Why such high electricity bills?

Miss_Annie

Thank you for all your replies. Because there are so many questions being asked I decided to answer all in one go here, so here goes:

Q: How many kWh’s used per year? And how much?
A: Annual consumption per year. Day = 4,142 kWh Night = 8,646kWh the cost per month via DD is £153.00 per month. Annual cost £1,830.20

Q: What tariff have I been on?
A: With EDF we were on the Blue + price protection Oct 19 (E7) which ended on the 31st Oct 19 The day rate was 21.97p and the night rate was 8.18p the standing charge was 18.00p per day.

Q: The immersion heater?
A: Yes, I can stop the half hour usage in the late afternoon. I have now adjusted the timer so this does not come on. I also have a new jacket on it.

Q: Asked for the meter readings from a year ago and today’s readings from my spreadsheet?
A: Reading on the 30.11.18 Day = 23062 Night = 42443
Today’s readings 20.11.19 Day = 27479 Night = 49594

Q: Use of the storage heaters
A: This year we have not put them all on. We have only put one on in the hallway by the front door, which is the coldest part we have to walk through to get to the kitchen, no heating in the kitchen. We close all doors apart from the kitchen one so it gets some heat from this one small storage heater, which by the way is on a low setting. We have been using one small oil rad just for an hour on the evening in the front room to take the chill off. Yes we do wear jumpers and dressing gowns.

Q: Are the meters in a communal area?
A: Each meter is outside our own front door. There not all situated all together.

Q: Supply for the communal areas?
A: There is none. We have no lighting nor heating out there. Once night falls it is jet black out there. Should we go out knowing it will be dark on our return we leave the kitchen light on so we can see through the glass front door where to put our key.

Q: Are the storage heaters on in the day time?
A: NO – They wouldn’t come on anyway as there attached to the E7 meter and only activate at midnight.

Q: The balance on last DD statement?
A: Because I keep a spreadsheet and submit my own readings I can calculate the bill. Should there be a shortfall (which there often is) I pay the difference online so when the bill comes in it is a nil balance or a couple of pence either way.

Q: When was the last price comparison?
A: A month ago and I switched from EDF to OVO My reason for using OVO is because the day rate is cheaper at 19.3100p per kWh (inc VAT) the night rate is 11.2100p per kWh (inc VAT) also recommended by four people I know well and the customer service is good. I had been quoted by EDF Day rate 20.66p kWh and night rate 10.52p per kWh.

I hope I have answered everyone
With kind regards

greyteam1959

Do you have a loft ??
Is it very very well insulated ??

Robin9

Your night-time usage (when you used the storage rads) was good at 62%

Your day time use at 4417 kWh is rather high - those oil filled rads won't help.

Your OVO bill for the next year is estimated at £140 a month

RelievedSheff

Have you tried switching everything off in the property and seeing what happens to the meters?

For someone who claims to use nothing in the house you are using a hell of a lot of electricity!

How old are your appliances? What light bulbs are you using?

Gerry1

If you adjust your immersion heater timeswitch for the GMT/BST changes, you're probably using some peak rate for the immersion heater in the morning. For some strange reason the E7 hours usually stay permanently on GMT all your round, so that could be one of the culprits. Similarly, if you have a radio teleswitch the times are +/- 15 minutes, and if it's clockwork then it could have drifted. Do make a visual inspection to check exactly when the meter switches over.

Your tariffs also seems very expensive, especially the day rate e.g. I'm paying Day 16.0083p/kWh, Night 8.74545p/kWh, Standing charge 7.3731p/day, all inc VAT.

Did your price comparison cover the whole of the market and calculate the total annual cost for your usage, or did you just take a quick glance at the unit costs of a company your friends happen to use? (BTW, in the last 11.5 months you've already exceeded your annual Day usage by 275kWh.)

At the annual rates and consumption you quote, your EDF usage totalled £1682.94 not £1830.20, so something's not right there. Even with your inappropriate peak usage, on my tariff you'd be paying only £1446.11 !

Miss_Annie

greyteam1959 wrote: »

Do you have a loft ??
Is it very very well insulated ??

No, we are on the ground floor!

Miss_Annie

RelievedSheff wrote: »

Have you tried switching everything off in the property and seeing what happens to the meters?

For someone who claims to use nothing in the house you are using a hell of a lot of electricity!

How old are your appliances? What light bulbs are you using?

Our appliances are not that old, three years is the oldest item.
We are using the energy saving bulbs, it bit more to buy.

Yes, I agree it is a lot of electricity. The other three flats in the building all have the very same problem as us. We are all being hammered here for some reason and it has been going on for years, long before we even moved here.

comeandgo

I think you should shut everything off. Then see if your meter is still turning or whatever movement they have. Then start adding on your appliances, your fridge, freezer, lights, tv and check the readings to see if any particular increase. Then try the water heater, your heating and see if that's where the increases are.

Miss_Annie

So if all four flats have a problem and we are all using a different company for our supply how do we go about finding the problem, to whom do we go to, to have this problem investigated?

Robin9

Miss_Annie wrote: »

So if all four flats have a problem and we are all using a different company for our supply how do we go about finding the problem, to whom do we go to, to have this problem investigated?

Your problem, and that of your neighbours, is that you all have the same type of heating, appliances - it's nothing to do with the suppliers.

The solution is in the various bits of advice you have been given.