Arguing Electricity Usage

Adams_Dad

Think I know the answer to this - but here goes.
Autumn 2017 I moved into a gorgeous 2 bed flat on the top floor (roof space) of a converted chapel.
I paid my monthly electricity DD every month but noticed bill increasing - increased DD and tried to save fuel - in the worst of last winter I would come home from work and still be watching TV two hours later in my outdoor coat. For a short while, I borrowed a calor 'space heater' to avoid using electric.
I couldn't afford the fuel costs, so moved in April this year, owing SSE £1000.
I'm paying them back, it'll take a few years. I don't know why I didn't argue it, was probably just in a bad place at the time.
So, is there anything I can do almost a year later to argue the size of the leccy bill?

FYI - main electricity use - heating / shower / washing machine / dishwasher (both 2-3 times a week) and heated blanket / fan heater - both only when desperate.

Robin9

What records have you got - copies of bills - your own meter readings - amount paid - tariff ....................

System

Converted chapel; having to wear an overcoat........ The conversion might have been visually appealing but it would seem that little thought was given to insulation. What EPC rating did the property have?

matelodave

Although you may have been paying your DD on time, was it covering your consumption of energy.
You need to sort out all your old bills and meter readings to check that the bills were accurate. Did you get estimated ones corrected. Did you give regular monthly meter readings to your supplier. Did you check whether your DD was actually covering your consumption - although if you've got a bill for £1000 it seems unlikely.

Are you even sure that you were paying for the leccy in your flat. It's not unheard of for people to be reading the meter and pay for the energy for another flat in multi occupancy buildings.

If you dont keep your own records and read the meters regularly or even download and save your bills you can easily find that you are in a situation where it's difficult to back-track and nigh on impossible if you've moved away and chucked it all away.

Most energy companies close access to your on-line account as soon as you leave them and it can be difficult to get copies of old bills and statements but you can ask them.

Adams_Dad

Thanks all.
I did increase my DD to £75 per month (from40) but it obviously wasn't enough. No real records, so I'll let it go - was just posting on the off chance.
I wonder if new occupants will benefit from fuel bill cap? Qu! Sera.

chris_n

There is no fuel bill cap, if you use it you have to pay for it!

Anthony_C

Help please: simple sums

Reading these posts on electric heating and hot water cylinder immersion heater, can we provide users with simple guidelines so they can best understand their bills and budgeting

Example 1: Hot water
3 kW immersion heater, is that an average of 20p-25p per kWh including VAT and meter standing charge
Say allowance of 60p-75p per hour of use, dependent on mains cold water temperature

Example 2: Electric heating

READ YOUR METERS MONTHLY. CHECK YOUR STATEMENTS

matelodave

Anthony_C wrote: »

Help please: simple sums

Reading these posts on electric heating and hot water cylinder immersion heater, can we provide users with simple guidelines so they can best understand their bills and budgeting

Example 1: Hot water
3 kW immersion heater, is that an average of 20p-25p per kWh including VAT and meter standing charge
Say allowance of 60p-75p per hour of use, dependent on mains cold water temperature

Example 2: Electric heating

READ YOUR METERS MONTHLY. CHECK YOUR STATEMENTS

20-25p'kw sounds a bit expensive for leccy, although there are three possible pricing structures - single rate at around 16p, Off peak at around 10p, peak rate up to around 20p.

A 3kwh immersion heater on for one hour will consume 3kwh. Most tanks will require around 6kwh or about 2 hours to reheat from cold but possibly a bit less depending on the incoming temperature and how much hot water has been drawn off. A well insulated tank will lose between 1.5kwh and 2kwh a day. Ideally it should be heated during the off peak period to take advantage of the cheaper rate electricity.

Regarding heating then you need to do a heat loss calculation for the room you are trying to heat and the heat loss will vary according to the temperature difference between the inside and outside.

A 3kwh heater will consume 3kwh in 1 hour unless the thermostat kicks in & out when it should be less.

However the first hour or so may require the heater to be on full to raise the room up to the desired temperature in a reasonable amount of time. This sort of heater will use standard or peak rate electricity as they only produce heat when energy is supplied to them.

A storage heater is desiged to charge up with heat in a 7 hour overnight period (using off peak electricity) and release that heat gradually over the remaining 17 hours so you need to calculate how much heat you need to store to ensure that you've got the correct sized heater. and that there's sufficient heat left towards the end of the discharge period to maintain the room temperature

A 3kw storage heater will store 21kwh of heat overnight but then release it at a rate controlled by the output damper until it's 21kwh charge is dissipated. So you can assume that it will take 21kwh for a full charge however if you turn down the charge control then it will take less because it will store less.

You need to ensure that it's correctly sized or you've got enough heaters to produce sufficient heat throughout the desired heating period. A lot of storage heater installations are undersized and run out of charge to soon.

Wet radiators whether the hot water is gas or electrically heated use energy whilst they are heating and gas is the best option as peak rate leccy is extremly expensive. Again they need to be sized to produce sufficient heat to balance the heat loss of the room and to reheat it in a reasonable amount of time.

Ideally they need to be thermostatically controlled to ensure that they only use as much energy as required and dont overheat the place when it's not so cold.

Adams_Dad

ChrisN
Paying for it is exactly what I am doing. You might be interested in
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjb9bCHhZPfAhWuy4UKHWQ9AB0QzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fbusiness%2Fnews%2Fofgem-energy-price-cap-gas-electricity-bills-a8524991.html&psig=AOvVaw2FK61Xxniqnk7DNjw7zlD0&ust=1544454918094722&cshid=1544368516119

stewie_griffin

The link doesn't work, however without reading it I think, like a lot of people, you've misinterpreted the price cap.

The standing charge and unit price you pay will be capped but not the overall cost so you still pay for what you use.

I'm concerned that a lot of households will end up with huge bills after winter as they mistakenly thought the cost was capped.

matelodave

Theres is a sort of cap on the price per kwh and a sort of cap on the standing charge but only for the standard variable tariff. It's also different depending on where you live and whether you pay by bill or direct debit. If you use more than the average then you'll pay more and if you use less then you'll pay less.

However it does seem that now there is a cap, the energy suppliers are trying to recover the difference by increasing the costs of their fixed tariffs.

Some suppliers have increased their prices up to the cap which will be reviewed in April and at six monthly intervals and is bound to increase so it's not really helping many people as they can now look forward to two increases a year.