Average gas and electric bill?

Kate_Baker

Hi all,

Sharing concerns on cost of living currently - it's a nightmare and a constant worry.
One little tip my good friend let me in on was the amount of energy/money to be saved by making sure you have the right lightbulbs in your house.

I can recommend these guys - The Lightbulb Company as they have energy saving calculators onsite and also regularly offer good discounts. I just used this 25% discount code at their checkout - LBCMSE . Whether that's allowed or not I am not sure but thought I would share the wealth!

Popperwell

Any ideas could help...

Popperwell

I've had a quote from Sainsbury's regarding duel fuel..doesn't seem cheap to me and is as confusing as ever...It's still coming out at around £1,500 or the year for both...

Amyteddy

I must be really lucky. We're a family of 2 adults, 1 child and we live in a 2 bed terraced house, with dining room living room, kitchen & bathroom and I pay £49 a month for both gas & electric combined. And I don't even use all that, my quarterly bill is always around £110-120. We don't scrimp on heating either, if it's cold we put it on, and I cook every day (gas oven) and do 2 loads of washing every single day. The only thing I Makesure I do is always turn lights/plugs off and leave nothing on standby. I can't believe how much some of you pay! (I'm with British gas)

Cardew

Amyteddy wrote: »

I must be really lucky. We're a family of 2 adults, 1 child and we live in a 2 bed terraced house, with dining room living room, kitchen & bathroom and I pay £49 a month for both gas & electric combined. And I don't even use all that, my quarterly bill is always around £110-120. We don't scrimp on heating either, if it's cold we put it on, and I cook every day (gas oven) and do 2 loads of washing every single day. The only thing I Makesure I do is always turn lights/plugs off and leave nothing on standby. I can't believe how much some of you pay! (I'm with British gas)[/QUOTE

Welcome to the forum.]

Your gas/electricity costs are less 50% of the UK average. - which is 3,300kWh electricity and 16,500kWh gas.

Being in a terraced house helps on heating - assuming a mid tce.

I cannot see how all your quarterly bills are always £110 -£120 as the winter quarter bill is usually 2 or 3 times more expensive than the summer quarter. In any case an annual bill of £440 to £480 would mean a monthly payment of under £40!

Perhaps your meter(s) is faulty?

P.S. Standby consumption is tiny. Most TV's will cost under £1 a year if left on standby 24/7.

JG_Singh

I live alone in a 30's 3-bedroom semi-detached, my quarterly gas bills (British Gas) for last year were between £130 - £280, only for central heating, hot water & cooking. My boiler was changed 4 years ago. Since British Gas announced the 6% increase in gas prices, my bill for has gone up to £293.80 for January's bill, £422.50 for April's bill & £878.66 for July's bill. That's a 200% increase!!

Now, I work from home most of the time so on colder months the heating does come on more often. I have not changed my habits so there are no changes in my gas usage. I thought it might be a gas leak but can't detect anything either through a burns test. Most of my friends with a larger household do not even pay as much as I do on an average.

I have called British Gas & they are currently investigating this matter. But can someone tell me how much does a standard household pay for gas as I think I am paying much much more?

Wywth

JG_Singh wrote: »

I live alone in a 30's 3-bedroom semi-detached, my quarterly gas bills (British Gas) for last year were between £130 - £280, only for central heating, hot water & cooking. My boiler was changed 4 years ago. Since British Gas announced the 6% increase in gas prices, my bill for has gone up to £293.80 for January's bill, £422.50 for April's bill & £878.66 for July's bill. That's a 200% increase!!

Now, I work from home most of the time so on colder months the heating does come on more often. I have not changed my habits so there are no changes in my gas usage. I thought it might be a gas leak but can't detect anything either through a burns test. Most of my friends with a larger household do not even pay as much as I do on an average.

I have called British Gas & they are currently investigating this matter. But can someone tell me how much does a standard household pay for gas as I think I am paying much much more?

The average medium household uses 16500kWh og gas and 3300kWh of electricity.
This costs about £1300 for a user on the suppliers standard, pay quarterly traiff but will be charged at your tariff rates.

What you don't mention is whether whether there has been a change of tariff (prehaps a fixed tariff came to an end?) or more likely if any of the bills were based on estimated readings, so possibly involve a catchup amount.

matelodave

As said above, have you racked up some arrears that are now being collected because you've been getting estimated bills and not correcting them.

Last winter was extremely cold and prolonged so, even though you might have thought that you haven't change the timers or thermostats the heating will have been working considerably harder just to maintain the indoor temperatures that you had last year.

Without having details of your usage in kw to check whether you've used more or less it's impossible to know if you are being overcharged, if your consumption has increased or your tariff has changed.

Read your meter regularly and often - at least monthly (weekly is better), record the results so you can see what's happening. Make sure any estimated bills are corrected immediately - you can usually phone in your own reading if their estimate is wrong. You'll then get an accurate record of what you are using and when you are using it. You'll also have better information when you use comparison sites to get yourself on a better tariff.

amtrakuk

These "how much does everyone else use pay" threads tickle me. Its simple, if you feel your energy bills are to high then they probably are for your circumstances.

One of my work colleagues prides themselves on having quarterly bills of around £200 for a 2 bed semi. Sounds good but their lifestyle doesn't match mine - all radiators turned off except in the living room and bedroom and even then heating on only 4 hours a day. All appliances are unplugged (including digi box and router etc) only being plugged in as and when they are being used. Electric shower only actually used before and after soaping etc.

There are two main factors to consider. How much your willing to pay for what level of comfort. Yes you can make some sugnificant savings if your willing to go the extra mile and make some sacrifices.