I wish I hadn't followed Martin's advice not to fix my energy deal

pochase

Your calculation is wrong. One unit gas is estimated 11.2KWh if you have a imperial meter (Cubic foot would be even more expensive). The real formula is more complex with variable elements, but 11.2 is near enough for this purpose.

So your gas is 11.2 * 1585 * 0.1737 = 3083,52 + 99.35 standing charge = £3182.87

Add to that the £3348.16 for electricity and you get to £ 6531,93 or £6=544.25 per month.

Phlik

Tristan74 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Tristan74 said:

I'm actually minded to complain to the regulator, while a shocking amount, the bill would have been affordable for me but if I were struggling and saw that level of increase that could have been terrifying/distressing

On what actual grounds would you seek to complain? Prices rising is not grounds for a complaint. 

Hi Matt,

Over the past 12 months my usage has been as follows Electricity: 5486 units and Gas: 1585 units. At the new rate this would come to: 

Electricity  (5486 x £0.5891) + (365 x £0.3188) = £3348.16

Gas   (1585 x £0.1737) + (365 x £0.2722) = £374.66

Total = £3722.83

Therefore the monthly payment suggestion should be in the region of:

Monthly £3722.83 / 12 = £310.23

However, Octopus are recommending that I pay £467 per month, this would require me to increase my usage by around 53% which is highly unlikely.

They seem to want me to pay £157 more than I need to each month. Let's assume they are making the same recommendation to all their customers. They have 3.1m customers. After 12 months they would be holding (and taking interest on) the following account surplus.

£157 x 12months x 3,100,000 = £5,840,400,000

That's nearly £6 trillion.

For many this needless over-payment could cause significant financial distress and may force them to make choices they don't need to make.

It seems fairly immoral to me.

Your gas meter measures units in m3 or ft3 (more likely m3 but check it), you're billed in kWh. You're gas bill will be more than 10 times the £374 you've calculated.

Post above explains better.

sully1311

Tristan74 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Tristan74 said:

I'm actually minded to complain to the regulator, while a shocking amount, the bill would have been affordable for me but if I were struggling and saw that level of increase that could have been terrifying/distressing

On what actual grounds would you seek to complain? Prices rising is not grounds for a complaint. 

Hi Matt,

Over the past 12 months my usage has been as follows Electricity: 5486 units and Gas: 1585 units. At the new rate this would come to: 

Electricity  (5486 x £0.5891) + (365 x £0.3188) = £3348.16

Gas   (1585 x £0.1737) + (365 x £0.2722) = £374.66

Total = £3722.83

Therefore the monthly payment suggestion should be in the region of:

Monthly £3722.83 / 12 = £310.23

However, Octopus are recommending that I pay £467 per month, this would require me to increase my usage by around 53% which is highly unlikely.

They seem to want me to pay £157 more than I need to each month. Let's assume they are making the same recommendation to all their customers. They have 3.1m customers. After 12 months they would be holding (and taking interest on) the following account surplus.

£157 x 12months x 3,100,000 = £5,840,400,000

That's nearly £6 trillion.

For many this needless over-payment could cause significant financial distress and may force them to make choices they don't need to make.

It seems fairly immoral to me.

It's definitely not anywhere near £6 trillion!!

Tristan74

pochase said:

Your calculation is wrong. One unit gas is estimated 11.2KWh if you have a imperial meter (Cubic foot would be even more expensive). The real formula is more complex with variable elements, but 11.2 is near enough for this purpose.

So your gas is 11.2 * 1585 * 0.1737 = 3083,52 + 99.35 standing charge = £3182.87

Add to that the £3348.16 for electricity and you get to £ 6531,93 or £6=544.25 per month.

Oh God, why don't they quote my usage in the same unit as they sell it in? OK I"m off to sell the family pet and slash my wrists

Tristan74

So now I'm back to wishing I'd fixed earlier!

Mstty

Tristan74 said:

So now I'm back to wishing I'd fixed earlier!

Time for a reduction in energy use exercise👍

pochase

The rates in you calculation are on the very high sides, October should be more like 14.5p and 45.6p. 

That is almost £100 cheaper for October 

Tristan74

Firstly can I thank everyone for showing me where I have got things wrong. That said I now feel close to tears at how this is going to affect us.

Mstty

Tristan74 said:

Firstly can I thank everyone for showing me where I have got things wrong. That said I now feel close to tears at how this is going to affect us.

Do you know where to start with energy saving?

Try including all the family and that way they all buy into the energy saving way👍

Phlik

Tristan74 said:

Firstly can I thank everyone for showing me where I have got things wrong. That said I now feel close to tears at how this is going to affect us.

It's a bit (lot) of a shock when you first sit down and look at it especially if you've been on a good fix for the last year or so and are only really looking at it now.
We've a few summer months left so you have got time to take stock and start making alterations to how your  household use energy and there's a lot of good information on the forum.

Look at the big power user appliances first, tumble dryers, washing machines, dishwasher, oven and how you use them. How you heat water for washing etc, times spent in showers/baths. Look at the worst offenders before looking at the smaller low power equipment, it's surprising how big a difference using eco modes for some appliances make.

Those of us on variable tariffs or who were with suppliers who went bust are in a way luckier (that's what I tell myself anyway ) in that we've been watching all this unfold since last September, so it hasn't hit us all at once.