187% increase in gas usage

lstar337

DAKOTA45 wrote: »

Yes… EVERYTHING including the kitchen sink was switched off, unplugged AND turned off at the mains.

I will get an electrician to look and report back in due course.

(Sorry to have been so vague… I only came in here to find out what had happened to my Warm Home Discount… then it kind of evolved into a discussion about my high usage…)

If for some reason it turns out the power isn't going out of your property, ask your electrician if he can find out where inside your property all that power is going. He may be able to find an appliance that you have missed.

I look forward to hearing the results of this, please do come back and let us know.

Also, get yourself onto a nice cheap tariff ASAP.

jamesd

geoffken wrote: »

Do as you have been advised.
GET AN ELECTRICIAN TO CHECK THE ROGUE WIRING!!!!
ONLY THEN CAN YOU BE SURE.
This performance of spinning wheels or not etc. is merely a distraction.

Please stop suggesting a waste of money.

There has been no report of rogue wiring. That was speculation based on the spinning wheels, assuming that if everything was off there would be no spinning. E.on has disagreed with that. At the moment we do not know that there is any rogue wiring or that there is a meter fault.

The spinning wheels are not a distraction, they are the only reason we had to believe that there might be some rogue wiring.

The first things to do are:

1. determine whether the built in meter and a cheap additional meter show about the same readings. If they do, then there is no reason to suspect that the main meter is faulty. If there is a significant difference then getting the main meter inspected is the way to go.
2. determine whether there is still real usage after all circuit breakers have been opened. If there is, then it will be time to consider calling an electrician to find out what is using the power.
3. meanwhile the same cheap additional meter can be used to check the usage of everything in the home to work out what's using the power there.

lstar337

jamesd wrote: »

There has been no report of rogue wiring. That was speculation based on the spinning wheels, assuming that if everything was off there would be no spinning.

If both consumer units are off, and the wheel is still spinning, it is fair to assume there must be wiring going to another consumer unit somewhere else.

jamesd wrote: »

E.on has disagreed with that.

I don't know who EON are employing as their meter engineers, but I don't trust/believe what they are saying. It makes no sense at all. If it is true then I would like a refund for all the additional units my previous electromechanical meter has registered while the power was isolated from my wiring.

jamesd wrote: »

At the moment we do not know that there is any rogue wiring or that there is a meter fault.

No, that is why the OP should get an electrician to settle the matter for sure.

jamesd wrote: »

The first things to do are:

1. determine whether the built in meter and a cheap additional meter show about the same readings. If they do, then there is no reason to suspect that the main meter is faulty. If there is a significant difference then getting the main meter inspected is the way to go.
2. determine whether there is still real usage after all circuit breakers have been opened. If there is, then it will be time to consider calling an electrician to find out what is using the power.
3. meanwhile the same cheap additional meter can be used to check the usage of everything in the home to work out what's using the power there.

Have you read the rest of the thread? The OP is not some spry 18 year old, I doubt they have the ability to do half of the things you are suggesting!

THIS, is the main reason that many posters in this thread are suggesting that getting a professional in is the best course of action.

jamesd

I agree with you about the meter spinning but we do have E.on saying otherwise and it's not sensible to pay for a meter check or electrician when there's the cheaper option of getting a meter to check first. It's cheap insurance and still useful to check appliance power usage.

Of course I've read the whole thread. That's why I know that money is tight and that numbers are a problem so they will rely on us to help with them.

If DAKOTA45 finds that they can't manage to wrap the claws of an add-on meter around the cables to the main meter that would be the time to call an electrician.

An electrician isn't a bad choice. It's just more costly, we don't know that one is needed yet and we're partly about saving money here.

macman

jamesd wrote: »

I agree with you about the meter spinning but we do have E.on saying otherwise and it's not sensible to pay for a meter check or electrician when there's the cheaper option of getting a meter to check first. It's cheap insurance and still useful to check appliance power usage.

Of course I've read the whole thread. That's why I know that money is tight and that numbers are a problem so they will rely on us to help with them.

If DAKOTA45 finds that they can't manage to wrap the claws of an add-on meter around the cables to the main meter that would be the time to call an electrician.

An electrician isn't a bad choice. It's just more costly, we don't know that one is needed yet and we're partly about saving money here.

