A cruel blow from British Gas.

octogenarian

Good Morning and thanks to those of you that have had the patience to bear with me so far.
Already my head is spinning but here are my first efforts of the day.

Gas.
20 May 2012 - 02 Aug 2012 £14.42 in credit gas usage 31.59 kWh
03 Aug 2012 - 24 Oct 2012 £83.79 in credit. gas usage 1445.91 kWh

25 Oct 2012 - 20 Feb 2013 £68.15 in debit gas usage 6538.02 kWh
21 Feb 2013 - 09 May 2013 £133.72 in debit. gas usage 3834.80 kWh
10 May 2013 - 07 Aug 2013 £136.53 in debit gas usage 1670.20 kWh
...........................................................................
Electric.
19 Feb 2012 - 02 Aug 2012 £194.84 in credit. electric usage 532.00 kWh

03 Aug 2012 - 24 Oct 2012 £394.52 in credit. electric usage 1054.00 kWh
25 Oct 2012 - 15 Jul 2013 £680.51 in debit. electric usage 9212.00 kWh
This statement is a replacement for the one dated 20 February 2013.
That is as quoted from British Gas.
...............................................................................
My reply from British Gas.

Your Debit balance at the time of reassessment: zero

Annual Period and usages: 21 February 2013 to 15 January 2014: 9733 kWh

Annual Charges: £1339.64

Total charges: £1339.64
Payment Received from the past instalment: 348.00

Balance amount to be received: £854.00

Number of payment: 7

Your payment amount: £122.00

I expect my gas for central heating and hot water to be a little higher but find the ammount of electric used a little excessive.

victor2

octogenarian wrote: »

I expect my gas for central heating and hot water to be a little higher but find the ammount of electric used a little excessive.

I'd agree with that statement, assuming the bills are based on actual readings.
Taking the gas usage from Aug 3, 2012 to Aug 7, 2013, that works out at an effective annual usage of about 13,343 kWh, so not too bad at all.
The electricity from Aug 3, 2012 to Jul 7, 2013 works out at an annual usage of about 10,830kWh, which does appear to be very high, especially when you look at Feb 19 to Aug 2, 2012 usage, which was 532kWh, or an annualised usage of 1,177kWh.

So, why has the electricity usage jumped so much? Is it definitely based on actual readings, or was there an estimated one in there somewhere?
If you can verify that actual readings have been used, then you can dig into the figures a bit more to try to identify when the usage increased so dramatically. Do you provide meter readings more often than the billing shows, or just wait for the meter reader to turn up?
Could be something like you supplemented your central heating with an electric heater. Is that a possibility?

Bit of detective work required, if you're up for it...

macman

Your electricity usage is about 300% more than would be expected. Something seriously awry here.

sheffield_lad

Agree with posts above, have you an electric heater in the
conservatory?
under floor in the bathroom?
have you used an immersion?

What type of electric meter do you have dials or digits?

dogshome

Hi Octogenarian - Very strange Elec figures

In a house with adequate Gas heating, the seasonal variation in Elec consumption is quite small, just a bit higher in winter because the lights get turned on earlier

Your 532 Kwh figure for the 166 day period 19/2/12 - 1/8/12 includes 2 Winter months is remarkably low at 3.2Kwh a day - Was this Bill issued on Estimated reading ?

Your 1054 Kwh figure for the 82 day period 3/8/12 - 24/10/12 is 12.85 Kwh a day, a huge jump in consumption in the Summer ! - This could be explained if the previous bill was an Estimation and then this Bill is based on an actual reading

Your 9,212 Kwh figure for the 264 day period 25/10/12 - 15/7/13 works out to a huge 35 Kwh a day

?'s
Are you supplementing the gas heating with Electric heaters in the Winter ?
Do you have a 'Dial' meter as per my post #10 ?
Do you have an Electric Immersion Heater which has been left on ?
Do you have the bills for the year prior to 2012 - 2013 and how do the 2 years compare ?

Obviously something has gone wrong and it's a question of elimination to find out what
The possibilities are:
Meter mis-reads
Faulty meter
An Appliance or Wiring fault in your home
Meter feeding something outside your property

octogenarian

Thank you all once again, I have been trying all day to try and be a bit more responsive but it must be silly head week for me at the moment because I am unable to sustain any concentration.
To answer the main questions:
I have a digital meter.
I do not supplement my gas heating with an Electric fire.
Have relied on estimated as opposed to actual reading.
Possible concern about immersion heater, not knowing anything about them or even if I have one.
Perhaps I should have someone visit and explain to my wife how to adjust the hot water temperature or at the very least leave instructions. Whose resposibility would that be BG or Social Services?



The irony is that All this would not have been a problem three or four years ago. Age brings a sudden maze of problems that are so hard to visualise after a life time of independence.

victor2

Estimated readings can throw your billings way out.
Look at your previous bills, if you still have them or can view them online, and get the readings used, along with the indication of which are estimated and which are actual (from you or a meter reader). It should indicate on the bill with something like E next to the estimated readings.

If you have an immersion heater, there will be an electric cable going to your hot water tank and a switch or timer near it. You will also quite possibly have a separate circuit from your fuse box or panel with breakers in it, which may even be labelled.
With gas hot water and heating you rarely, if ever, need an immersion heater, as gas is cheaper.

To get an idea how much electricity you are currently using, read your meter weekly, or even daily if you want, and make a note of the reading. The difference between the two readings will be the kWh you have used. Given the huge difference you have between your reported figures, you'll soon get an idea how much you are using.

You could call BG for advice, but I doubt if they'll actually send someone out. If you know of a local electrician you can trust, it may be worth asking him to pay you a visit. He'll probably charge a fee, but no harm in asking.

macman

BG have no responsibility for your domestic wiring or heating arrangements. I'd be investing in a cheap Owl monitor or similar to start with (once misreads have been ruled out). Unfortunately without actual readings it makes tracking this much more complicated. Which bill reads are actuals, and is the most recent bill read an actual? If not, read it and resubmit. You really need 3 monthly reads ideally.

Mojisola

Ask AgeUk if they - or any of the other local charities - run a Handyman Service. Explain the problem you're having and see if they have someone qualified to help.

Otherwise, as Victor says, get a local electrician in to do a check on the electrics - again explain the problem and see if he/she can identify the problem. It will save money in the long run.

octogenarian

Thank you all, I shall as suggested enquire what help is available from AgeUk.
While I am here these are the remittance details received for my Oxygen concentrator.
30/04/2013 to 31/07/2013.
Units consumed. 2194.
Daily Usage. 23.59.
Conc. Power 0.28 KW
Electricity rate. 0.1353
Payment £83.12. Which is reimbursed. Is that about right?
Thank you.