First electricity bill - advice wanted

Marches

I moved out of my parents place at the end of last month, contacted the electricity on the 25th and gave them the meter readings for when I moved in and that day.
Received the monthly bill today - £75. I don't really know what to expect, but this seem high. I half expected it to be high though since the flat has no gas, so water and heating is by electricity. I'm out most of the time, but when I'am in I use the heaters quite a lot until I go bed since it's a cold flat and not particularly warm weather.

Is £75 a sensible amount then (considering that I'm not paying for gas)?
The energy supplier will be basing my bills on predicted readings in future (I think), should I make an effort to use less electricity and submit lower readings next month to lower future predicted readings?

molerat

£75 is not unreasonable. Did you supply the billed reading ? How many kWh have you been billed for ? What tariff are you on ? How much are you paying per kWh ?

Nada666

Welcome and, yes, £75 is perfectly reasonable for a winter month where you have had heaters on.

Have a look on you bill to see what your cost per kWh is. And your monthly standing charge. Keep an eye on your meter and see how much an evening's usage costs. Adjust things until comfort and cost is balanced as to whether your pocket or your comfort is happier - however, don't forget that you are expected to budget for winter so don't be scared of high usage then.

If you do turn things down and submit monthly readings then these will be taken into account. You should also have a look on a comparison site and see what other tariffs are available - if you are paying monthly then you may find a cheaper tariff or you can switch to paying by direct debit.

Nada666

Also electric showers are a hidden, or, rather, an unexpected to some high usage item - a twenty minute shower can cost 65 pence or £20 a month!!!

(And don't dismiss changing to low energy bulbs just because you have an all-electric household. Relative to your other items lighting is, of course, negligible - but that doesn't mean you should spend £30 per year instead of £3 per year on it!)

Marches

molerat wrote: »

£75 is not unreasonable. Did you supply the billed reading ? How many kWh have you been billed for ? What tariff are you on ? How much are you paying per kWh ?

That's good to know.

I supplied the readings as the meter is inside. Tariff is Eon Energyplan (not sure how good it is, was the one what was already here I guess).
13.13p per kWh - standing charges at 26.09p per day (what are standing charges btw? Sounds administrative)

Nada666 wrote: »

Welcome and, yes, £75 is perfectly reasonable for a winter month where you have had heaters on.

Have a look on you bill to see what your cost per kWh is. And your monthly standing charge. Keep an eye on your meter and see how much an evening's usage costs. Adjust things until comfort and cost is balanced as to whether your pocket or your comfort is happier - however, don't forget that you are expected to budget for winter so don't be scared of high usage then.

If you do turn things down and submit monthly readings then these will be taken into account. You should also have a look on a comparison site and see what other tariffs are available - if you are paying monthly then you may find a cheaper tariff or you can switch to paying by direct debit.

I'm wondering whether estimated readings will go up in winter months, or if estimated readings are fairly constant? Surely in winter they'll predict a rise in usage?

macman

You haven't told us how many kWh's you have been billed for though.
The standing charge is the daily charge you pay regardless of usage or non-usage.
If you submit your readings every 3 months as you should, you won't be billed on estimated usage.

Nada666

If paying quarterly and there is no actual meter reading then, yes, the estimate will be based on seasonal expectations and will vary. As macman said submit meter readings yourself if you do not want this. (Meter readers do not call every quarter. And certainly will not catch people at home every quarter.)

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Marches

You're doing the right thing in giving us meter readings. Taking regular meter readings is the best way to understand your usage.

Managing the number of kWhs used will go along way towards helping reduce bills and we can help with this.

Have a chat with our Energy Efficiency team. Tell them about your property and appliances. They specialise in helping people cut back.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful advice to help you save.

Check out our website, too. Particularly the 'Interactive House' and 'Energy Menu.' More good tips here.

Energyplan is our standard product. There are other tariffs available that may save you money. I'd pop your details on to one of the independent comparison sites. This will list all your options, both with us and the other suppliers.

There's also extra discount available with us for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit.

As macman says, standing charges are a fixed daily rate for your connection. This is charged regardless of usage and covers things like meter reading, maintenance and keeping you connected to the networks.

Hope this is useful Marches. Give me a shout if you need any more info as happy to help.

Malc

Marches

macman wrote: »

You haven't told us how many kWh's you have been billed for though.
The standing charge is the daily charge you pay regardless of usage or non-usage.
If you submit your readings every 3 months as you should, you won't be billed on estimated usage.

I think it was something like 572 KWh over 25 days (haven't got the bill to hand)

Wywth

Marches wrote: »

I think it was something like 572 KWh over 25 days (haven't got the bill to hand)

Marches wrote: »

...Is £75 a sensible amount then ...

Yes, that is reasonable.