£125 Electricity bill pcm. Small 2 bed house 1 person :(

Dannii75

My DD has gone up from £70 to £125 pcm! :eek:
I live on my own in a small 2bed house.
I have night storage heaters (70s) & don't have the money to replace them yet. Am on an Eco7 tariff.
I've had 2 radiators on, 3 at most, on minimum just to take the chill off!
There's a gas supply in the house but it's been capped off - again, no money to install gas!
One of my bedrooms is shut off so I'm not losing heat.
I don't know what else I can do to get my DD down to a reasonable amount!
No bills are estimated, I send my meter readings every month.

I can get out of the tariff for a £30 exit fee BUT I'm £195 in debit, which will reduce dramatically once I've paid this month's £125!!!

I've thought about sealing the windows over winter.
Any other ideas?
Thank you

CashStrapped

As with all these questions, looking solely at your direct debit as to why your cost has gone up is a red herring. You need to look at exactly what you have been using.

1) You need to look at the last confirmed (not estimate) meter reading you gave. Try and look for one that was given a year or so ago. That will allow us to look at your use over one year.

2) Take a meter reading now.

3) Post them and the dates they were taken in the forum. As you are on E7 you should have 2 readings for each date. A day and night meter reading.

4) From this we can calculate your average daily use. We can also calculate your day night percentage

5) Also type the energy company you are with and the tariff name. Look on the bill. You can also type the unit rates (pence per kwh and the daily standing charge).


A direct debit is just an estimation of your annual use divided into 12 payments.

A direct debit does not directly reflect your actual use or bill. There are many reasons why it may have gone up. It may have been set too low to begin with and now needs to catch up. You may have used more energy this year......

You only know your actual use when you supply a meter reading and get an actual bill based on that meter reading.

Please give the information above and we will try to help.

footyguy

Dannii75 wrote: »

My DD has gone up from £70 to £125 pcm! :eek:
I live on my own in a small 2bed house.
I have night storage heaters (70s) & don't have the money to replace them yet. Am on an Eco7 tariff.
I've had 2 radiators on, 3 at most, on minimum just to take the chill off!
There's a gas supply in the house but it's been capped off - again, no money to install gas!
One of my bedrooms is shut off so I'm not losing heat.
I don't know what else I can do to get my DD down to a reasonable amount!
No bills are estimated, I send my meter readings every month.

I can get out of the tariff for a £30 exit fee BUT I'm £195 in debit, which will reduce dramatically once I've paid this month's £125!!!

I've thought about sealing the windows over winter.
Any other ideas?
Thank you

Have you consulted a comparison site recently to ensure you are still on a competitive deal? (Don't forget to take into account your early exit fee)

Or are you simply now thinking of ditching the existing supplier because you do not think the change in monthly DD is fair? If so, the MSE article may assist you
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits

[Deleted User]

Hi,

the increase in your DD will be to collect the £195, spread over 6 months maybe and to pay for what you use now.

molerat

You also need to check that your day / night tariffs are billed the right way round and that the bills are using the readings you have supplied. Post up actual day and night reads / use.

An old storage heater will be only marginally less efficient than a new one so don't even consider changing them thinking it will save you huge chunks of money, it won't.

Dannii75

Hi All.

I've had a look on comparison websites. It looks like I can't save much so really need to look at ways to bring my bills down.
I'm in a 2bed house, one person & use very very little electricity.

My usage is:
Jan 2017 1,178 kWh
Dec 2016 1,307 kWh
Jan 2016 1,434 kWh
Dec 2015 1,277 kWh

First Utility First Fixed July 2017 ONLINE ONLY Economy 7 Electricity Only

I think the original DD amount was set too low, BUT this was based on one person in a small 2 bed house (which is correct) although I do have those pesky night storage heaters!
I'm sure this is the correct amount of usage but having spoken to relatives & friends this seems to be quite high, even including the fact that I have no gas in the house.

Does anyone know of any govt schemes, or similar, that could help me in some way?
OR any other ways to save electricity?

Thank you

Dannii75

Just found actual meter readings:
20th Feb 2017
Night 86744
Day 91486
20th Jan 2017
Night 85847
Day 91341
20th Dec 2016
Night 84583
Day 91140
20th Oct 2016 - I don't have the readings for Nov
Night 82874
Day 90891

Does that help?

footyguy

Dannii75 wrote: »

Hi All.

I've had a look on comparison websites. It looks like I can't save much so really need to look at ways to bring my bills down.
I'm in a 2bed house, one person & use very very little electricity.

My usage is:
Jan 2017 1,178 kWh
Dec 2016 1,307 kWh
Jan 2016 1,434 kWh
Dec 2015 1,277 kWh

First Utility First Fixed July 2017 ONLINE ONLY Economy 7 Electricity Only

I think the original DD amount was set too low, BUT this was based on one person in a small 2 bed house (which is correct) although I do have those pesky night storage heaters!
I'm sure this is the correct amount of usage but having spoken to relatives & friends this seems to be quite high, even including the fact that I have no gas in the house.

Does anyone know of any govt schemes, or similar, that could help me in some way?
OR any other ways to save electricity?

Thank you

This link includes many of the answers you are seeking
e.g. how to reduce consumption, govt grants available, etc
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/save-money-on-your-gas-and-bills

System

40kWhs a day is not 'very, very little electricity'. You need to determine what is using so much electricity: the main culprits being your storage heaters and your hot water heating. I would turn these off and then check to see whether your meter stops turning. If it does, then you have your answer. Use less and you will pay less.

If the meter still turns with the main culprits switched off, then isolate the supply and check that the meter stops fully. If it doesn't, then you have a problem that needs to be investigated.

My guess though is that you are using more energy than you thought you were. How well insulated is your home?

Dannii75

Agreed! it's a lot for a chilly house!
I have single glazed windows & those rubbish rads! I'll do some experimenting & see what happens. I didn't think of doing that! Thank you! I'll see what the culprit is!
Oh, my water heater is old too, I know this because there's no thermostat & it's taller than me & I'm 5ft6!
In the summer I guesstimate that I use 5-10kW a day.
The attic is insulated so that's a start! she says with tongue firmly in cheek!!!!
Thank you!

PasturesNew

You're using, on average, 40 units per day.

You could use that by simply turning the oven on full for 2 hours with lights/etc and a big telly while standing to watch the tumble drier go round and round too often/long.

What's a typical day? How many hours are things on for? What things?