Key meters

ipie

I seem to be spending about 300 pounds a month on gas and electric at the momemt which is beyond ridiculous . I have a four bedroom house. with central heating, two electric showers and a electric oven. Wont use the tumble dryer as its so expensive to run I try and keep turning everything off. Someone mentioned that key meters are more expensive than direct debits is this true? I rang the supplier and they said it shouldn't push the costs up that much. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I can not afford to keep paying this much.

Thanks

macman

PPM's cost the same as the supplier's Standard tariff. A credit meter will give you access to the online discount tariffs, but you may have to pay around £50 per meter change, and pass the credit check.

Wywth

IPA wrote: »

I seem to be spending about 300 pounds a month on gas and electric at the mom emt which is beyond ridiculous . I have a four bedroom house. with central heating, two electric showers and a electric oven. Wont use the tumble dryer as its so expensive to run I try and keep turning everything off. Someone mentioned that key meters are more expensive than direct debits is this true? I rang the supplier and they said it shouldn't push the costs up that much. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I can not afford to keep paying this much.

Thanks

£300 per month?
I agree, that does seem beyond ridiculous.

We live in a 3 bed property and only pay about £600 for the whole year ... although we are obviously not as extravagant with our usage as some.

Contact your supplier, or look at their website for ideas on how to reduce your consumption.

sheffield_lad

Wywth wrote: »

£300 per month?
I agree, that does seem beyond ridiculous.

We live in a 3 bed property and only pay about £600 for the whole year ... although we are obviously not as extravagant with our usage as some.

Contact your supplier, or look at their website for ideas on how to reduce your consumption.

Just to put this into context for the op and others wondering about their own usage. £600 is very very low. A typical house 3 bed gas/electric will pay around £1300-1400 per year or £110-£120 per month

Fire_Fox

Heating and power showers are the big energy guzzlers so these are what you should focus on, followed by tumble dryer and washing machine. In the grand scheme of things lighting and gadgets are not going to make a huge difference. Be sure your house is properly insulated or you will be paying to heat the street.

See if it would be cheaper to switch to a different supplier, also run some experiments to see if you think the meter is functioning correctly.

Wywth

howee wrote: »

Just to put this into context for the op and others wondering about their own usage. £600 is very very low. A typical house 3 bed gas/electric will pay around £1300-1400 per year or £110-£120 per month

And just to put this into context, a typical household will pay £1300-1400 per year IF THEY HAVE NOT SHOPPED AROUND

Follow this MSE advice and potentially save £100s
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity

Combine this with savings available by reducing consumption.

ipie

Thanks for all your helpful advice. This weekend i am going to conduct an experiment to see if the meter is running correctly and look into insulation. I am also going to look into changing company depending on usage following the experiment. I wish i had posted this at the beginning of the winter.x

HappyMJ

I don't suppose there is any debt on the meter? Press the buttons on the meter and cycle through the display and it should display any debt if any and it's deduction rate.

ipie

There is no debt on the meter i am informed by the company but I will check it out myself .

Byba

I live in London in a 3 bed flat. I'm using 12m3 of gas per day in heating and hot water. 2 adults 1 child, gas cooker but electric oven. Gas prepayment meter costs about £8 per 24hrs, that's with British gas and not counting the electric. How do you compare?

Wywth

Byba wrote: »

I live in London in a 3 bed flat. I'm using 12m3 of gas per day in heating and hot water. 2 adults 1 child, gas cooker but electric oven. Gas prepayment meter costs about £8 per 24hrs, that's with British gas and not counting the electric. How do you compare?

12m3 of gas per day would cost less than £7 a day with Ebico
(representing an immediate saving of 15%)
Ebico are not usually the lowest cost provider either, especially if you are not a low user.

I suggest you switch and save as per this article:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity