considering you use storage heaters.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi livewire

As others have said, make sure your bills are based on actual rather than estimated meter readings. If they're estimated, let us have actual readings and we'll re-bill your account accurately.

Your payment arrangement can then be reviewed using this info.

Direct Debits are based on usage over the previous 12 months. This is used to calculate how much we expect you to spend over the next 12 months. This amount is divided into 12 equal payments.

Any credit built up over the summer is used to pay for the increased amount of electricity we expect you to use during the winter.

The aim is to achieve as near to a zero balance as possible by the time of the annual review in the spring. At this point, any credit balance over a fiver is automatically refunded.

Where there's a debit balance at the annual review, this is included in the arrangement for the next 12 months.

If the bills are accurate and you've used the electricity, there may be areas where money can be saved by reducing your usage. We can help with this.

Have a chat with our Energy Efficiency team. Give them a list of your appliances and they'll be happy to advise of ways you may be able to cut back.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful ideas.

Check out our website, too; particularly the Interactive House and the free energy survey. More good tips here.

Hope this helps livewire. Give me a shout if I can help further as will be happy to do so.

Malc