Energy bills go up TOMORROW - meter read TODAY!

EssexHebridean

**edit**

Addition as at 31/3/22

If you are on an old-style meter you MUST read it and submit those readings to your provider today if you want to be sure of being charged accurately for the energy you have used ahead of the steep increase tomorrow. If you have a smart meter then the recommendation is to read it anyway, and at the very least retain a record of that reading just in case your provider mysteriously can't communicate with it tonight. for those submitting readings, I'd also suggest taking photos of the meters which can act as "evidence" if the readings you submit go astray and an under-estimation is made instead.

Ok DFW’ers - it’s now under a month away, and it’s very much time to get heads out of sand and find out where we REALLY stand. So - have you sat down yet and worked out how much (at a minimum) your home energy costs are going to be over the next year? 

If you use a meter reading app of some description - it’s astonishingly easy - for electricity at least. Take the reading from this time last year, then read your meters again now. Subtract reading 1 from reading 2 and bingo, you have the units used in the last 12 months. Some additional maths is needed if you’re on an economy 7 or similar tariff - as you also need the spit between peak, and off peak rates. Gas is a little more tricky as the meters read in either cubic metres (m3) or cubic feet (ft3) and there are conversions to be used to get you to the kWh readings…your bill should give you the conversion - failing that a quick search on the energy board here will find it. For those without apps it might be easiest to go back to bills one year apart.

Once you have your use figures - then time to check what your new rates from April 1st will be. If you are lucky enough to still be on a fix, then woohoo - you’re probably quids in for a while - but if that fix is due to end inside the next year I’d suggest still doing the sums to predict how much it might increase once the fix ends. 

Using our electric use as an example:

Standing charge: 36.24p/day X 365
Peak rate: 34.34p/kWh x 1291 units 
Off peak rate: 17.65p/kWh x 4095 units
Expected annual cost = £1272.56
we’ve been paying £70 a month - and we now know that budgeting an additional £35 a month on top of that should see us OK. (For transparency, we do have a small amount of gas use as well but it’s only for cooking, and even on the increased prices £10 a month sees that covered, with a little to spare.)

Remember
- the price cap is a cap on the unit price and standing charge you are charged (on a standard variable tariff only) - it hopefully sounds obvious but some are thrown by it - it is NOT an “all you can eat” maximum you’ll pay.
- the quoted “average energy cost for a household” is just that - an average. It’s based on a hypothetical family, in a hypothetical house, with hypothetical levels of use - it WILL be different for you. It might be lower, but it also might be higher.
- your direct debit amount is NOT your bill - it’s just a sum that your energy company “think” will cover your usage. If you use more - you’ll end up in debt. If you use less - you’ll build up credit.
- most importantly IMO - KNOWING WHERE YOU STAND IS ALWAYS THE BEST OPTION. It might be scary, but it’s WAY less scary than being taken by surprise by massively increased bills along the line. 

- the best way of knowing that your charges are accurate is to take regular readings and feed them back to your energy company. And yes - even if you have smart meters, learn how to read them (the actual meters, NOT the IHD) and check what they are feeding back is correct at least a couple of times a year. Minimum. Keeping notes of the readings yourself is also a good idea.

Finally - and the most important thing here probably. Set a reminder - on your phone, perhaps , to take meter readings and submit them as late as you possibly can on 31st March. Remember that the systems might be busy as a lot of folk will be doing the same, but even if you can’t submit online on the night, you can call up the following day and give them retrospectively. (I’d suggest taking photos of the readings for your own records, and in case your energy company decide to challenge what you’re giving them.) 

MovingForwards

My provider has a section where I can compare usage over different years.

Last year I spent £523 on gas and electric, they think it will cost me £1085 for this year or £2271 if I fix my tariff.

My usage was:
1601 electric
6435 gas

My personal circumstances have changed as I'm no longer working from home and don't expect to use the same amount of kWh as I did in 2021.

I'm also using the timer on my GCH for 30 minutes on a weekday morning and a couple of hours of on / off / on in the evenings, rather than on when I'm cold, wrapped under blankets, and off an hour before I go to bed.

I switch off lights when not in the room, but barely use any, aside from kitchen and bathroom. My lounge has a lamp as it's a softer light and a rechargeable light is used in the main bedroom.

With food I mainly cook on the gas hob, rather than a full roast using the oven and hobs.

All the heavy gardening has been finished, therefore no shredding is required from now on, again saving electric.

I know I'm a lucky one who can afford to risk the SVR or even take a silly fix. It's a gamble, but one I'm willing to take.

I'm ready to take my meter readings on the 31st.

sourcrates

With me the electricity unit price is going up about 11p, and the standing charge is doubling to around 47p, on April 1st.

Remember it will rise again later in the year.

Don`t have historic readings as my old provider went bust, and I was transferred to Eon next.

Luckily spring is around the corner, and keeping usage to a minimum, should see my bill not rise that much.

Bored

I feel incredibly lucky - my fix expired back in Sep and I picked up a fix from Eon Next that runs until Sep 2023 (Electric: 20.71 p/kWh 18.06 p/day). 

Looking at the current and predicted future prices I honestly don't know how some people are going to cope. I also worry that some people who are not as dialled in on financial matters might not even know this is coming, or to what extent their prices are going to rise.   

EssexHebridean

sourcrates said:

With me the electricity unit price is going up about 11p, and the standing charge is doubling to around 47p, on April 1st.

Remember it will rise again later in the year.

