I cannot understand utility bills - Switching

xx_Law_Grad_xx

Hi all,

I am trying to help my parents go through their various bills and see if money can be saved.

We have moved on to the gas and electric bill but I cannot for the life of me get my head around it.

They obtain their electricity and gas from Southern Electric and are on the following plans: -

• Electricity: energyplus Pulse Domestic Standard NSC
• Gas: energyplus Pulse General Domestic NSC

The bills state that for electricity they used 7290 units at a total cost of £869.28.

The bills state that for gas they used 1246 units at a total cost of £1323.82.

Both sets of bills cover the period from February 2009 to February 2010. Unfortunately they do not have any recent bills.

I have used a price comparison website which gives massively different prices when entering unit and when entering what they pay.

I am trying to help them but feel really out of my depth as the bills seem really complicated.

Eon seem to come out on top with the SaveOnline 10 plan. Is there anything I should be aware of with this particular plan?

The house we live in has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 living rooms, 1 dining room, 1 utility room, a conservatory, and a kitchen. Four people live in the house, all of whom are out of the house from 8.30 till 17.00 ish. We have a combination boiler which heats the water. Loft has been insulated recently and the house is partially insulated but trying to persuade them to fully insulate it. I do not know if this has any bearing on the advice given.

irnbru_2

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

Both sets of bills cover the period from February 2009 to February 2010. Unfortunately they do not have any recent bills.

What are the last meter readings on the bill?
What are the current meter readings?

xx_Law_Grad_xx

Unfortunately the bills for the last year or so have been misplaced. I will get my father to telephone Southern Electric tomorrow and ask what his bills amount to yearly and how many units have been used.

jalexa

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

Unfortunately the bills for the last year or so have been misplaced. I will get my father to telephone Southern Electric tomorrow and ask what his bills amount to yearly and how many units have been used.

TBH it's rare that for "normal" consumption the *exact* usage makes a big difference between suppliers but it is useful to know from actual consumption what the annual bill will be.

If asking/comparing gas make sure you use kWhrs not "units".

notbritishgas

The reason you get different results when entering units and prices is that you should enter KWh for gas and not the units. So the 1246 units are converted to kwh on the bills, use that figure.
From the amount charged it looks as if you have an imperial meter (or are being charged for one) and the 1246 units equals about 39000kwh:eek:.

If that is correct then you are way above average use for both electric and gas, 7290 kwh for electric is about twice the average and the same for gas if my workings out are correct.

Looks like savings could be made. Firstly check the type of gas meter you have, one reading in 100's of Cu Ft (imperial) or one reading in Cu Metres (metric).
What electrical appliances do you have to warrant the 7290kwh usage.

It also looks as if you are on Southern's Standard tariff so almost certainly savings could be made by switching or changing tariff with Southern. However also look at cutting down a bit, that way you will get double the saving.

irnbru_2

notbritishgas wrote: »

From the amount charged it looks as if you have an imperial meter (or are being charged for one) and the 1246 units equals about 39000kwh:eek:.

OP - I used 1338m3 which is about ~15KWh and paid ~£600. Check the meter and confirm the units.

On the Gas bill it should mention Correction, Calorific and KWh factor. You need those values for the formula to convert from Gas units to KWh.

elektra

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

Unfortunately the bills for the last year or so have been misplaced. I will get my father to telephone Southern Electric tomorrow and ask what his bills amount to yearly and how many units have been used.

Maybe easier if you are present when he phones and he gives permission for you to speak on his behalf and then if there are any follow up questions you can call yourself.

xx_Law_Grad_xx

Thank you for your responses everyone it is much appreciated. It is quite frightening that the bills are double what they should be.

My father has managed to locate the "missing" bills. They appear somewhat easier to understand than the older ones.

The latest bills for both electricity and gas are from August 2011 and states the following: -

Electricity

• Since this time last year you have used 900.00 kWh at our standard energy rate and 7474.61 kWh at our discounted energy rate.
• In the coming year we estimate your costs will be £979.19.

Gas

• Since this time last year you have used 2500.00 kWh at our standard rate and 25020.00 kWh at our discounted energy rate.
• In the coming year we estimate your costs will be £966.47.

notbritishgas wrote: »

From the amount charged it looks as if you have an imperial meter (or are being charged for one) and the 1246 units equals about 39000kwh:eek:.

If that is correct then you are way above average use for both electric and gas, 7290 kwh for electric is about twice the average and the same for gas if my workings out are correct.

Looks like savings could be made. Firstly check the type of gas meter you have, one reading in 100's of Cu Ft (imperial) or one reading in Cu Metres (metric).
What electrical appliances do you have to warrant the 7290kwh usage.

