Confused by usage.

GeoffBungle

I've been meaning to post this for a while, wish I'd done so sooner in light of today's news! I've had a look around for similar threads but it seems to be a fairly unusual problem I was hoping you wise individuals could assist with.

I'm with NPower and my monthly direct debit (gas and elec) has - unsurprisingly - crept upwards. With a view to possibly switching tariffs/provider I logged onto my account to try and work out my home's average usage - but have been left utterly confused by what I found.

Electricity is no problem. There are figures dating back to March last year which all seem to hover around the 150 kwh mark - with a bit of a dip over the summer.

Gas, however, is a different story. The figures only stretch back to March this year, when our monthly usage was recorded as 311 kwh. In April, when I submitted a meter reading, the monthly figure jumps to an improbable 7807 kwh! The reading for May is 1215 kwh, and drops in June to 591 kwh.

I submitted a reading last month, and again this month, and my meter recorded 121 cubic metres were used in that time. NPower calculate this works out at 815 kwh - but I'm unable to reach the same number using various calculations online, and get a figure closer to 1,300*.

I phoned NPower and they confirmed my suspicions that the abnormally high reading for May was an attempt to average out subsequent months. They've advised me to record exact monthly figures to get more accurate results, but in light of today's price hike announcement I'm quite prepared to bin them off in favour of someone else.

But, because the readings I do have are all over the place, I'm not confident that any 'average usage' amounts I enter into a switching website will be accurate, and I might actually be disadvantaging myself in the long run.

So, good people of MSE - any ideas?

*Standard correction factor, calorific value 39.2 according to last bill.

nPower

GeoffBungle wrote: »

I've been meaning to post this for a while, wish I'd done so sooner in light of today's news! I've had a look around for similar threads but it seems to be a fairly unusual problem I was hoping you wise individuals could assist with.

I'm with NPower and my monthly direct debit (gas and elec) has - unsurprisingly - crept upwards. With a view to possibly switching tariffs/provider I logged onto my account to try and work out my home's average usage - but have been left utterly confused by what I found.

Electricity is no problem. There are figures dating back to March last year which all seem to hover around the 150 kwh mark - with a bit of a dip over the summer.

Gas, however, is a different story. The figures only stretch back to March this year, when our monthly usage was recorded as 311 kwh. In April, when I submitted a meter reading, the monthly figure jumps to an improbable 7807 kwh! The reading for May is 1215 kwh, and drops in June to 591 kwh.

I submitted a reading last month, and again this month, and my meter recorded 121 cubic metres were used in that time. NPower calculate this works out at 815 kwh - but I'm unable to reach the same number using various calculations online, and get a figure closer to 1,300*.

I phoned NPower and they confirmed my suspicions that the abnormally high reading for May was an attempt to average out subsequent months. They've advised me to record exact monthly figures to get more accurate results, but in light of today's price hike announcement I'm quite prepared to bin them off in favour of someone else.

But, because the readings I do have are all over the place, I'm not confident that any 'average usage' amounts I enter into a switching website will be accurate, and I might actually be disadvantaging myself in the long run.

So, good people of MSE - any ideas?

*Standard correction factor, calorific value 39.2 according to last bill.

Hello GeoffBungle,


Thank you for your post. If you can email your details to the address on my profile page I can get this looked into and someone to call you to discuss.


Thanks

Carmel

dogshome

Your post is a bit difficult to follow as you Qte Meter Readings and Kwh charged, but not both figures together for the same period.

However, something is seriously awry - You have a Metric meter which will produce *11.2 chargeable Kwh for each meter unit recorded
*This 11.2 figure varies on every bill as the calculation is adjusted for the calorific value of the gas supplied during the billing period, but the variation is quite small

Your reported n'Power calculation of 121 Meter Units being billed as only 815 Kwh is clearly a nonsense - It should be close to 1,355 Kwh - Check your interpretation of the bill and if it is correct, check very other Gas bill you've had from n'Power and list all errors in a letter headed Complaint

Nada666

What do your meter readings tell you? Do you not have dated meter readings of your own to simplify disentangling bills and instalments? (If not start to take them now. Also look through old bills looking for non-estimated readings and use them compared to now.)

Don't forget that if have overestimated your usage and you are not on a fixed deal with increases looming that estimate will be in your favour.

GeoffBungle

Hi all. Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the delay in my own response but I've been busy with family stuff recently.

I shall send an e-mail to the address Carmel provided in the hope she can shed some light on it.

Nada - I've resolved to take monthly readings to avoid these issues in the future. Previously I've only been submitting them when requested by my supplier (every six months?).

closed

compare the actual readings from around a year ago with now, and subtract

http://www.energylinx.co.uk/gas_meter_conversion.html

Nada666

Also make sure you are not confusing differences in meter readings and meter readings and usage in kWhs. That may be part of the confusion with your first post.

GeoffBungle

closed wrote: »

compare the actual readings from around a year ago with now, and subtract

http://www.energylinx.co.uk/gas_meter_conversion.html

This is it - I don't have the actual readings - everything before March this year is a blank.

Also make sure you are not confusing differences in meter readings and meter readings and usage in kWhs. That may be part of the confusion with your first post.

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean. I reached the same figure of around 1,300 using widely-available conversion equations, so am reasonably confident I'm not getting mixed up. If I am missing something blindingly obvious (and it's entirely possible I am!) please do let me know!

Thank you.

closed

if you really have no way of viewing bills from a year ago, call them and ask