Don`t have historic readings as my old provider went bust, and I was transferred to Eon next.

Luckily spring is around the corner, and keeping usage to a minimum, should see my bill not rise that much.

Yes - daftly enough we're in a similar position with not having access to older bills - ideally of course people should download and save them but clearly this is a case of "do as I say, not as I do". I think for a lot of folk who are of the age when bills came in the post it's just something not much thought about.  We DO still have our electricity meter readings though thanks to a handy phone app which I've been using since 2009 - I'd really urge people to look into using something like this now - as it means you can instantly get a really clear picture of how your usage changes from quarter to quarter and year to year - even if you DO lose access to online stuff with your supplier or indeed - as we have - find yourself with a supplier who doesn't provide in-depth information. It also means if you get a bill through with a dodgy estimate you can see what your own reading was at the same point. 

EssexHebridean

Something else I'd note - we are indeed thankfully coming into a time of less energy use as heating gets turned down - or hopefully fairly soon off altogether for a few months, and we also need lights on less - and in some cases even find ourselves cooking less as salads etc start to return to our diets more. HOWEVER remember that if you pay by monthly direct debit on some form of budget plan (So not clearing each bill in full as it arrives) you still need to build a "cushion" ahead of next winter - in fact all the more so now because the increase in costs into next winter is going to be horrendous. If you want to leave your DD as it is now, and your provider is content with that, then once you've worked out your average monthly cost over the full year to come, start to stash the extra over what your current figures are away into savings building yourself a buffer against those upcoming higher costs. 

If you've not already done it - then a home audit to consider changing any remaining higher energy use bulbs for LED's would be a good idea. 

RelievedSheff

We use around 2900kWh of electric per year and 6000kWh of gas per year.

Our monthly payment is expected to increase from the £95 per month we are currently paying to £130 a month from April.

We are still in credit from this winter which may reduce the monthly payment a little. 

Fortunately we are in a position to soak up the extra costs but I know there will be lots of people who will struggle. Even so we are going to look at ways to reduce our energy consumption this year before Octobers further increase in prices.

Sea_Shell

EssexHebridean said:

Something else I'd note - we are indeed thankfully coming into a time of less energy use as heating gets turned down - or hopefully fairly soon off altogether for a few months, and we also need lights on less - and in some cases even find ourselves cooking less as salads etc start to return to our diets more. HOWEVER remember that if you pay by monthly direct debit on some form of budget plan (So not clearing each bill in full as it arrives) you still need to build a "cushion" ahead of next winter - in fact all the more so now because the increase in costs into next winter is going to be horrendous. If you want to leave your DD as it is now, and your provider is content with that, then once you've worked out your average monthly cost over the full year to come, start to stash the extra over what your current figures are away into savings building yourself a buffer against those upcoming higher costs. 

If you've not already done it - then a home audit to consider changing any remaining higher energy use bulbs for LED's would be a good idea. 

I agree wholeheartedly.   As tempting as it may be to reduce your DD over the summer (if your provider allows it), you'll only be kicking the can down the road, and your Winter usage WILL still need to be paid for.

Keeping your DD low and "stashing" the money away, only works if you are disciplined enough NOT to dip into that pot for other things.

The other thing I'd suggest, is that if you are eligible for the £150 Council Tax rebate, that when you get it, you make an immediate payment of that amount to your supplier.   So then it's "gone" and you won't be able to spend it on other things.

However, I'd caveat that by saying, only if your with one of the "Big 6" suppliers, that are unlikely to go bust with your credit ending up in limbo for months!!   

SusieT

I am lucky as I have a spreadsheet with monthly readings for the last 4 years, so I know I am fairly consistant. Last year I did a big change of light bulbs to LED and now only a few rarely used are the old filament type - and thats mainly because I have not seen the size/shape in LED. Heating is turned down and set for shorter times, and I open the windows less when its blowy so that the house airs but does not lose too much heat. 
I think there will be a huge problem later this year with food costs, fertiliser has already tripled in price to around £600 a tonne, and is expected to go closer to £1000 by summer, that plus the fact that wheat and other grain is normally imported from Ukraine and Russia will likely send prices soaring 

Norman_Castle

EssexHebridean said:

sourcrates said:

With me the electricity unit price is going up about 11p, and the standing charge is doubling to around 47p, on April 1st.

Remember it will rise again later in the year.

Don`t have historic readings as my old provider went bust, and I was transferred to Eon next.

Luckily spring is around the corner, and keeping usage to a minimum, should see my bill not rise that much.

Yes - daftly enough we're in a similar position with not having access to older bills - ideally of course people should download and save them

I was with neon reef and zog, both sites now unavailable. I'd downloaded a final bill from neon reef but as my usage was consistently around 110kwh per month I can work out my annual usage. I didn't know what my annual usage from zog was but realised they emailed a monthly statement showing annual usage. Try checking old emails for monthly or annual statements.

JadedAngel88

I'd like to think that I keep my gas and electric as low as I can. Yearly costs are around £700.

I know my supplier increased the price in October, so I think it went up by about £50.

The next increase will see that yearly cost double. I am hoping that, with the warmer weather coming, to keep the gas to a minimum during the next 6 to 7 months but keep topping up with the same money for gas so that I have some kind of buffer for when winter hits. 

I have no idea where I am going to get the extra money from though. I am hoping they have estimated that amount because I will not have £200 per month for gas and electric. 

BTW I'm on pre payment smart meters.