Extremely high energy bills for 1bed flat - Looking for advice

MWT

ElenaGeorgieva said:

I was on a fixed tariff and specifically asked is it will be cheaper or more expensive so the energy companies told me it will be cheaper.

Don't forget that the only thing that is fixed is the price per kWh and the standing charge per day, how much you are spending each month is entirely dependent upon how much you use each month.

The monthly payment is only an estimate and a contribution towards the total bill you are running up, this is why you need to submit meter readings monthly and check your bills to make sure your payments are covering the usage...

Given the meter has been checked and found to be working the odds are that when you can locate and post the meter readings that have been asked for, those readings will support the fact that you've inadvertently been using a lot more energy than you have been paying for, hence the large bill.

£400 a year to heat and power even a one bedroom flat is unlikely, but the meter readings will help clarify that.

ElenaGeorgieva

Gerry1 said:

Well, the convector heaters will certainly give you high bills.  What type of storage heater do you have?  If it isn't well insulated and fan assisted (e.g.Quantum) it will be hot overnight and during the day, and cool by the time you get back in the evening.  The simple storage heaters are only suitable for the retired and unemployed.

Have you switched to E7 and are the storage heaters switched by the meter?  If not, the bills will be even higher because the E7 daytime rates are even higher than single rate.  Similarly, is the immersion heater on the E7 switched supply?

Sorry to lecture so much, but I fear you may be doing everything wrong...

The new heaters are Quantum but I still have 2 that are convector. Depends on how good the storage heaters are, I might not need to use the convector ones. I am waiting for my electricity meter to be switched to E7.

I don't mind being lectured but I do mind being disrespected. Water under the bridge now.

ElenaGeorgieva

MWT said:

ElenaGeorgieva said:

I was on a fixed tariff and specifically asked is it will be cheaper or more expensive so the energy companies told me it will be cheaper.

Don't forget that the only thing that is fixed is the price per kWh and the standing charge per day, how much you are spending each month is entirely dependent upon how much you use each month.

The monthly payment is only an estimate and a contribution towards the total bill you are running up, this is why you need to submit meter readings monthly and check your bills to make sure your payments are covering the usage...

Given the meter has been checked and found to be working the odds are that when you can locate and post the meter readings that have been asked for, those readings will support the fact that you've inadvertently been using a lot more energy than you have been paying for, hence the large bill.

£400 a year to heat and power even a one bedroom flat is unlikely, but the meter readings will help clarify that.

Thank you

Gerry1

ElenaGeorgieva said:

Gerry1 said:

Well, the convector heaters will certainly give you high bills.  What type of storage heater do you have?  If it isn't well insulated and fan assisted (e.g.Quantum) it will be hot overnight and during the day, and cool by the time you get back in the evening.  The simple storage heaters are only suitable for the retired and unemployed.

Have you switched to E7 and are the storage heaters switched by the meter?  If not, the bills will be even higher because the E7 daytime rates are even higher than single rate.  Similarly, is the immersion heater on the E7 switched supply?

Sorry to lecture so much, but I fear you may be doing everything wrong...

I do mind being disrespected.

Well, I'm quite happy not to offer free advice if it's not wanted...

Puddings

I'm in a 1 bed flat, only me, electric only, on E7 with Bulb. I currently do not have any heating in my home (need to install storage heaters at some point in the future, it's a minefield) and my bills are £55 per month (started at £45 ish but have crept up over the last few months as now working from home permanently) I give meter readings each month and have adjusted my DD (upwards) as necessary. Hope that helps a little to give you an idea of costs. 

ElenaGeorgieva

Puddings said:

I'm in a 1 bed flat, only me, electric only, on E7 with Bulb. I currently do not have any heating in my home (need to install storage heaters at some point in the future, it's a minefield) and my bills are £55 per month (started at £45 ish but have crept up over the last few months as now working from home permanently) I give meter readings each month and have adjusted my DD (upwards) as necessary. Hope that helps a little to give you an idea of costs. 

Thank you, it does

matelodave

It appears that you haven't been sending meter readings so you dont actually know how much electricity you are using. If you dont send in regular readings then the energy supplier will just guess and more often than not it will be wrong. You have been paying an amount which was based on a guess and was obviously insufficient so by the time the meter does actually get read there is a big catch-up bill to be paid. Your predicament is one of many thousands who don't read their meters, don't check their bills and don't know how much they use and then get a massive bill shock when the day of reckoning comes. This forum has hundreds of threads with the same problem and the reasons are exactly the same.

As others have said you may not be on a competitive tariff either so you may be paying more than you need to for the energy you are using. I pay 12pence/.kwh but a poor tariff could be as much as 20p/kwh.  I use 7000kwh a year so it would cost me an extra £560 (£45/month) if I was on the most expensive.

You do need to learn how to read your meters - even more important if you are going onto E7 - because although your off-peak costs my drop you'll find that daytime peak cost will be quite expensive so you need to optimise your peak/off-peak split to take advantage (like using the washing machine during off peak times,) Make sure that your immersion heater is only turned on during off peak times and don't use an electric shower during peak times.

You also need to send in readings and CHECK your bills every month to ensure that your direct debit is on target to pay your costs if you want to avoid bill shock in the future. Even if you have a smart meter, you should still check your meter readings against the billls every month just to ensure that the readings are actually being used.