Electricity usage has TREBLED during lockdown

Lemonjuiced

Here are some details about the power consumption of consoles, they are not any where near 600W.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7528/the-xbox-one-mini-review-hardware-analysis/5

matelodave

Lemonjuiced said:

Here are some details about the power consumption of consoles, they are not any where near 600W.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7528/the-xbox-one-mini-review-hardware-analysis/5

Perhaps not, but they use a fair amount unless they are turned off.  However when in use and together with the TV that they are connected to it does start to ramp up, especially if you've got a couple of them churning away for several hours a day and then just left on standby for the rest of the time.
You could easily get through well over kwh a day - just watching a telly for 4-5 hours with a Sky box or similar probably uses a similar amount 
I know my three year old 55" LED TV, Sky box and surround sound combo consumes just over 200watts when it's in use.

Habib2342

Mine has gone up too and I've just been landed with bill of £300+ to pay. It seems like I have been using more that I've been paying for.

I can't speak to my supplier until Monday . Im hoping they'll agree to a six month repayment plan -anyone have any expereience of doing this to pay off a large bill ?

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Lemonjuiced said:

Here are some details about the power consumption of consoles, they are not any where near 600W.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7528/the-xbox-one-mini-review-hardware-analysis/5

Those idle figures are pretty shocking; like having an old-school 75-watt bulb burning full time.

But okay if we assume each child was consuming 150 watts continuous, that wouldn't be far from the truth:
0.15 kW x 12 hours x 3 = 5.4 kWh per day

The hot weather we've had throughout lockdown will be making appliances like computers, fridges and freezers work harder, too.

Fighter1986

Habib2342 said:

Mine has gone up too and I've just been landed with bill of £300+ to pay. It seems like I have been using more that I've been paying for.

I can't speak to my supplier until Monday . Im hoping they'll agree to a six month repayment plan -anyone have any expereience of doing this to pay off a large bill ?

You'll have to pay at least as much as you're going to be using each month going forwards plus an amount towards the outstanding balance.

Say for example you have a £240 balance and use £70 a month, offer to pay £90 a month to cover your actual usage and clear the previous balance over 12 months.

Energy suppliers are fine with this

Robin9

Habib2342 - is the bill based on an Estimated reading ? In which case submit an actual reading and get a corrected bill.

Habib2342

thanks for that. Just checked my meter again and as of today it reads 29135 but Ive been billed at 29471 as at 10 may which clearly doesn't make sense.

Night rated as of today is at 4096 but as at 10 may they've stated it at 4072, so there might be a small adjustment there.

I probably will get a reduction in bill but will still be higher than usual due to working from home 2 days a week prior to lock down since oct 2019 and the high usage incurred over the last 2 months working from home full time.  I've read somewhere some electricity suppliers are offering grants to help people out meeitng their energy bills during this time. When i'm back in the office, I'll claim for tax relief through the govt's p87 scheme to recoup some of the extra costs incurred during this period.

This bill only came to light because i watched Martin Lewis's programme on saving money on electric bills during Covid 19. i suppose its good this bill came to light now as opposed to end of the tariff in September 2020 to avoid a higher debit balance owing .

Habib2342

Just redid my last bill with the actual reads on my meter and I reckon i should be able to save about £56 on my current bill.

I've also noticed estimates were submitttedon my jan electricity statement .I don't suppose there is way of submitting an accurate read of my meter retrospectively at thsis date -02 jan 2020 ?

matelodave

Habib2342 said:

thanks for that. Just checked my meter again and as of today it reads 29135 but Ive been billed at 29471 as at 10 may which clearly doesn't make sense.

Night rated as of today is at 4096 but as at 10 may they've stated it at 4072, so there might be a small adjustment there.

I probably will get a reduction in bill but will still be higher than usual due to working from home 2 days a week prior to lock down since oct 2019 and the high usage incurred over the last 2 months working from home full time.  I've read somewhere some electricity suppliers are offering grants to help people out meeitng their energy bills during this time. When i'm back in the office, I'll claim for tax relief through the govt's p87 scheme to recoup some of the extra costs incurred during this period.

This bill only came to light because i watched Martin Lewis's programme on saving money on electric bills during Covid 19. i suppose its good this bill came to light now as opposed to end of the tariff in September 2020 to avoid a higher debit balance owing .

If you send in readings every month you should get bills based on those readings and you shouldn't get estimates. So check them and you won't get surprises

Talldave

Habib2342 said:

Just redid my last bill with the actual reads on my meter and I reckon i should be able to save about £56 on my current bill.

I've also noticed estimates were submitttedon my jan electricity statement .I don't suppose there is way of submitting an accurate read of my meter retrospectively at thsis date -02 jan 2020 ?

As long as you get the latest bill corrected, there's nothing to be gained from looking back at any old bill because the meters are cumulative so everything is paid for correctly up to the bill that needs correcting. Read and photograph meters monthly from here onwards.