Extra Energy

KempleySue

Help!
I got an annual bill from them which says I used 17,593kw. And therefore owe them £1,900 odd £'s.
I have tried resolving this on the phone but they insist they are correct. They also said my previous company told them my average use was 7000kw,
Can anyone interpret my reading for me please?
Initial reading was 90934 and final was 08528.

naedanger

KempleySue wrote: »

Help!
I got an annual bill from them which says I used 17,593kw. And therefore owe them £1,900 odd £'s.
I have tried resolving this on the phone but they insist they are correct. They also said my previous company told them my average use was 7000kw,
Can anyone interpret my reading for me please?
Initial reading was 90934 and final was 08528.

Not sure what you are asking, but if the readings are correct then you have used 17,594 (being 108528 less 90934). This is one unit different from what they have said, possibly due to rounding.

Could one of the readings be wrong e.g. could the 08528 reading actually be 98528?

KempleySue

No definitely a 0.
But as I started with a 9 surely I already paid for anything before that. So when the 9 rolls round to 10, I think I have used anything beginning with 0 onwards and the difference between 90934 and 00000.
So I did 108528 minus 90934 and counted the 10 before the 8 as a 10. That gave me 08594, which is a lot nearer my usual consumption 8,594 seems correct to me.

naedanger

KempleySue wrote: »

No definitely a 0.
But as I started with a 9 surely I already paid for anything before that. So when the 9 rolls round to 10, I think I have used anything beginning with 0 onwards and the difference between 90934 and 00000.
So I did 108528 minus 90934 and counted the 10 before the 8 as a 10. That gave me 08594, which is a lot nearer my usual consumption 8,594 seems correct to me.

Another way of thinking of it is in three steps:

90934 to 99999 = 9065 units
plus
99999 to 00000 = 1 unit
plus
00000 to 08528 = 8528 units

add the three amount together and you get 17594.

Note that even the first step comes to more than the amount you have calculated. And obviously having gone round the clock you have used more than that.

KempleySue

Ok, thank you that is very clear.
I'm not sure how I managed to do that though!
Western Power changed my meter, do you think it was reset wrongly, or I just used lots more electricity than I thought possible?

System

KempleySue wrote: »

Ok, thank you that is very clear.
I'm not sure how I managed to do that though!
Western Power changed my meter, do you think it was reset wrongly, or I just used lots more electricity than I thought possible?

The 'exam questions' are 'what was your old meter reading when it was changed', and 'what was the start reading on the new meter'? Western Power should have left you a card with this information. Does the bill from EE recognise the meter change by showing two meter serial numbers? Have you discussed this with them?

naedanger

KempleySue wrote: »

Ok, thank you that is very clear.
I'm not sure how I managed to do that though!
Western Power changed my meter, do you think it was reset wrongly, or I just used lots more electricity than I thought possible?

If Western Power changed the meter between the two readings then the amount will almost certainly not be the amount calculated above. It would only be correct if the new meter just happened to have the same reading as the old meter e.g. if the new meter read 00000 and was changed just as the old meter was turning the clock.

As Hengus has said, you need the reading the old meter was at when it was replaced and the reading the new meter was at when it was put in to be able to calculate the usage.

KempleySue

Thank you both, that is very helpful. I have memory problems nowadays and am not exactly sure when WPower came, but I have given them a ring. The last card, still attached to the meter is dated 22/12/04 which is no help!
I will keep on until I can find out the readings when they changed the meter.
Hopefully this will be helpful.
Thank you again.
my meter serial number is the same on all bills!

naedanger

KempleySue wrote: »

Thank you both, that is very helpful. I have memory problems nowadays and am not exactly sure when WPower came, but I have given them a ring. The last card, still attached to the meter is dated 22/12/04 which is no help!
I will keep on until I can find out the readings when they changed the meter.
Hopefully this will be helpful.
Thank you again.
my meter serial number is the same on all bills!

Is the serial number shown on your bills on the actual meter?

KempleySue

Yes it is the same

naedanger

KempleySue wrote: »

Yes it is the same

You said earlier the meter serial number was the same on all your bills, and you have confirmed that number is on the actual meter. Therefore it does not sound like the meter can have changed since the earliest bill you have.

So it seems the very high usage must be due to something else.

Others may be better able to advise what further things to look at. Some thoughts (none of which sound particularly likely):

1) Have you made any significant changes to your usage, e.g. have you switched to electric heating from gas?
2) Is there any way someone could have tapped into your supply? (I suspect this is very unlikely unless your meters are outside your property and located near the meters of some neighbours.)
3) Could the meter be faulty? I suspect this is very unlikely and you will be charged to get it properly tested, unless it actually is faulty. You can do some rough tests yourself. One test is to switch absolutely everything off and see if the meter is still turning. Or I believe boiling a kettle, when no other items are on, timing it and taking a reading at the start and end. (From which you can work out the metered usage and compare it to estimated usage based on the kettle's power and the time it was on, to determine whether there is a significant discrepancy.)