Worryingly Cheap?

Cheapsk8

I have just moved into a smallish 2 bedroom flat which is rated fairly high on the energy efficiency scale.I live on my own but have boyfriend stay over 3 nights a week so he uses showers, water, toilet flushing etc.
I rang up the utilities providers EON for electricity, British Gas for Gas and Severn Trent for water. They had the reading and gave me a month direct debit based on previous use of the flat. Now might sound strange I'm complaining but they sound worryingly cheap. I am between jobs so spending a fair bit of time at home at the moment so bills are probably gonna be higher.
Does this sound too cheap? I don't want to have a big cost to make up in later months, is there a way to avoid having a sudden surge in my monthly direct debit?

Gas is £30 month
Water is £18
Electricity is £20

Any advice would be great.

HappyMJ

You are spending more than me. Keep reading the meters on a monthly basis and figure it out for yourself and see if they are OK. I like to use this site to check my calculations http://www.ukpower.co.uk/tools/smart_meter_calculator/

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi Cheapsk8,

Welcome to the forum :hello:

I thought I would try and give you a bit of info on the E.ON bit of your post for the electricity.

The very first thing to do is to make sure we have opened your account from the meter reading you have taken when you moved in.

Then to keep the account accurate and up to date, make sure you take regular meter readings, keep a note of them or set up an online account and enter them on here. Don't accept estimated bills make sure the readings on the bill match what is showing on your meter.

If you do have an online account you can also request up to date bills, so you know where you are, as well as a number of other things that will help with your usage.

There are a few other things to do, checking your on the best tariff for you, go on to the website and have a look at the interactive house.

Hope this helps a bit.

Give me a shout if you need me

Helena

Cheapsk8

Thanks very helpful indeed. How often should I be taking my meter reading for it to be considered 'regular'? This might seem obvious but its the first time I have done in this and I have found it quite overwhelming!

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Cheapsk8 wrote: »

Thanks very helpful indeed. How often should I be taking my meter reading for it to be considered 'regular'? This might seem obvious but its the first time I have done in this and I have found it quite overwhelming!

It's up to you to be honest, maybe start with weekly readings to get a good idea of your usage then I would put them online every month.

If you have an online account you can enter the readings and then just select an up to date balance or produce a bill to the readings.

Also, if you do decide to manage your account online you can ask for an energy monitor (not the most accurate way of measuring usage, but it might help you a bit for now).

Helena

oldskoo1

I would say in summer that is about normal for a higher energy efficient flat.

I have a 4 bed detached which is quite good on energy efficiency. I have heating on 24/7 in the winter and my annual consumption, combined is £820 a year thereabouts. Or roughly £68 a month.

Your not a million miles away from that now and you haven't factored in winter months when the usage skyrockets.

oldtractor

I pay £21 a month electric. 2 bed terraced house. i am home all day.

ihateyes

Cheapsk8 wrote: »

.I live on my own but have boyfriend stay over 3 nights a week so he uses showers, water, toilet flushing etc.

Dont you shower? or flush ur loo, cant imagine that smell!!
ps sorry cudnt resist.....

btw on topic 2 bed flat £30 average fo elec