A meter test will cost £93, unless it's faulty. An electrician will charge less than that for a call out and maybe half an hour to track it.
The devices you are suggesting are extremely inaccurate at low wattages and cannot be relied upon.
Yes, it is about money saving, and for every day the OP fails to cut her metered consumption, or change tariff, she is wasting about a fiver.

DAKOTA45

Hmmm… it seems the man at the National Measurement Office has no idea what E.on are saying, either…

Dear xxxxxxxx

Thank you for getting back in touch.

Unfortunately, It is impossible for me to give you a rough estimate of time as each meter is different. I am unsure as to what you mean by “still collecting data” as once you switch the electricity off, it shouldn’t register anything.

The wiring of your home is not within our remit sorry, so I cannot provide with the relevant information. I can only suggest contacting your electricity supplier.

I trust this helps,

Regards,

xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

National Measurement and Regulation Office
Stanton Avenue | Teddington | TW11 0JZ

DAKOTA45

macman wrote: »

A meter test will cost £93, unless it's faulty. An electrician will charge less than that for a call out and maybe half an hour to track it.
The devices you are suggesting are extremely inaccurate at low wattages and cannot be relied upon.
Yes, it is about money saving, and for every day the OP fails to cut her metered consumption, or change tariff, she is wasting about a fiver.

I am saving up… at the moment it's the difference between calling out an electrician or eating for the next 2 weeks…:(

This has been ongoing for 14 years so… it may take a little longer to sort out, but I have taken everything on board & appreciate what you have all been advising me…

It's obvious I will have to do something and pretty soon!!

I am continuing to gather as much information as possible in the meantime, as there is a conflict of opinion with E.on possibly not being as transparent as they could be...

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

The twitter advisor you've been talking to as put me in the picture. She's confirmed with our meter technicians, meters tend to run a bit behind so, when all the power is turned off, it will continue to register electricity already used for a short while. Check again after about an hour.

We can certainly arrange to test the meter. If it turns out the meter isn't faulty, there'll be a charge of £93. As per your post number 113, to be classed as faulty the difference needs to be outside the limits of +2.5% and -3.5%. Given the charge, you need to be sure the meter's outside these limits before asking for a test otherwise it'll add an unnecessary cost to your account. Malc

Hi All

Just thought I'd pop on and clarify why I posted the above. Dakota is struggling and needs to be sure what action to take before building up more costs. Our meter technicians have told us certain meters can register usage a short time after it's actually been used. I'm not a technician myself so can't explain why there's a delay between using electricity and the meter actually showing it but our specialists say it's possible. I've probably gone over the top by suggesting an hour when a few minutes may be enough but, for the sake of a short time, I'd rather Dakota be sure power is still being drawn before laying out more money. Whether this is to us or to an electrician.

Of course, if after this, the disc continues to move then power is clearly being used and time to go to the next stage. It's quick to do and, I believe, will help in the long run.

Hope this explains why I suggested leaving the power off for a bit before checking the meter.

Malc

DAKOTA45

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi All

Just thought I'd pop on and clarify why I posted the above. Dakota is struggling and needs to be sure what action to take before building up more costs. Our meter technicians have told us certain meters can register usage a short time after it's actually been used. I'm not a technician myself so can't explain why there's a delay between using electricity and the meter actually showing it but our specialists say it's possible. I've probably gone over the top by suggesting an hour when a few minutes may be enough but, for the sake of a short time, I'd rather Dakota be sure power is still being drawn before laying out more money. Whether this is to us or to an electrician.

Of course, if after this, the disc continues to move then power is clearly being used and time to go to the next stage. It's quick to do and, I believe, will help in the long run.

Hope this explains why I suggested leaving the power off for a bit before checking the meter.

Malc

Hi Malc…

You say "certain meters'...Are you talking about the modern "Smart" meters?
If not, which meters would be most likely to behave in this way, please?
The one I have is very, very old… I watched the wheel continue at a steady pace until the black marker disappeared… about 20 or so minutes..
General opinion is that the wheel would stop more or less immediately on cutting the power...

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

To be honest Dakota, I don't know. There's been so many different types of meter over the years. The important thing is to be aware of the possibility.

If the disc is still moving after 20 minutes then I'd say it's time to move to the next stage. It's just a matter of eliminating the possibility that's all.

Malc