Moved into new (and tiny) 2-bed flat. After 49 days, been charged a whopping £750 for electricity! 24 February at 5:10PM in Energy 41 replies 3K views

pochase

Maybe intersting to look at the total readings, night usage is only 31% overall, and that includes storage heaters that were replaced.

Also not sure how "new" flat and 73000KWh match. Add to that that you would not replace new storage heaters after only a few years.

Scot_39

missmococo said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

German clay heaters - I take it those are not storage heaters but use expensive daytime electricity?  Regardless of whether the bill is right or wrong, having to use heating at an expensive daytime rate will cost you more anyway so unless you somehow have high night usage then changing to single rate would most likely work out cheaper.

You definitely need to post the meter readings from when you moved in and now (and any others in between), if possible.  Plus the unit rates, for considering the bill.  Then people can advise you accurately.

Yes, not storage heaters. But I barely have the heat on during the day. I definitely don't have heat on in the rooms I'm not in and even in my office, it isn't usually on. During the day, it doesn't get that cold and during the night, I'm not in it so I don't heat it. The heat doesn't come on until after sunset in the living and bedroom when it's colder and then only for an hour or so. The heat stays in the flat well for hours. One or two hours of heat usually heats the room for the rest of the night until I go to bed. At least, that's what I think is happening.

9th Dec reads from before I moved in: 
Night 22368
Day 49101

25th Jan reads (last bill from Scottish Power):
Night 22831
Day 50490

Today's reads:
Night 22955
Day 51057

Unite Rates:

Edit 2 - Gas to Electric Bill Shock

Think you are now suffering from a combination of gas vs electric heating bill shock - made worse by your landladys choice of heating and the tariff.

The current EPG for gas is c10p, the current DD average rate for flat rate electriciity is 34p - and whilst your night rate is similar to gas at 12.276p - your day rate at 47.827p is a) much higer than SR - and b) nearly five times gas

Edit 2 End

This bill shows 650 day and 217 night for 3 weeks in Dec, and then post Dec est split (thats the Ofgem cap change - non trivial for many E7 customers - like you - your day unint rate is then 3.3p / kWh higher) a further - 739 day and 246  night - for just under the month for Dec - Jan.

Electric panel heaters may be more responsive than old NSH - but they often work on the current rate - so day in day - night in night.

You are now I very much suspect paying 47.8p ex vat for day rate when you switch heaters on in evenings, rather than charging NSH at 12.3p night ex VAT - and on your split for Jan - thats a total of £377.44 for 985 kWh  - average price = 38.3p ex VAT = 40.2p inc VAT.

The SR electric average EPG is c34p inc VAT for DD payment - but varies a few pence with region and payment method withing each region.

So by comparison - 955 @ 34p (as don't know your region or payment method) = £325 (£310 ex VAT) - or about £70 + VAT less.

Unless you use a lot of power at night (the old default pre EPG and Ofgem's recent recalc of multirate vs single rate caps - was a minimum of 42%) - E7 sadly is not the best tariff for you.

Your use is far below the breakeven point for E7 to beat standard EPG - national average c34p (1st Oct 22 - 31st Mar 23).

Your Dec 31st - Jan 25th usage from bill was only 25% night. 

As was your Dec 22 estimate.

Jan 25 - now = 124 night, 567 day = 18% night  - even worse for E7 vs SR

Obviously minimising usage where you can is great and helps.

But ultimately - unless you can move more of that even lowered usage into night rate period - it will likely be more expensive on E7 tariff than SR.

NSH have had a bad press - as the older models are unresponsive - they take 1-2 days to heat / settle, 1-2 days to cool - aren't room thermostat regulated - but then they would be costing 12.276p / kWh to charge vs your day rate 47.827p for a panel heater.

Your landlord may sadly have been sold on the marketing of many a relatively expensive panel heater firm in the past - ignoring the main cost benefit of NSH - use of off peak rate. 

And would have been potentially far better - in terms of cost to run - if landlord had fitted modern HHR NSH instead.

It seems unlikely the landlord would be willing to invest in proper HHR NSH replacements (like Dimplex Quantum) to better utilise E7 night rate after such a major recent refit.

There are other E7 tariffs - region and supplier dependent - that have closer day / night pricing - others are even further apart - one poster here is on EDF deal on 55p/8p night - but uses over 90% night rate.

But at 25% let alone more recent 18% find it difficult to imagine any E7 deals will work out cheaper than flat rate SR.

