Extremely high electric bill

kezziebeat

Hi all,

I'm a bit stuck on what to do in my situation. Eon have told me there is nothing they can do but I think something is really wrong.

I live in a 1 bedroom flat, there is no gas, only electric.
The boiler is always turned off as I use the kettle for washing up as the water is hotter. The heating is off during the day and comes on for 2 hours before 9am and then 3 hours after 7.
It's very rare that anyone is home during the day and everything is switched off when no one is home (bar the sky box, router and fridge freezer)

I have just had my latest bill from Eon and they say between 18th November and 23rd January my electric charges are £587.29.
In fact there was a price increase on 18th Jan and they say my charge between 18th Jan and 23rd Jan was £41.08!

There has been a dispute going on for a while, I had a bill through for £1600 for a year and I fought it and they admitted they were using estimated readings and knocked £500 off, but I've put in new readings since then and that £500 has come right back on!

My Dad suggested turning the switch boxes off for a few hours and seeing if the meter still ticked over which would mean that someone was stealing it, I tried that and it didn't move so that's not the answer.

I'm really stuck and I can't see any options other than to pay it, but the amount per month would be £300+ which is more than my rent!
Have I got any other options?

Nada666

You need to establish how much you are using day to day just now rather than month to month.

Start reading your meter more frequently - even read it over an evening before and after you start your heating. (Before it gets totally freezing try this week cooking before you put the heating on and separate those usages.)

Once you have got a closer idea on how much you are using you will then have a better idea if the problem is with no insulation or too much heat or too much cooking or too much hot water.

Your post isn't clear on your actual monthly usage - whether or not it includes a catch-up or re-catch-up or not.

Five hours a day for two or three rooms - unfortunately it is not at all unlikely that that does end up costing you £2 or £300* per month in winter. Can you switch some heaters off? Bedroom only in the morning, sitting room only in the evening?

(And make sure you pay by direct debit so you can both spread the cost and change to a (probably) much cheaper tariff.)

* Edit - okay, £300 a little high - probably be £225 at most (assuming three heaters, no insulation using 1,000 kWh per month - £130 to £170).

[Deleted User]

excellent advice from Nada666, also check if you have an electric dial meter, ( 6 small rotating dials with pointers ). These are always getting misread by both meter readers and customers.

penrhyn

Its your heating that is using up most of your electricity, I assume you have panel heaters, using day rate electricity which is one of the most expensive ways to heat your home.
Good advice above, take daily readings.

You say your heating is on for 5 hours a day, I guess you have several heaters say 4 rooms, 2 Kw heater per room, so say 20-40 Kwh usage per day. If you pay 16pence per Kwh. Thats between around £ 3.20 - £6.40 a day.
It all adds up to around £96 - £192 a month.

Consumerist

kezziebeat wrote: »

I have just had my latest bill from Eon and they say between 18th November and 23rd January my electric charges are £587.29.
In fact there was a price increase on 18th Jan and they say my charge between 18th Jan and 23rd Jan was £41.08!

Was the bill based on actual/customer readings or estimated readings? You really need to submit readings every month; you can normally do this online.

Since there has been a recent price increase, I assume you are on their standard variable tariff so you ought to look at getting a cheaper tariff, as suggested above.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi kezziebeat

Already some excellent advice on here. Thanks all.

Just to re-iterate what's been said, concentrate on what you're actually using in kWh. Take regular meter readings and build up a picture of your ongoing usage.

You mention the latest bill is to actual meter readings following a period of estimated bills. As Nada666 asks, is part of the latest bill a catch up following some under-estimated bills? If it is, this can give a distorted picture.

Once you've an idea of your usage, pop the details on to one of the comparison sites. This will list all the tariffs available to you, both with us and the other suppliers. Make sure you're on the best deal for you.

If it turns out you're actually using more electricity than you realised, look at ways to cut back. We can help with this.

Have a chat with our Energy Efficiency team. Tell them about your property and appliances. They specialise in helping customers reduce their usage and will be happy to help.

Checkout our website, too. More good energy saving ideas here.

Hope this is of interest kezziebeat. Let me know if you need any more information as will be happy to help.

Malc