High electric bills?

OllyM

Hi,

I'm currently in the process of trying to sort out my mum's household bills, and am slightly concerned by the amount she is spending on electricity (and oil, but that's another matter).

The last quarterly bill was for £336.57 for 3431 units after giving the correct meter reading. There are now 3 people living in the house (4 bedroom), we have no mains gas here so cooking is all electric, but we have oil central heating and hot water.

I've started the switching process to move her to Scottish Power which will save a large amount (lower standing charge AND almost 2p/unit cheaper), but the main thing I'm concerned about is the number of units used - is 3431 units in 3 months normal? It sounds high to me!

espresso

I would say that 3431 kWh in three months is quite high usage but without knowing what appliances are regularly used, it's hard to make comparisons. Do you have a high wattage electric shower? Sauna? Hot tub? Garden pond etc. etc.

computerwoman

OllyM wrote: »

Hi,

I'm currently in the process of trying to sort out my mum's household bills, and am slightly concerned by the amount she is spending on electricity (and oil, but that's another matter).

The last quarterly bill was for £336.57 for 3431 units after giving the correct meter reading. There are now 3 people living in the house (4 bedroom), we have no mains gas here so cooking is all electric, but we have oil central heating and hot water.

I've started the switching process to move her to Scottish Power which will save a large amount (lower standing charge AND almost 2p/unit cheaper), but the main thing I'm concerned about is the number of units used - is 3431 units in 3 months normal? It sounds high to me!

Hi I was with powergen and my bills went up 3 fold so changed to Ebico which is southern electric...they just charge you for what you use that's it...I send them a meter reading every 3 months but get my bills every 4 months...my bills for 4th april -4th august were £55 for gas and £105 for electric...which to me is a damn site better than the £600 that powergen were charging me same time last year...just thought I would share this with you as so many people are saying that there bills are very high when they don't need to be...:D

espresso

computerwoman wrote: »

Hi I was with powergen and my bills went up 3 fold so changed to Ebico which is southern electric...

Over what period of time? All energy prices have risen significantly over recent years!

they just charge you for what you use

Don't all energy suppliers "just charge for what you use"?

just thought I would share this with you as so many people are saying that there bills are very high when they don't need to be...:D

The question was about usage, not cost.

The OP is paying approx 9.8p per kWh, what are you paying?

computerwoman

espresso wrote: »

The question was about usage, not cost.

The OP is paying approx 9.8p per kWh, what are you paying?

sorry...erm it say's 9.9p on my bill...but I have rounded up all my bill's for this year...and so far I have paid £420.61 for 4329 units electic and £265.70 for 913 units for gas...if that's any help...sorry got it wrong...but isn't everyone paying 9.9p a unit nowaday's...thanks..:D

computerwoman

is 3431 units in 3 months normal? It sounds high to me!

I have paid £420.61 for 4329 units electic in 1 year...these are for one year's consumption of electric...
£265.70 for 913 units for gas. for one year....so I would say yes they are high for 3 months...:D

computerwoman

electric...
I have 2 bedroomed house....

sitting room...
2 computer's on most day's and normally 24/7 really...
tv sky+ dvd player...
a couple of lamps with energy saving bulb's in...

kitchen...
gas cooker that's work's with electric has light which I use on a night when it's dark but don't want to put a big light on and a clock...fridge/freezer....A rated...washer/dryer...once aday...but don't use the dryer on that as I have a stand alone dryer in the cupboard that get's put on once aday...

hot water 1 hour aday...works off gas and electric...

bathroom...
electric shower...twice aday...

bedroom's...
mine...just a side lamp with a mini bulb in for when I am reading in bed...

my son's room...tv dvd player sky xbox 360 and PS2 side lamp with energy bulb in...

every light in the house has energy bulb's even the outside lamps...

have electric in the garage for the lawn mower once aweek...also have a disabled scooter in there which need's charging up once aweek for a full 24 hour's...



the hoover once aday
hair dryer once aday
iron once aday for about an hour...

and that's about it...

I did also make some lamps with christmas light's as they are ment to be low bulb's and twig's in a vase...which we have on now and again...

hope this help's...:D

tripled

Average annual consumption for electricity is 3300-3900 kwh per year, so using that in a quarter would probably count as 'high usage'