Single person gas & electric bill - What are you paying?

Peppermint90

Hi, 

Having recently moved out on my own, I'm finding the world of adulting very costly. I'm not sure yet of the reasonable costs for things like energy and water and don't want to get conned. So, what should I expect to be paying for gas and elec - single person, 3 bed terrace, London. 

Robin9

This will very much depend on the property you will be living in - its age, its size.
A modern all electric flat  could well be £100 a month - if its gas then perhaps £40 for gas plus £30 for electric.

If you've already moved in make sure your read the meters yourself, don't rely on others


Don't forget water, phone/broadband, insurances

Neil_Jones

Peppermint90 said:

Hi, 

Having recently moved out on my own, I'm finding the world of adulting very costly. I'm not sure yet of the reasonable costs for things like energy and water and don't want to get conned. So, what should I expect to be paying for gas and elec - single person, 3 bed terrace, London. 

Depends on the house, its insulation, whether its single/double/triple-glazed, whether it has loft insulation... and also your tariff.  If you're on some ridiculous tariff where it costs the national debt to boil a kettle, get off it.  See comparison websites.

Re: Water, that depends.  If you're unmetered it depends on the rateable value of your home, and if you're metered depends on your unit rates. From Ofwat: Rateable Values were an assessment of the annual rental value of a property. They were used by local authorities for the General Rates system of local tax between 1967 and 1990. Assessments were made by the District Valuer’s office of the Inland Revenue and, at the time, households were able to appeal the Rateable Value of their property. Each local authority took a number of factors into account when it set rateable values. These included the size and general condition of the property and the availability of local services. In 1990 the General Rates system was replaced by the Community Charge (Poll Tax) and the District Valuer’s office was disbanded. As a result, households could no longer appeal the Rateable Value of their property. Rateable values were last updated in 1990 so any changes to your property since then will not be reflected in your rateable value.  Subsequently the Community Charge was replaced by the current Council Tax system which is based on banded values of properties. However, legislation prevents the use of the Council Tax register from being used for any other purpose. Therefore water companies cannot use Council Tax register to set water bills.

(council tax is another oddity, in England its based on the value of the property as it was in 1991 if it existed at that time, otherwise it gets the appropriate rate for when it was built.  Of course house prices have shot up since then, so if a revaluation occurred tomorrow most people would get bumped up at least two, three maybe four bands)

Also living in London is more expensive than elsewhere in the country as a whole, so expect to pay more.

Peppermint90

Thanks guys. I was on around £85 for gas + electric for the past few months. Having spoken to my supplier they have reduced the monthly fixed price to £54 for gas + elec...
Im having trouble getting my head around "fixed" price when i have a smart meter fixed. Why can't i get billed on actual usage??

Gerry1

Peppermint90 said:

I was on around £85 for gas + electric for the past few months. Having spoken to my supplier they have reduced the monthly fixed price to £54 for gas + elec...

STOP thinking in DD amounts.  They're not bills, only a top up of a kitty that may or may not be sufficient to pay the bills.  You could agree to a DD of £1/month but you'll end up in arrears and the DD will have to be raised twice, once to reflect your actual usage and again to claw back the arrears.  Think in terms of annual kWh usage from actual meter readings (make sure your smart meter hasn't turned into a stupid dumb meter) and annual ££ costs.

MSE DD advice

Peppermint90 said:

Im having trouble getting my head around "fixed" price when i have a smart meter fixed. Why can't i get billed on actual usage??

If dozy Ofgem were any good they'd mandate that all suppliers offer this (Variable Direct Debit) and make it the default.  Some suppliers do offer this but not that many, you just have to shop around.  The only drawback is that winter bills can be large, which may bust some people's bank balances if they're maxed out, but at least you get early warning of high usage rather than a massive bill and increased DDs months later.

Peppermint90

@Gerry1 Ah....ok I think i'm starting to understand now....thank u...

What if my actual usage for the whole year is less than my dd payments for that year? Will they refund me? 

The_Fat_Controller

@Peppermint90 do investigate if your provider will bill you monthly in arrears by Direct Debit.
I am with EDF and they offer this, so I only pay for what I have used, I love my Smart Meters !
If you end up in credit by a large amount they should refund you, however you'll have to delve into your Ts and Cs for exact details.

Gerry1

Peppermint90 said:

@Gerry1 Ah....ok I think i'm starting to understand now....thank u...
What if my actual usage for the whole year is less than my dd payments for that year? Will they refund me? 

Sooner or later they should recalculate your monthly DD amount and / or refunds any credit balance on request.  https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/#fight

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-reforms-could-see-credit-balances-around-14-bn-automatically-returned

leonj

I pay £34 month for gas and electric in a one bed flat and that's with Octopus

Gerry1

leonj said:

I pay £34 month for gas and electric in a one bed flat and that's with Octopus

And is that sufficient to pay the bills?

PennyForThem_2

Regularly send accurate meter readings - monthly is good if you do not have a functioning Smart Meter.  Keep a record especially if a tennant.  Make sure you adjust timings for gas central heating/hot water depending on season and/or freak weaher/

DD is  a way of mitigating what you owe - it is not like an unlimited data download from your ISP.  Unfortinately

So that is why you need to regularly need to update your provider with consumption.