[SOLVED]Is my electricity bill correct? (£183/3month/1 bed flat/2 occupants)

AlbiCat

First of all, hello to everyone. I'm new to MSE and have so far found the community to be very insightful and friendly from the other posts I've read.
I've turned to MSE forum as I've not had to pay electricity for a couple of years (been living with relatives) and now I'm in my own flat I'm shocked at the cost of my electricity bill. I realise in the past couple of years that electricity costs have increased a lot so I'm unsure whether my bill is realistic or erroneous. I've spoke to other people and read plenty of posts on forums to try to ascertain whether I'm paying to much but as household electricity demands vary wildly its hard to apply any comparisons.
I will outline my current costs and electricity usage and if anyone reading this is in a similar size property with similar demands could help me decipher whether my bill is realistic, I would very much appreciate it.
First/Current Bill:
My first bill is for the period 25th April to 18th July.
Total cost: £183.23
This is broken down to:
Day energy - 843 kWh @ 17.43p/unit (£146.93)
Night energy - 72 kWh @ 7.5p/unit (£5.40)
Standing charge - 85 days @ 26.1p/day (£22.18)
VAT @ 5% (£8.72)
My supplier is Swalec on an Economy 7 tarif
Bill is currently paid as and when (no direct-debit or payment plan)
Property and Occupants:
The property is a 1 bed flat in the south of Wales.
It consists of 1 bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen.
There is just myself and my partner occupying the property. We are both currently unemployed but volunteer in charity shops meaning we are regularly out during the day.
Electricity meter is in a cafe below. Hard to get access to so regular checks are impossible.
Household Electricity Demands:
Living room -
Main light (ES bulb), lamp (replaces main light in use), TV and a PC (used fairly often. never left on overnight).
Bedroom -
Main light (ES bulb) and a lamp.
Bathroom -
Main light, shower and extractor fan (turns on with light).
Kitchen -
Main light, electric cooker, fridge, kettle and boiler (electric. only has option of on or off. turned on for couple of hours every couple of days)
The Rest -
A few phone/laptop/tablet chargers (usual usage), hair-dryer, hoover (used 1-2 times a week).
Heating consists of plug-in heaters but they have not been used once while we've been here.
No washer or tumble-dryer in property.

Does this look normal?
As mentioned earlier, both myself and my partner are both currently unemployed. If correct, the cost of this summer bill indicates that come the winter months heating will simply be a luxury that we can not afford.

Thank you for any help in advance.

Hawtin1584

you don't use enough electric at night to warrant being on economy 7 and having two rates. Also your electricity prices are very high. You need to change, go on uswitch or can do it on here too. You do use a lot of electricity tho.

I would definitely switch as your paying too much for your electricity and not getting the use out of the cheap rate at night. For example you pay 17p in the day and 7.5p at night. Your best going on a single rate and paying 12p all the time, this would save you at least £30 already. I would put the boiler on a timer. An hour in the morning and 30 mins at night if you want to shower at night.

Definitely get off economy 7 and switch asap

Also go on direct debit, online billing, will again save you a lot

AlbiCat

Cheers for the reply. I will definitely take on board the advice about switching tarifs. Seems like a no-brainer now you point it out. With regards to the boiler I can not employ a timer as it is a simple on/off switch. I suppose I could get an electrician to install one (with landlords consent) but it could take quite a while to see any financial benefits after the installation fee.
One thing that does surprise me though is you say I do use quite a lot of electricity. Is this going off the units I've used or my description of the appliances I have? I was under the impression that I have nowhere near as much power-thirsty items as most (no washing machine etc.). Could this suggest my meter is out of calibration.
I am reluctant to set-up a direct debit until I'm comfortable with the cost of my supply although I am aware of the savings that can be gained by doing this.

Hawtin1584

Yes just going off your units. I used to live in 1 bed just as you described and over 3 months I would use around 750 units both day and night. You average around 12 a day which is a lot for a 1 bed. I would turn everything off in the apartment and go see if the meter moves. You might be paying for something in the cafe or communal areas without knowing. Your consumption should be no more than 7 units a day. If what you describe is correct. I had a timer fitted to mine. Was only £25 supplied and fitted. Took like 10 minutes.

SailorSam

They were talking on the radio today about 'Collective Switching' were a group of people in the same area (the more the merrier) and using the groups buying power all switch together. Try and find out if there's anything like that near where you live.
https://www.gov.uk/collective-switching-and-purchasing

AlbiCat

Thanks again. I'm changing supplier/tariff first thing tomorrow. I will have to investigate the situation further with regards to what my meter may be supplying. It's incredibly helpful you giving me a usage benchmark. I had a suspicion that my supply might stretch beyond my property. I'll have to wait and see what I can find. I'll also look into getting a timer fitted. The cost to have yours fitted seems incredibly reasonable. Cheers

AlbiCat

Just checked out collective switching. I very much like the idea of that. Don't know if anything is available where I live but I'd say it's definitely the way to go if you can. Together we're stronger than the sum of our parts!

Nada666

You've found this site so no point with collective switching. It only helps those who have no intention of doing anything themselves.

You have paid an extra 40% being on Economy 7 - your true bill should have been less than £130.

I work it out as 10.7 units per day, not 12. Knock off four for background base usage that's only an extra 6 kWh for hot water, cooking and showers. Showers could easily account for half of that (7 minute shower each).

I don't think there's anything puzzling or excessive about your usage - you are just overpaying by spending 17.x p instead of 12.x p per unit.

AlbiCat

Well, I completely stand corrected. I quite clearly didn't understand the importance of knowing the ins and outs of suppliers tariffs. If anything I've been ignorant to such things as I was always under the impression that switching suppliers/tariffs returned quite a negligible financial saving compared to the effort. Shows what I know! For anyone else reading this in a similar situation, please take away what I did. It pays to know what's going on and it pays to use this forum.

lstar337

AlbiCat, Are your heaters night storage (big bulky), or standard convector heaters (usually small and thinner)?

Example of NSH: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=night+storage+heaters&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=wRHzU5_NHcXQ7AaE2oC4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1680&bih=880

Your electric shower will be a big draw, most are +9kW.

If you are not on night storage heaters, you should switch to a single rate tariff. Those premium day units are really padding your bill.

As Nada666 says above, there is nothing crazy about your actual usage but I think you should be able to bring it down a little with some work.

st999

Your electric shower will be a big draw, most are +9kW

A five minute shower using a 9kWh shower with electricity costing 14p only cost 10p.

Just because it uses 9kW of electricity an hour doesn't mean it will cost £1.30 to have a shower.

My Sky box uses the most electricity a day, followed by my computer then my TV then my fridge/freezer.