It also looks as if you are on Southern's Standard tariff so almost certainly savings could be made by switching or changing tariff with Southern. However also look at cutting down a bit, that way you will get double the saving.

How would I go about checking whether the meter is metric or imperial? From the latest statement the gas meter is in metric.

I would say from 5pm ish onwards there might be 3 modern televisions on. Maybe 2 or 3 computers. The oven/hob for cooking. The dishwasher is used twice a day and the washing machine maybe every other day. Is there a device which can determine what appliances are costing us so much?

irnbru wrote: »

OP - I used 1338m3 which is about ~15KWh and paid ~£600. Check the meter and confirm the units.

On the Gas bill it should mention Correction, Calorific and KWh factor. You need those values for the formula to convert from Gas units to KWh.

It would appear that the statement has converted the units into kWh which is helpful. Although they may have converted the imperial measurement into metric. How would I go about checking this? It states the following for a period of 6 months: -

• Gas Meter Advance: 297 Units
• 297 units x factor 100 x correction factor 1.02264 = 30372.40
• 30372.40 x conversion factor 0.0283 = 859.53
• 859.53 cu mtrs x calorific value 39.1 / conversion factor 3.6 = 9335.45
• Units converted to kilowatt hours - 9335.45 kWh

elektra wrote: »

Maybe easier if you are present when he phones and he gives permission for you to speak on his behalf and then if there are any follow up questions you can call yourself.

Although that would be a fantastic idea they are both quite resistant to me helping them.

notbritishgas

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

The latest bills for both electricity and gas are from August 2011 and states the following: -


Electricity

• Since this time last year you have used 900.00 kWh at our standard energy rate and 7474.61 kWh at our discounted energy rate.
• In the coming year we estimate your costs will be £979.19.

Gas

• Since this time last year you have used 2500.00 kWh at our standard rate and 25020.00 kWh at our discounted energy rate.
• In the coming year we estimate your costs will be £966.47.

How would I go about checking whether the meter is metric or imperial? From the latest statement the gas meter is in metric.

I would say from 5pm ish onwards there might be 3 modern televisions on. Maybe 2 or 3 computers. The oven/hob for cooking. The dishwasher is used twice a day and the washing machine maybe every other day. Is there a device which can determine what appliances are costing us so much?



It would appear that the statement has converted the units into kWh which is helpful. Although they may have converted the imperial measurement into metric. How would I go about checking this? It states the following for a period of 6 months: -

• Gas Meter Advance: 297 Units
• 297 units x factor 100 x correction factor 1.02264 = 30372.40
• 30372.40 x conversion factor 0.0283 = 859.53
• 859.53 cu mtrs x calorific value 39.1 / conversion factor 3.6 = 9335.45
• Units converted to kilowatt hours - 9335.45 kWh

.

OK, I will try to answer your points
Firstly your electric usage seems to be getting worse:eek: I read it that in the last year you have used 8374 kwh. From your description of appliances you are certainly an above average user, eg dishwasher twice a day and WMachine every other day. Whether this alone would account for your high usage I do not know.
You can buy plug in energy monitors that plug into the socket and then the appliance is plugged into that, that will tell how much energy that appliance is using.

To tell what sort of gas meter you have look at the front of the meter, if it is imperial it will be marked "cubic ft" or "cu ft" or something similar. A metric one will have "cu m" or "M3" or similar.

You are certainly being billed for an imperial meter as the conversion factor has been used. But your usage of 27000 kwh in the last year is high but not the 3 times it would be if you were billed wrongly.

Lastly you say you have used 9335 kwh in 6 months, were they the last 6 months, ie the summer months, if so if you were only using gas to heat the water then that seems to be a very high amount.
It would be a good idea if you started taking regular meter readings, perhaps daily to begin with, that could give you an idea of where you are using energy.

Phew, thats it!

macman

You need to address your extremely high electricity usage-8,374kWh pa is more than twice what would be expected in a property with gas CH and DHW. Start by checking that there is not a back up immersion heater that is being left on 24/7.

irnbru_2

xx_Law_Grad_xx wrote: »

It is quite frightening that the bills are double what they should be.

Gas used Feb 2009/10

1246 x 100 x 1.02264 x 0.0283 ~= 3606

(3606 x 39.1)/3.6 ~= 39165kWh


So:

Elec: 7474.61 -> 8374
Gas: 39165 -> 27520

As pointed out, your electricity consumption has increased though offset by reduced gas usage.

Is your conservatory heated?

Dishwasher say 1kWh per use - save over 300 units a year by using once a day.

On my tariff your predicted usage would incurr £993 & £941 for Electricity and Gas. Seems a good tariff.