Why are we paying so much for electric?

lovemurphy

Hello everyone. I thought I’d post here as I am after some advice in regards to electricity usage.

We (a couple) have just moved from a 1 bed flat to a larger 1 bed flat. Not a huge difference in size but I would imagine we are using the same amount as electricity as before. New property does have a bath and obviously different heaters. The heaters are electric wall heaters which are brand new and we use them on a timer - not excessively.

We moved in last Friday. We had the immersion heater off until Tuesday until a plumber came out as it wasn’t filling properly so thought it was best to keep it off. Yet we were somehow using an extortionate amount of electricity. This flat has a pay as you go metre. The previous tenant preferred it but we are due to switch to a pay monthly service in about a week. The metre seems to be going down by around £5 per day. At this rate our electric would be around £150 a month which is over 3x more expensive than our last flat. 

Could anyone shed some insight into what we could be doing wrong or why our electric bill could be so high? Any checks I should make? The immersion heater is a Supalag heater ‘The Challenger’. 

I am friends with the landlord and she rented to another friend before us. She said that the previous tenant used about £15 a week. We have already topped the metre up £40 in a week and it had £6 on it when we arrived. 

Alter_ego

Things that heat up are the culprits - Electric wall heaters, immersion heaters, kettles etc.
Check that only your flat is running on the meter.

Gerry1

You've made several classic mistakes.

• Daytime electricity is the most expensive way to heat a property.

• Prepayment tariffs are more expensive.

• You're probably paying off someone else's debt if you're using their card.  You should always get a new one.

Make sure you send an opening meter reading and then a reading every month.You then need to switch provider to make sure you are on the cheapest single rate tariff you can get. You'll have to start by guesstimating your usage, perhaps 10,000kWh per year.  Start comparing using Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?'.

Sadly, the only real solution is to move to a flat with gas central heating.  That won't be the news that you want to hear but unfortunately that's the stark reality.

yksi

My previous landlord told me that when you first switch on a night storage heater, it will chew through a lot of electricity as it does its first store of heat. I don't know if it's actually true but she swore it like gospel. She also echoed what Gerry1 has said, which is, if another tenant has moved their account to a new address which also has a key meter, then your topups are paying for both properties' power use.

Robin9

When you get your credit meter get into the habit of reading it - perhaps every day (morning and night will give you an indication of the day/night split to see if E7 will benefit you) to start with - and then at least monthly and keep your own records and copies of your bills - particularly when the new meter goes in and check the meter serial numbers are correct - and when ever you change suppliers.

Use a comparison site  - like Citizens Advice ow Which?  - to get on the best tariff .

welshmoneylover

I would move out .. electric wall heaters are notoriously expensive.
if the landlord had put in E7 this would have been better for you but it looks as if they’ve used the cheapest option ( for them) to install heating 

Gerry1

yksi said:

She also echoed what Gerry1 has said, which is, if another tenant has moved their account to a new address which also has a key meter, then your topups are paying for both properties' power use.

I doubt that that can happen, but a card left behind can have been set to claw back existing debt.  However, you can pay for previous 'anti-freezing' use by a dodgy landlord/landlady when the property was empty.  They can appear to be doing a favour by lending a new tenant a card with credit on it, but that's a poisoned chalice if much of the top ups is then swallowed up by old debt repayments.  Scrolling through the display on the meter may show whether debt is being collected.

Either way, the new tenant MUST always get their own new card immediately and NEVER top up one they have inherited.

lovemurphy

Thanks all.

any idea how I can check if there is debt on the account? 

yksi

You don't check whether there's debt on the account because it is someone else's account and the provider will not share that info with you. You call the provider and tell them you need an account for yourself.

As for the paying two properties this is what EDF told me at a previous address when I asked why I was burning through credit! They kindly put some credit on for me as they created me a new account.

Gerry1

lovemurphy said:

any idea how I can check if there is debt on the account? 

Have a look at what the meter on the wall tells you.

Prepayment Electricity Meter Codes

More Prepayment Electricity Meter Codes

JC_Derby

yksi said:

You don't check whether there's debt on the account because it is someone else's account and the provider will not share that info with you. You call the provider and tell them you need an account for yourself.

As for the paying two properties this is what EDF told me at a previous address when I asked why I was burning through credit! They kindly put some credit on for me as they created me a new account.

Your spreading misinformation. Gerry has already told you you are wrong about paying for two properties.
And whilst you are correct in that you cannot check with a supplier about someone else’s account, you can look to see on a prepayment meter whether there is debt on it, I see again that Gerry1 has provided good information.