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Moved into new (and tiny) 2-bed flat. After 49 days, been charged a whopping £750 for electricity!
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MoneySavingExpert
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1) it says estimated reading? Did you provide readings or do you have a smart meter? Never pay an estimated bill, it will very likely not be in your favor.
2) you are paying quite high tariffs of over 40p for the Kwh. I'm also on electric only (although without E7), and my tariff is 35,05 (London)
If you have an idea what you use, make a calculation if E7 is profitable for you. If you don't have storage heaters it probably won't as you will get a higher day tariff and you won't profit from the cheaper night tariff.
Overall I fear I have to tell you that you opted in for the most expensive form of heating. What EPC does your property have?
I didn't get to shop around before coming here as I was being evicted and it was very stressful moving two weeks before Xmas (and all the closed businesses), so unfortunately I just took on the supplier that previous supplied to the property. I had enquired about Octopus prior to moving but they were not taking on new customers then.
And my landlord told me this heating was brilliant and very cost-efficient! Said she spent over £4k on it and it was much better than the previous storage heaters as the flat was always freezing. I, unfortunately, wasn't in a position to shop around for flats - this was the only one I could get so it was this or be homeless. Still, I was told heating was great and cost-effective and energy efficient! EPC is D I think. My last place was F.
So to which supplier you go, it really doesn't matter at the moment.
And as long as there are no competitive tariffs out there, the standard default will be the cheapest in most of the cases.
I completely feel you, I can only imagine that it must be so stressful to get evicted, so you just took what you can get.
But to be honest electric only heating in an EPC D rating, I wouldn't call cost efficient... it can turn out cost efficient if the property is able to retain the heat. Otherwise you will pay significantly more.
Nevertheless, what you need are tips to make this work for you to the lowest cost possible
1) really check if these readings are correct. Did you provide a meter reading once you moved in? You don't want to pay some one else's bill or an estimated bill
2) work out if E7 is right for you. If I remember correctly, you should use about 30-35% of your usage in night to be profitable (although other forumnites might be better to confirm). If not,ask to change to a single tariff.
3) check for any hidden electricity eaters. The immersion heater is already a good one, that will definitely save you money.
At least there is a bit of hope on the horizon that the next winter will be cheaper, so let's keep our fingers crossed!
Definitely double check that the meter readings on the bill match the ones from when you moved in, and make sure you give correct readings at least on this to get the billing correct. (And check that those readings you provide are being used to bill you, too!)
I suspect that you’re not going to be best off on E7 internet long term unless you can shift a lot of use to the off peak period, think washing machine, dishwasher, getting into the shower before the rate switches, the dehumidifier etc. E7 works incredibly well for a household that is able to use the bulk of its electricity overnight, but it simply isn’t designed for one where that isn’t the case.
The bill says estimated for the 10th of December, but they are exactly the read from 9th of December OP is giving.
E7 is clearly the wrong choice fr the OP with less than a third used at night, and even less the last month.
Bill for the last 30 days from todays reading
Day 607KWh x 47.827p = £290.31
Night 124KWh x 12.276p = £15.22
SC 30 x 37.16 = 11.15
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Sub-Total 316.68
5% VAT 15.83
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Total £ 332.51
The first bill included the two cold spells, so the higher usage seems plausible.
Single rate would have been about £270, so more than £50 cheaper.
The 731KWh for a winter month seems not unrealist with the additional devices the OP mentioned.