high energy usage

countryman_uk

im trying to help an eighty year old lady with her electric usage, she lives in a 20 year old 2 bedroom bungalow , she only has electric for heating,, she has her heating on for a couple hours in the morning and a couple of hours at night, and not set very high,, she doesn't have any flash electrical  items, no dishwasher, tumble dryer,, but her energy company are saying she is using between 1400 and 1800 kw a month,, i got a smart meter put in in Dec but her last few bills have been estimates, i contact her supply and they said the meter was not working properly,, with no engineer coming out they then said the meter was reading ok,, refunded he bills for the last 3 month then charge her over £565, she now in debt to over £800 ,, i asked them for a home display unit for the smart meter so she could keep an eye on her usage , but they said they dont have display units for the smart meter they put in and wont be getting anymore, i asked why they didnt put a new generation meter in and they just said they didnt have any in stock they are now saying her direct debt will be over £260 a month, this is an elderly women living alone,, i cant see how she can be using so much energy, i asked if they could check the meter and was told it would cost her £257 if an engineer came out,, she is worried sick and not putting her heating on, due to the worry she can not afford to pay her bill, is there anyone i can get help from,

[Deleted User]

Yes, Citizens Advice has energy advisors that have links to senior management teams. What type of meter (manufacturer and model) has the supplier installed? She may be able to see her energy usage and costs by downloading the free App BRIGHT?  I cannot understand why the supplier has not provided an in house display.

QrizB

countryman_uk said:

im trying to help an eighty year old lady with her electric usage, she lives in a 20 year old 2 bedroom bungalow , she only has electric for heating,, she has her heating on for a couple hours in the morning and a couple of hours at night, and not set very high,, she doesn't have any flash electrical  items, no dishwasher, tumble dryer,, but her energy company are saying she is using between 1400 and 1800 kw a month,

50-60kWh/day for electric heating in a bungalow in the winter months is believable, but not if it's literally for "couple hours in the morning and a couple of hours at night". Exactly what sort of electric heating does she have? A 20-year-oledall-electric property should have storage heaters, but if she has panel heaters (whether or not they are filled with magic dust) they are the most expensive of the mainstream methods of heating a property.

... they said they dont have display units for the smart meter they put in and wont be getting anymore, i asked why they didnt put a new generation meter in and they just said they didnt have any in stock

Exactly what model of smart meter did they fit, and roughly when? Can you name the power company, please?

they are now saying her direct debt will be over £260 a month, this is an elderly women living alone,, i cant see how she can be using so much energy

If she's using 10000kWh/yr, which isn't a particularly high number, that will be costing around £3000/yr on a single-rate tariff from April.

lohr500

Do you have any actual readings from the meter and if so, over what time period?

What date was the smart meter installed and what reading does it show now? It isn't a certainty but hopefully the meter was set at zero when installed. If it was set at zero when installed, you will be able to see how many units she has actually used since the installation. Also, there may be a label close to t he meter showing the final reading from the old meter and the start reading from the new meter.

What tariff is she currently on and how much is she paying per kWh? 

Is she using electricity to heat her hot water?

Neil_Jones

A smart meter does not relieve of the need to manually read it on occasion.

If all the previous bills were based on estimates, these are usually going to be so far out of whack its surprising.

This sort of situation about apparently using millions of units and owning a fortune is   usually caused by lack of readings, one has been submitted and you're playing catcht up..  Go and take a reading now.  Then wait 7 days and take another one.  Feed these to the supplier.

Unfortunately all electric properties will cost the earth to run even in cheaper unit times, never mind the current situation.

QrizB

OP has another thread here with some pertinent info in it.

• Meter is 1st Gen (SMETS1?) and was pre-used.
• Opening reading 5891 when fitted in December, latest reading 11018 - so 5127kWh in three winter months.

No details yet of heaters, supplier or tariff.

countryman_uk

the smart meter was installed in Dec 2021 by Shell energy , its a secure liberty 100 , its starting reading was  5891 just read it and its at 11018  its flashing red,, she's in her bed at 6pm and and its says cost now is 56.15 ,, not sure what her heaters are ,, shes on flexi 6  0.19 a unit ,,they said they didnt have an display units for the meter they installed, an wont be getting any,, she only heats water for her bath twice a week use's a kettle for washing pots 

Robin9

@Neil_Jones    We seem to be dealing with a second hand Smart here installed in December.  If the Smart readings are Actual and not |Estimated 5000 units in 4 months is not particularly high. We await details of the heaters but I suspect panel heaters -say 3 at  2Kw for say 4 hours plus 3Kw immersion and cooking etc and a shower then 30 or 35 Kwh a day is to be expected.

countryman_uk

i will find out what heaters she has an get back to you,, , thank you all for your help

lohr500

@countryman_uk.

The flashing red is probably just the pulse indicator. The flash rate indicates the rate of consumption.
On what date in December was the new meter installed with the initial reading of 5891?

How is she managing heating the water twice a week? Is she manually switching the immersion heater on and off?

Sadly, as others have commented, based on using panel heaters to keep warm, an immersion heater and boiling kettles to wash up, her consumption is not unreasonable at 5127kWh over a 3 month + period.

QrizB

countryman_uk said:

the smart meter was installed in Dec 2021 by Shell energy , its a secure liberty 100 , its starting reading was  5891 just read it and its at 11018  its flashing red,, she's in her bed at 6pm and and its says cost now is 56.15 ,, not sure what her heaters are ,, shes on flexi 6  0.19 a unit ,,they said they didnt have an display units for the meter they installed, an wont be getting any,, she only heats water for her bath twice a week use's a kettle for washing pots 

Shell Flexible 6 is their standard variable rate. 19p/kWh sounds like a single-rate tariff and will be plus VAT. Due to be replaced by Flexible 7 in April, priced around 28p/kWh.

Fitting storage heaters or an air-to-air heat pump like danrv did (link) will save money but payback could be 4-8 years. You'll see that danrv practically halved his electricity use and cut 40% from his bill when he switched from storage heaters.