£4,500 Electricity Bill

Vin2300

Have just received a £4,500 electricity bill - and worried it might actually be right! Hoping someone can shed some light.

Moved to our current supplier in Jan 2010 and gave them an initial reading of about 5,500 units. We have a past bill that says Actual reading was around 9,200 in June 2011. Latest bill says Actual reading of just over 50,000. So we appear to have jumped from an average usage of 247 units per month in the first period to an average usage of 2133 units per month in the second period. Our direct debits have presumably been based on the lower usage - our bills did seem quite low.

Does this usage sound right? We live in a modern 2-bed flat with electric heaters and no gas.

I have had a look at the meter and it appears that there are two rates, Rate 1 and Rate 4. It appears to me that my initial Customer reading and the next four subsequent Actual readings were all the Rate 4 reading, but this time they have used the Rate 1 reading. Why is there two different readings and what are they for?

jaybeetoo

rate 1 is your normal daytime tariff
rate 4 is night time tariff

Richie-from-the-Boro

- the meter is an E7 type meter for night store heating systems
- you could be on an E7 tariff or your supplier may average the 1 & 4 counter for standard tariff

Read this for E7

- go online and find out your supplier and tariff name and let the group know
- I assume you submit monthly meter readings and and have an e-account with your direct debit payments
- it does happen, meter readers do get the 1&4 mixed up .. .. often, but online customers usually notice within a single month !

Vin2300

Our heaters are electric, but i dont think they are storage heaters. They are quite slim wall-mounted things, with digital timers and the only heat control being a knob with settings of 1 to 6. Heat is only produced on 5 or 6 - any lower and they switch off.

Our supplier is EDF and we are on 'Standard (Variable)'. To be honest, i havent submitted a reading in ages, but our meters are in a communal cupboard and it looks like the supplier has been taking reasonably regular readings. Its just that they seem to have been reading Rate 4 and this time have read Rate 1.

Should we have been billed on Rate 1 all along? Or should it be some sort of combination of the two?

Vin2300

Actually, looking back at when we signed up, we were initially on the 'Online S@aver Version 4' tariff. Though a more recent bill says 'Standard (Variable)'.

Richie-from-the-Boro

- any 'standard' anything tariff is rip off speak for the most expensive tariff they offered and you accepted
- your 'slim wall-mounted things' are panel heaters on the expensive core day rate because they 'store' nothing
- if you are on an E7 two rate tariff with no storage of cheap rate water and heat you are absolutely on the wrong tariff
- if you are on an E7 tariff with panel heaters you could easily double the UK average of £1200pa

Go to your account and dig out the original 2010 1 & 4 readings, the 1 [expensive day rate] is usually twice or more then the 4 [cheaper night rate] so you should be able to recognise the numbers. However it seems you have been giving them only one number [counter] anyway. I can see why you are confused - I am also confused.

- you have an E7 meter
- you may or may not be on an E7 tariff - sort this first - are you on an E7 tariff ?
- get the counter numbers for every read since 2010, they will have them

Fire_Fox

Can you access your meters? Ask the landlord or caretaker or managing agent, go read them yourselves, take photos on your mobile phone of the meters if you are at all unsure. Also take and post up photos of your heaters if you are unsure what they are. We need to know if you have a one rate or two rate (economy 7) meter.

Agree check if you are on an economy 7 tariff or not so ask EDF if you are unsure. You should not be on standard because that is usually the most expensive, we you on a deal that ended and didn't do anything about it?

macman

Vin2300 wrote: »

Actually, looking back at when we signed up, we were initially on the 'Online S@aver Version 4' tariff. Though a more recent bill says 'Standard (Variable)'.

That EDF tariff expired way back on 31/12/10, as you would have been advised when you signed up. You then default onto Standard tariff unless you pick another tariff. So unfortunately you've been paying for the most expensive tariff for over two years now.
The supplier only has to read the meters every two year; any other reads are down to you if you want to avoid big catch-up bills.
How can you not know what type of heaters you have? If they come on at night between about midnight and 7am then they're storage heaters.If you have standard convectors but an E7 tariff, then you are paying a premium rate for all the time you use them, compared to a single rate tariff.

Vin2300

Thanks for the replies.

So it looks like we have an E7 meter, but no storage heaters. As i understand it, what you are saying is that the E7 meter is a waste of time in our development as the builder put panel heaters in?

I have looked back through our bills and there is no suggestion of us ever being charged different daytime and night time rates. They would surely have sought two readings at some point. So im fairly sure we are not on an E7 tariff.

Fire Fox - yes i can access the meter and it is definitely a two rate meter. You press a button to switch between the Rate 1 and Rate 4 readings.

Our Rate 1 is at about 50000 and the Rate 4 is at about 13000. Does the 50000 represent the total number of units, or have 63000 billable units been used?

I getting the impression we owe them a shedload of money!

macman

It appears that you have a 2 rate E7 meter but a single rate tariff-to do this the two tiers are totalled, and all units are billed at the same rate. Some suppliers will allow this, others will insist on a meter change.
The property would originally have had storage heaters. Ripping them out has trebled your heating costs.

Fire_Fox

macman wrote: »

The property would originally have had storage heaters. Ripping them out has trebled your heating costs.

It might not have done, we have E7 meters yet panel heaters and I've owned from when the flats were converted from offices. I'm guessing somebody decided to go for the cheaper heaters after the new electricity supplies and meters were installed.

Vin2300 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

So it looks like we have an E7 meter, but no storage heaters. As i understand it, what you are saying is that the E7 meter is a waste of time in our development as the builder put panel heaters in?

I have looked back through our bills and there is no suggestion of us ever being charged different daytime and night time rates. They would surely have sought two readings at some point. So im fairly sure we are not on an E7 tariff.

Fire Fox - yes i can access the meter and it is definitely a two rate meter. You press a button to switch between the Rate 1 and Rate 4 readings.

Our Rate 1 is at about 50000 and the Rate 4 is at about 13000. Does the 50000 represent the total number of units, or have 63000 billable units been used?

I getting the impression we owe them a shedload of money!

One rate is day and one is night I think, I guess you have only been paying for the night rate and this bill represents ALL the day rate units for several years.

IF they have been reading the meters wrong as well as you, just one of the two rates, you might try asking their Complaints Team for a hefty discount since they have billed your incorrectly. I have no idea whether they will go for that but I don't see you have much to lose. How many times do you think they have read the meters incorrectly?