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

Dannii75

Fantastic! You're a diamond! Thank you!

Just updated my pics in that link, there are two dials/ taps. I'm assuming the red is the water turn off, what do you think?
I'll see what the stat is set to!
& might get it a jacket as it's warm!

I'm sure every post has been appreciated!

CashStrapped

You do not need to touch the taps. (the red is probably the hot water outlet from the tank) the bare brass one is probably the mains stopcock.

Don't worry, you do not need to turn off the water. The immersion is sealed inside. The metal cap is just a cover for the wiring. The water cannot come out.

You can open in without worry. You just need to ensure the electrics to the immersion is off as there is wiring you may touch. Other than the immersion wall switch, you can turn the electrics off at the consumer unit. There should be a water heater switch on it.

As per that short video clip (although it does not show changing the dial). You open the cover, turn the dial to the required temperature, then replace the cover.

Dannii75

I wondered where my mains stopcock was! I thought it was out in the street! ��
Will watch the video & get on with it!
Marvellous! Thank you!

CashStrapped

It may or may not be the mains stopcock. Without looking where the pipe goes, it is impossible to be 100% sure.

You can see on that video - as soon as that cap is removed by loosening that nut with his hand the blue dial is visible.

Ignore the rest of the video as that is about replacing the whole immersion which you do not need to do.

You are just adjusting that dial.

MYMETERISCOMPLEX

OP your last 12 months usage confirms to me that your £70 per month is adequate.
You used 6399 Night units over 363 days, which extrapolates to 6457 to include the extra 2 days. Multiplied by unit rate 6.846p = £442
You used 1410 Day units over 363 days, which extrapolates to 1420 to include the extra 2 days. Multiplied by unit rate 13.792p = £196
Total so far for the year = £638
You don't mention a daily standing charge, but at an assumed 33p per day, that's a further £120
Total for the year = £758
That equates to £63 per month
You also don't mention whether the stated rates include VAT @ 5%. Let's assume not.
That equates to a further £101
Final total for the year = £859
That equates to £71 per month
Hence I think your existing monthly DD is sufficient

Could it be that the £195 debit on the account is down to heavier Autumn / Winter usage. Certainly a good proportion must be and the debt will reduce as your usage reduces in Spring / Summer

The Scottish Power Online Mar 18 Fix v3 (which I'm currently switching to) will save you even more against your existing deal, but not to the point of offsetting the £30 early exit fee, so it may be wisest to wait until 49 days before the end of your FU deal and then look at what's around then

Of course as has already been said, this is all based on your last 12 months usage, which may or may not be a good indicator. Bear in mind though that you are clearly looking to reduce your usage and your latest month readings 20/1/17 to 20/2/17 support this, as your daily usage has reduced significantly against the same point 12 months previously. That suggests to me that you could expect the next 12 months to reflect lower usage and as a result you should pay less than £70 per month, though that will be dependent on what you do after 31/7. As an indicator though your last 12 months usage against the Scottish Power deal would equate to £56 per month

CashStrapped

There is no point doing all the manual calculations. We have the figures and tariff, use a comparison site.

As I said, the tariff is pretty competitive until July.

Her tariff is First Fix July 2017. Check it yourself.

I used the figures I calculated for the last years annual use. I double checked them.......again.

For my area, only Eon beats it at the moment. The Scottish Power Online March 18 V5 is more expensive....just. Mainly due to the standing charge.

That is until July obviously when the tariff ends (I am not comparing for the coming year, only what is cheapest now).

Whether the OP wishes to switch now (to get a new 1 year fix) or wait till July is up to her.

MYMETERISCOMPLEX

The whole theme of the thread is the OP's shock at the rise in the DD and her fear regarding her electricity use

I'm trying to allay that fear by pointing out that the readings she has posted support a DD at the lower end of the scale, hence the calculations and that her reduced daily usage should have an even more beneficial effect going forwards

CashStrapped

I appreciate what your saying.

It could have been communicated in much simpler way. i.e

Based on a comparison site, your current tariff based on last years use gives an annual cost of £792.

Spread over 12 months this equates to a DD of £66 per month. This is very roughly what you could expect to pay.

-

My point is, the OP needs to do her own comparison, as the tariffs in her area may differ.

Is the Scottish power march V3 tariff even available any more? They withdrew it last week along with v4 I thought.

That is why the OP needs to check for themselves.

----
Predicting what your or anyone's future DD or energy use may be (go up or down) is futile. A DD is not always representative of your actual energy use. The only thing you can do is give regular meter readings to ensure the DD is as accurate as possible.

MYMETERISCOMPLEX

I have to admit to not having checked if the SP deal is still available. Apologies if I misled the OP on that!

Agree, she needs to put those annual usage numbers into the comparison site and hopefully get reassurance on what comes back as an indicator

Dannii75

Thanks both, I appreciate your help & advice.
Given that my bill should be around £70 is fair enough but as it's now £123 AND I'm £196 in debit with FU that's overuse by a lot! I need to look at ways to reduce my usage for sure! I work full time so am only home evenings & weekends!
Time to start evolving or hibernating!
Wake me up in March!