Gas Bill jumped £200? is it faulty?

nightswimming

blackstar wrote: »

Based on your actual usage to date 33793.61 kWh

I would say it is this figure. But do you have any bills from your previous supplier? If you were with them for a while their figure may be more accurate. It's really hard to estimate usage from a few weeks in winter, and this is incredibly high for a small house. I believe the national average is somewhere around 14000kwh. Is your house really old and draughty? Do you have the loft insulated? Cavity walls? How old is the boiler?

blackstar

bsod wrote: »

Unless you live in a barn, I can't see how you can average 13.44 m3 of gas or 151 kwh per day since 26/11/2014

that equates to 6.28 kwh per hour every hour every day for 77 days just to heat one room to 20C

I dont know either, something can not be right, even though some people keep saying it is right. We have a gas operated shower and washing machine I think and a gas cooker. But they are only used just on average as a couple would use.

Well we have the temperature set at 22C for the front room.

blackstar

Well looking at the previous supplier my bill says

Statement period 02 July 2014 - 17 December 2014
This is based on our PREPAYMENT PAY AS YOU GO tariff
Charges this period
Energy charges £182.16
Total charges £182.16
For full details of the charges see over è
Account summary
Balance of your last
statement
£-242.46
(in credit)
Total charges £182.16
See over for details è
Account Adjustments -£182.16
See over for details è
Total payments made £0.00
See over for details è
Your account balance on 22 Jan 2015 -£242.46 (in credit)

Your estimated usage in the last 12 months 3,449.350 kWh

Tariff Comparison Rate (TCR) for Gas: O
5.17p per kWh

Start Reading
End Reading
9053 Actual 02 Jul 14
9346 Estimated 17 Dec 14
Units used 293 = 3271 KWh (kilowatt-hrs) used
02/07/14 to 17/12/14 Consumption charge, 3271 kWh x 4.221p = £138.07
02/07/14 to 17/12/14 Standing charge, 169 days x 26.090p = £44.09
Your gas meter point reference number
1061498503
Total gas charges £182.16

Bill Period 02/07/2014 - 17/12/2014
Number of days 169
Bill amount £191.27
Consumption (KWh)3 = 3271
Daily Average 19.36

blackstar

nightswimming wrote: »

I would say it is this figure. But do you have any bills from your previous supplier? If you were with them for a while their figure may be more accurate. It's really hard to estimate usage from a few weeks in winter, and this is incredibly high for a small house. I believe the national average is somewhere around 14000kwh. Is your house really old and draughty? Do you have the loft insulated? Cavity walls? How old is the boiler?

Hmm its a rented house and not sure how old it is or if it has loft insulation, cavity walls or how old the boiler is to be honest. Considering we only heat one room in the house seems way too high.

nightswimming

blackstar wrote: »

Your estimated usage in the last 12 months 3,449.350 kWh


9053 Actual 02 Jul 14
9346 Estimated 17 Dec 14
Units used 293 = 3271 KWh (kilowatt-hrs) used

Well, I am really confused now! 3271kwh for 5 1/2 months, but 3449kwh for a whole year? And the closing figure an estimate, AFTER you had your meter changed on Nov 25th (actual figure of 05162 on Nov 17th from post #4)??

blackstar

nightswimming wrote: »

Well, I am really confused now! 3271kwh for 5 1/2 months, but 3449kwh for a whole year? And the closing figure an estimate, AFTER you had your meter changed on Nov 25th (actual figure of 05162 on Nov 17th from post #4)??

Well I really dont understand it to be honest at all. I just dont know where to start? I just want to know if my £300 bill was correct and if not why not.

nightswimming

blackstar wrote: »

I just want to know if my £300 bill was correct and if not why not.

Well they have accurate opening and closing readings. And have converted this into KWh and multiplied that by the unit price. So yes, the bill is correct, unless they have you down for the wrong type of meter. Check if your meter says "m3" (metres cubed) on the front to make sure they are charging for the correct units.

So if the bill is correct the question is, is there something wrong with the new meter and if not, where is all that gas going.

Once you have that figured out you need to get onto a good value tariff for your actual consumption. A tariff with a monthly direct debit which spreads the cost over the whole year might be better for you.

blackstar

nightswimming wrote: »

Well they have accurate opening and closing readings. And have converted this into KWh and multiplied that by the unit price. So yes, the bill is correct, unless they have you down for the wrong type of meter. Check if your meter says "m3" (metres cubed) on the front to make sure they are charging for the correct units.

So if the bill is correct the question is, is there something wrong with the new meter and if not, where is all that gas going.

Once you have that figured out you need to get onto a good value tariff for your actual consumption. A tariff with a monthly direct debit which spreads the cost over the whole year might be better for you.

Thanks, how do I know if there is something wrong with the new metre?
The problem seems to have started since the new metre was put in. How do I find out where all the gas is going?
Could there be something wrong with the boiler is why the gas bill is so high?

CashStrapped

This post is going on for too long.....

These are the things you need to do:

1. Check on your meter. It should clearly say m3 (metres cubed). Your old meter may have said ft3 (feet cubed).

2. Check your bill to ensure they are billing you in m3 and not ft3. If you can't see it on your bill, call them and ask them if they have it down on their system as an m3 meter.

3. This winter has been colder than last, so you cannot compare bills to last year.

Based on your readings, from when the new meter was installed (as others have calculated):

26/11/14 - 11/02/15 = 1035 m3 Gas units

note: when taking Gas meter readings you need to ignore the last three digits.

1035m3 Gas units divided by 73 days = 13.29m3 units per day

This high but acceptable usage for this time of year.

I have an old boiler and a house that is heated to around 18 degrees constantly (except night time) and I use 10-12 m3 units per day

For the Gas cost calculation:

1035m3 units = 11592 KWH (we need it in KWH to calculate cost)

11592 x 0.04221 (your tariff) = £489 .29

Standing Charge = 78 days x 0.26090 = £20.25

Total since new meter installed = £509.54

So, as far as I can see the bill is correct. It seems that it was installed just as the weather turned cold and this has confused you somewhat.

Your Gas usage is high, but it not out of the ordinary.

Solution

1. Switch tariff Immediatly

You are on a very uncompetative tariff.

For the same gas use, my tariff would have cost me £367 including standing charge!

Ignore your projected use/past use calculations from the energy company as these can be misleading.

When you compare tariffs use above average figures for the UK (based on your winter usage thus far). So 20,000KWH for gas and 4500kwh for electric and see what results you get compared to the tariff you are on.

2. Once you have done this, then you can look at your living habits, boiler controls, insulation levels to enable you to lower bills.

In summary, your gas usage looks high, but within a normal range. There are lots of variables we cannot judge. How big your house is, insulation level, how warm you like it. All these things have an effect on your individual bill.

Unless after turning off all the gas appliances your meter is still recording use, I do not see what else could be wrong.

A another option would be to get a gas engineer to do a full check on the system. The boiler may need a service and the radiators may need balancing.

dogshome

Your new gas meter will the Metric type and is marked m3 on the front - Your old meter was probably an Imperial type marked ft3
Each meter unit on a Metric meter is worth close to 11.2 chargeable Kwh Each meter unit on an Imperial meter is worth close to 31.5 Kwh

If your supplier has failed to log the meter type change on their billing system, your usual £100 bill would indeed jump up to around £300

Look at the meter and check that is marked m3, then look at the latest bill and divide the number of Kwh charged by the meter units used - The answer should be close to 11.2 - If it's around 31 get onto your supplier immediately as you are being seriously overcharged