Is gas, electricity and water the same price each month?

JustinBunn

Hi, i recently got my first apartment and im looking at my bills. My water is with Anglian water and is currently £31 direct debit per month. My gas/elec is supplied by British gas Evolve and is currently £41 per month. Are these prices the same each month? and what if i use more or less utilities that usual, will this not affect the price? I havent had any bills yet, my first payments will be in december.

Alter_ego

You will pay for the gas / elec you used based on the amount used. The direct debit amount is an estimate of what you may use.
The more you use the more you pay, get used to that principle and forget the direct debit amount.

tacpot12

Your water bill will be constant each month unless you have a water meter, in which case the bill will change depending on how much water you have used. 

TadleyBaggie

Do you have a water meter?

The gas/electricity is usually averaged out over a year based on historic usage. In the summer, when energy usage is lower, it quite normal to be paying more per month than you are actually using, putting the account into credit. As you move into winter, and usage increases, you may use more energy than you are paying and you start eating into the credit. The utility company will periodically review the usage and may suggest an increase/decrease depending on how much you actually use.

elsien

If you’re on water rates they will stay the same. If on a water meter then the bills will depend on the amount used, as with other utilities.
Direct debits are set up initially on estimated usage. If you use more and the monthly amount doesn’t cover it, you will be accumulating an underpayment and at some point the dd. will be increased to cover that. If you use less than estimated, you will be in credit and your dd. will at some point go down.
Bear in mind you use more in winter than summer so you there will be an averaging out over the year.
The best way to avoid big surprises is to submit meter readings at least monthly if you’re not on a smart meter. 

matelodave

As elsien says, to avoid surprises read your meters every month, send in the readings to your supplier and check your on-line account/bills to ensure that the readings are being used (do it even if you've got smart meters) Get any estimated bills corrected as possible. TBH I'd also check your water meter as well if you've got one.

When you check your meters & bills yourself you get to know how much you use, when you use it and can get a good idea of what is using it which gives you the opportunity to reduce your consumption and identify if something is going awry. It's much easier to sort out a problem that only started a month ago than one happened six month or a year ago.

Robin9

The DD figures you quote sound very low - gas and electric charges alone are about £15.  Personally I would double that £41 .  Read your meters (even if they are Smart)  every month and do your own sums - read and understand your bills..

JohnB47

JustinBunn said:

Hi, i recently got my first apartment and im looking at my bills. My water is with Anglian water and is currently £31 direct debit per month. My gas/elec is supplied by British gas Evolve and is currently £41 per month. Are these prices the same each month? and what if i use more or less utilities that usual, will this not affect the price? I havent had any bills yet, my first payments will be in december.

Others have answered your questions but I just wanted to check - you have taken the gas and electric readings yourself at the point of moving in? Hopefully you haven't relied on a Smart Meter or landlord/previous tenant doing this. 

macman

As above, gas and leccy seem unfeasibly low. How is the property heated and hot watered? it is likely that your DD has been set too low, in which case you need to act now to avoid a big catch-up bill later.

RelievedSheff

Robin9 said:

The DD figures you quote sound very low - gas and electric charges alone are about £15.  Personally I would double that £41 .  Read your meters (even if they are Smart)  every month and do your own sums - read and understand your bills..

Not necessarily. We are two people in a 3 bed detached house and our gas and electric is £55 per month (and we are in plenty of credit to see us through the winter). So it isn't out of the question that a single person in a small apartment would use £41. 

That said the OP really does need to get into the habit of reading their meters on a regular basis so that they can check that the direct debit amount is going to be enough to cover their usage and not leave them with a big catch up bill.