£153 a month, gas and electric in a 3 bed terraced house?

CashStrapped

I think we have established that it is not a gas usage issue. He is an average gas user, regardless of where his thermostat is placed, his gas usage is perfectly average.

A credit going into winter, while useful, does not change the fact he is on an expensive tariff. Again, the thermostat is nothing to do with why his electric usage is so high and the tariff so uncompetative, that is the issue.

If you put his yearly KWH figures into a comparsion site, his monthly DD should be around £114 not £150.

He is a high electricity user and seems to be on the wrong type of tariff for that.

It looks like he is on a tariff that is ok for high gas users (which he is not) and poor for high electric users (which he is).

The solution is to switch a tariff that best matches his annual pattern of usage. Then concentrate on reducing the electricicty element of his bill, which is well above average.

keith1950

If you put his yearly KWH figures into a comparsion site, his monthly DD should be around £114 not £150.

If you put his figures into a comparison site ( 6000 electric and 16100 gas ) then taking into account that the gas is £250 in credit and look at standard tariffs the direct debit is about right.

Has the OP made any reference to which tariff he is on ?

Based on the area I live in then it shows he could save £395 per year by switching to Sainsburys Price Fix October 2015 which would knock his direct debit down by £33/ month .

All this suggests he is on a standard tariff and his usage is not wrong but just unusual due to his lifestyle/work requirements.

joncrip

Thanks again for all the input. I'm on BG Standard tariff, which BG tells me is the cheapest one for me. There's no doubt I'm going to switch - probably to Sainsbury's, although their customer service rating worries me a little.
I think the thermostat issue is something I'll address in terms of simply being as energy efficient as possible anyway, and look to reduce my electricity usage. But nevertheless it does seem that I'm paying more than I need to for energy.
I'll submit accurate meter readings later today. Can anyone tell me how long it will take BG to update my accounts in light of this?
Thanks again!

CashStrapped

keith1950 wrote: »

If you put his figures into a comparison site ( 6000 electric and 16100 gas ) then taking into account that the gas is £250 in credit and look at standard tariffs the direct debit is about right.

Has the OP made any reference to which tariff he is on ?

Based on the area I live in then it shows he could save £395 per year by switching to Sainsburys Price Fix October 2015 which would knock his direct debit down by £33/ month .

All this suggests he is on a standard tariff and his usage is not wrong but just unusual due to his lifestyle/work requirements.

err.....thats what I said....and what I have been saying for the last number of posts.....

keith1950

Err......where did you suggest that the OP is on a standard tariff? ....... Where did you suggest that the OP is probably paying the correct amount for his usage and tariff ? ........get over yourself !

CashStrapped

You did obviously read our discussion for the past two pages.

If you read:

"the thermostat is nothing to do with why his electric usage is so high and the tariff so uncompetative, that is the issue."

"If you input your exact KWH figures, then that saving is based on the correct figures compared to your current tariff with BG. This suggests to me that you are on a really poor tariff for your usage pattern with BG, regardless of the high DD. That is the cause of the issue."

Regardless of whether he was on the "standard tariff" it was quite clear and established he was on an uncompetative tariff with BG.

"If you put his yearly KWH figures into a comparsion site, his monthly DD should be around £114 not £150."

He already established that:

"Energy Helpline says that I could save £282 a year by switching to Sainsbury's Energy. "


I have no issue with what you have stated, but please do not quote me as if I have given mis-information and then say pretty much the same thing.

keith1950

I did not infer you had given incorrect information ......I merely tried to suggest that your response was unneccesssary and that I had tried to make it more clear that he was on a standard tariff and that his direct debit was roughly right considering his usage, his tariff and his lifestyle needs.......unless of course no one else is allowed to try and add anything !!