High gas and electric bill.

clairesquare

Hi,i was paying eon £136 per month for duel fuel, for a small two bed roomed house with two adults and two kids, and i have just had an email from them to say they are putting the monthly bill up to £199, this seems like alot to me, but im not sure what everyone else is paying as i know everyone bills have gone up, is this average?

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

There are lots of threads on this subject.

The Utility Companies strive to get your account to have a zero balance at(normally) the Spring review.

With the heaviest period of consumption to come, your account should be well in credit at this time of the year.

These days the 'calculations' for an increase in the monthly Direct Debit(DD) to achieve that zero balance are all done automatically by 'The Computer'.

You can always ring the Utility firm and ask for an explanation, and they may reduce the DD as long as you accept that you might have a debit balance at the Review point.

Your consumption for a small 2 bed house is way above average if £136 a month(£1632pa) is insufficient to cover costs.

good_advice

Hiya, the average depends on how much insulation you have and how many hours you have the heating on for.
I recommend to many people on the forum to buy an OWL monitor for seeing how much electric you are using.

sheffield_lad

The typical 3 bed roomed semi pays around £110 per month (£1320 year), for both gas & electric but as the last posters suggest this can vary depending on time of year and insulation.

clairesquare

I will ring them tomorrow, i hope they can lower it as i don't know how i will even pay the bill things were bad enough already, i have completely lowered my usage, left my heating off etc, i have an energy monitor and im using that to check how much electric im using. we are all sat here watching ELF with our dressing gowns over our clothes, blankets over our knees, and just a little halogen heater to heat the room but the dog is lying in front of it and blocking the heat.

macman

You need to provide your annual kWH consumption figures. Quoting monthly DD amounts tells us nothing about your actual usage. Is that DD based on actual usage or estimated? Do you have debt on the account?
Heating by electricity is rather perverse if you have gas CH and DHW, (as dual fuel implies): it's about 3 times more expensive per kWh than gas.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Morning clairesquare,

The other guys have already posted some good info here, so thanks :T

I must agree that the amount you're paying does seem high, but I need your actual usage to look at this properly.

Have the bills been estimated? Do you provide regular reads? Are you on the best tariff/supplier for you? These are all the things you need to have a look at.

I think you should speak to us over the phone and go through your usage and ask for the figures.

You can always come back to me if you need any more help.

Helena

dogshome

I'm afraid the days when you got a Utility bill and maybe just checked the meter reading, are long gone.

In todays market every customer has to do the homework to really understand what is going on - This site is littered with posts from consumers who have had unjustified demands from thier supplier to raise their D/Debits, with EDF in prime position.

To combat this you have to know what your Annual consumption figures of Gas & Elec Kwh are. Go back through past bills to establish this - Do not rely on what the supplier says they are.

Armed with these figures, apply these to your tariff to find your true annual costs - If this doesn't match your suppliers demand, send them an Email headed Complaint setting out your figures

yangptangkipperbang

Cardew wrote: »

The Utility Companies strive to get your account to have a zero balance at(normally) the Spring review.

With the heaviest period of consumption to come, your account should be well in credit at this time of the year.

This would be the logical way to run these types of account - but I am starting to wonder how much logic the energy companies actually employ.

EDF have just presented me with a bill showing me as being £350 in credit. To a simple soul like me that is how it should be at the start of winter.
BUT - not to EDF apparently - they have just given me a refund of £250, leaving me just £100 in credit.

I have to wonder if this is a ploy to get me into the "red" come the spring so that a hefty increase in my DD can then be applied....................

good_advice

Morning Claire
Just talking in general, but I think gone are the days when you just let bills run from year to year. I know, myself with different house hold bills I check and recheck to see if I can get the costs any lower, to balance the rising costs.

Having an energy monitor is very good.
Small changes to the way you run your home help. For example I now try to do the baking at the same time as cooking the dinner so it can all go in the oven at once.

Today as it is sunny, I have all the washing on the line. 2 Loads. Even in December on good dry days. I know I can expect to bring it in half dry @ 3pm, but hay! it is better than soaking wet. I then hang it around the house and it will be dry and aired by morning.

Blankets on sofa's help too! I often watch tv or read a book with an early night.

What every one else is paying? I am paying £80 per month for duel fuel at the moment and £66 in Summer. This is for a 3 bed semi with 4 adults.

A lot less than your £199. I have a well insulated house and I watch bills carefully. Less heating and always unplugging. After a wile it becomes the normal.

Your post says you are trying to lower your use. my good wishes are sent and with willpower you will succeed.

good_advice

yangptangkipperbang wrote: »

This would be the logical way to run these types of account - but I am starting to wonder how much logic the energy companies actually employ.

EDF have just presented me with a bill showing me as being £350 in credit. To a simple soul like me that is how it should be at the start of winter.
BUT - not to EDF apparently - they have just given me a refund of £250, leaving me just £100 in credit.

I have to wonder if this is a ploy to get me into the "red" come the spring so that a hefty increase in my DD can then be applied....................

Hello Yang, I too had this back in September. If your credit is x3x over your DD they send out a cheque as standard.
I have had to top up my account now twice to stop it going into dept. As we have all said, you do need to keep an eye on these bills and not just let then run.
Take care.