*Edit = Caution - this is obviously based on winter splits - whereas if you eliminate heating - it may be things like the CPAP - if only used at night - will shift the balance more in summer.  Your £30/month - would have been about 90kWh - at 34p EPG average.  But without knowing day / night splits - again ???

So as potentially a short term tennant - that either means you shifting far more use to E7 hours (typically but not always 12 midnight -7am) - or move to a flat rate tariff.

pochase

@missmococo when did you switch to Octopus and what were the readings you submitted to them.

Also some of the figures you are mentioning in your opening post don't really match up. You are mentioning £30 for Air PurifierS, CPAP, and DehumifierS. From the plural used that would be at least 5 devices. Are they running 24/7 and what is the wattage? £30 sounds very low.

But even if it is only £30, how does that work with the £50 to £70 energy use you had in your old home? Add a SC of £12pm per month, which leaves only £8 to £28 per month for hot water. heating, fridge freezer, cooking, computer, router and washing, plus whatever other electric devices you have.

Either you got your numbers wrong, or there might be a surprise for your old home coming up. Did you already get a final bill for the home you have been evicted from?

Spoonie_Turtle

pochase said:

But even if it is only £30, how does that work with the £50 to £70 energy use you had in your old home? Add a SC of £12pm per month, which leaves only £8 to £28 per month for hot water. heating, fridge freezer, cooking, computer, router and washing, plus whatever other electric devices you have.

In the first post says they'd only ever had 'central heating/combi boiler' - presumably gas.

Scot_39

pochase said:

@missmococo when did you switch to Octopus and what were the readings you submitted to them.

Also some of the figures you are mentioning in your opening post don't really match up. You are mentioning £30 for Air PurifierS, CPAP, and DehumifierS. From the plural used that would be at least 5 devices. Are they running 24/7 and what is the wattage? £30 sounds very low.

But even if it is only £30, how does that work with the £50 to £70 energy use you had in your old home? Add a SC of £12pm per month, which leaves only £8 to £28 per month for hot water. heating, fridge freezer, cooking, computer, router and washing, plus whatever other electric devices you have.

Either you got your numbers wrong, or there might be a surprise for your old home coming up. Did you already get a final bill for the home you have been evicted from?

The answer probably lies in the OPs original post "I'd only ever had central heating/combi boiler"

and "My electric costs in my last place (which was three times the size!) by comparison were around £50-80 a month"

The problem is that the OP's total usage whilst high - is not unbelievably excessive - in terms of kW/h - if add in medical and temp needs.

But the fact a lot is at 48p+VAT is a major headache.

I have a 2 bed mid terrace - not a flat - and used c550kWh per month in Dec and Jan due to cold snaps - heating ost of it to a lower temperature - and without the c£30/90kWh at 34p - extras.

comeandgo

When you say your water is always hot, are you certain the immersion heater is off and there are not two switches for it?

Scot_39

Modern boilers can have 2 heater elements - one often off-peak / one peak boost in a typical E7 all electric - but not all configurations follow that.

But it / they should still by cycling on a thermostat.

My 3kW immersion is powered on 3 times a day - for 10 hours total - on E10 off-peak - it normally only heats for 15-20 mins max each session.

Unless run a lot of hot water.

missmococo

comeandgo said:

When you say your water is always hot, are you certain the immersion heater is off and there are not two switches for it?

I have only seen the one switch and I hear it when it heats. It only heats (that I know of) one hour a day during the night cheap rate. The heater also only has the one heating element. 

missmococo

pochase said:

@missmococo when did you switch to Octopus and what were the readings you submitted to them.

Also some of the figures you are mentioning in your opening post don't really match up. You are mentioning £30 for Air PurifierS, CPAP, and DehumifierS. From the plural used that would be at least 5 devices. Are they running 24/7 and what is the wattage? £30 sounds very low.

But even if it is only £30, how does that work with the £50 to £70 energy use you had in your old home? Add a SC of £12pm per month, which leaves only £8 to £28 per month for hot water. heating, fridge freezer, cooking, computer, router and washing, plus whatever other electric devices you have.

Either you got your numbers wrong, or there might be a surprise for your old home coming up. Did you already get a final bill for the home you have been evicted from?

The £50-£70 was for other energy usage not including the specific medical items I'd mentioned and brought with me here. Gas/water was on top (and I've not mentioned the cost here as we're just talking about electricity usage).

markin

Not using the heaters at night just means the is a greater burden on day rate to get it back up to 18c.

If your not willing to change that then single rate is the way to go, You could also try begging SP to re-bill you as single rate, you may get lucky.