very high reading - help!

geet

i have just shifted houses. today i called n power and checked my bill with actual readings. they gave me a staggering figure of £225. they said the electricity usage was ok but the gas was on the higher side. in my old flat i used to pay £50 average per month for gas and electricity. we are the same two people in a similar two bed flat where one room is not used. we were with edf.

the £225 is for 45 days of which for 15 days we were away. standing charges apart, we seem to have incurred 325 units of gas over 30 days! i think this is impossible for this averages to 28,000 kWhs per year!!! we are very conscious of energy use and i would consider us as low users (proven by our bills in the past in the previous flat) which calculation sites say is around 11,000 kWhs. seems the average for high users who have a big family with at least four bedrooms is around 23,000 kWhs. and we are looking at 28,000 kWhs!!!

i tried all calculations, tried to think if we were careless, checked if meter is working properly etc but just cannot understand how the figure is so high, however i am pretty sure something is wrong though i can't put my finger on it.

everyone is talking about a maximum 10% hike due to price rise, i would even have grudgingly accepted a 100% hike due to carelessness but to get a bill for £225 for 45 days (of which 15 days we were away) is shocking. i don't know what to do.

matelodave

Have you been reading the meter regularly or is this just a sudden catch-up reading - was the previous meter reading an actual or an estimate.
You need to monitor your meters, ideally weekly (daily is better if you think you've got a problem) to see how much you are using and when - hopefully you'll be able to see what is using the power. You can then do something to reduce your consumption or change what you are doing.
Check things like timers, thermostats both heating & water temperature (you have got stats, haven't you)
It's too late when the bill comes in and you've already used it.

techno12

Yeah that seems a lot, but I guess it depends if your heating is on yet, and if so, for how long.

I'm currently using 18 units of gas a month as I haven't clicked the heating on yet (warmest autumn I've known!). That's just me, a daily shower and hob a few times a week - plus the boiler pilot light is permanently on.

As matelodave said, it may well be a catch up bill.

If you take monthly readings you'll get a monthly bill from NPower (most months - for some reason they haven't issued me one for this month).

[Deleted User]

Did you read the meter when you moved in? Are you paying for gas used by the previous occupier?

Andy_WSM

geet wrote: »

we seem to have incurred 325 units of gas over 30 days! i think this is impossible for this averages to 28,000 kWhs per year!!!

Oh no it doesn't! You wouldn't be using your heating in the later part of Spring, all Summer and the beginning of Autumn, so averaging out at this time of year just doesn't work.

geet

Thanks everyone.
matelodave, this is a catch up reading with previous reading an actual one. yes, i think i will monitor for a week. i will continue using in the same manner and check usage. i still don't believe the reading!
techno12, we put it on for approx 4 hours in the night and 4 hours early morning and hot water for two showers. cooking is electric. but this is the same as in my previous flat.
jack-pott, the reading may be an issue as we did not do it ourselves, we wrote down what the agent gave us. but she is friends of previous tenant and lives next door and she confirmed yesterday that she did the reading. and we believe her.
Andy-WSM, you are right! can't average out a winter month, thanks! that is our only cheer.
Anything else that could be a problem??? will get back in a week.
thanks, g

macman

Never ever accept a third party reading, agent or friend-do it yourself.

matelodave

I'll second Macman's advice - always read the meter yourself, even when the meter reader has read it.
You cannot rely on someone else to do it properly and I'd be a bit wary of a reading by a friend of a previous tenant.

geet

Oh ho... looks like we were too naive... but why would she take the risk of lying - we could have checked (like most people would have) and found her out?

geet

I have been monitoring the gas meter the past three days and have found that we spend 9 units each day. So sadly, maybe 325 units over 47 days of which 13 days we were not at home (but had it come on one hr a day) is correct. Now, to check if this 9 units is right for the radiators we use. Can this be verified at all? The boiler is on for total 9 hrs a day - the living room is on thermostat 3, both bedrooms in 1, hallway in 2, kitchen in 2 and the small one in bathroom in 6. Plus two showers. Is 9 units right for this consumption? I don't understand thermostats and how they work as my previous flat did not have any.

To bring it to a cost of £50 a month, we must use only three units a day!!!

macman

'Gas unit' size depends on whether your meter is metric or imperial-which is it?
The conversion to kWh varies by more than 300% depending on the above.