1st time leaving bymyself - Pre-payment meter - very expensive but not sure if that's to be expected

vst01

Hi everyone,

I just moved to the property a few months ago and created an account with SSE. I live in the North of Scotland, so my flat is electricity only. I have a pre-payment meter, and I think it uses too much electricity. My heaters are old storage heaters, so probably that doesn't help! 

The standing Charge per day is 64.05p , the standard energy per kWh is 37.07p, the heating control per kWh is 26.21p, and the Estimated annual cost is 2271.73! Which I think is extortionate since I live by myself in a small 2-bed flat. I only use one bedroom and barely use the heating because of how bad it is.  Apparently, I already have their cheapest prepayment tariff.

Do you think it would be cheaper to change to a smart meter and perhaps get a direct debit with a different company? I can't get quotes from switching sites due to the current situation, and I honestly do not know about electricity, prepayment meters and costs in general! I used to flatshare and had a gas boiler which was much much cheaper, but yeah that's my situation now. 

Any advice, is much appreciated!

MattMattMattUK

vst01 said:

Hi everyone,

I just moved to the property a few months ago and created an account with SSE. I live in the North of Scotland, so my flat is electricity only. I have a pre-payment meter, and I think it uses too much electricity. My heaters are old storage heaters, so probably that doesn't help! 

It is rare that meters are inaccurate, most often it is a case of not understanding energy usage. Old storage heaters are generally still ok, unless the insulation has failed. 

vst01 said:

The standing Charge per day is 64.05p , the standard energy per kWh is 37.07p, the heating control per kWh is 26.21p, and the Estimated annual cost is 2271.73! Which I think is extortionate since I live by myself in a small 2-bed flat. I only use one bedroom and barely use the heating because of how bad it is.  Apparently, I already have their cheapest prepayment tariff.

Do you think it would be cheaper to change to a smart meter and perhaps get a direct debit with a different company? I can't get quotes from switching sites due to the current situation, and I honestly do not know about electricity, prepayment meters and costs in general! I used to flatshare and had a gas boiler which was much much cheaper, but yeah that's my situation now. 

It sounds like you are on THTC which is a bit of a mess and ultimately being ended, it is a legacy product and very few suppliers still support it, with none accepting new customers. £2,271 whilst not much fun, could well be entirely reasonable for your usage on THTC. 

vst01 said:

Any advice, is much appreciated!

Do you own or rent? If you own then it might be time to think about investing in the property, if you rent there is not going to be much you can do.

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.  Start by doing the

Meter Sanity Test.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78850409#Comment_78850409

Also make sure you're operating your old NSHs correctly.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UeB3Xf_qKvA

You might find that Economy 7 is more cost effective (far more suppliers to  choose from) but your old-style NSHs may not be big enough and may become too cool in the evenings.

vst01

Hi there, thank you.

I rent and my landlord say is fine if I want to get a direct debit and choose whatever supplier I want. Sorry for the silly question, but what is NSHs? 

vst01

Do you think it would be better to go on a smart meter, or it doesn't matter? What do you think about direct debit instead? I'm just hoping to find a cheaper provider. The charging charge of 64.05p seems quite a lot.  Yesterday I had my small bedroom heater one for 2 hours and the TV for 2 hours and was out most of the day until 8pm. Didn't use the cooker and just one light and when I checked this morning it used £11. I found it a lot. 

MattMattMattUK

vst01 said:

Hi there, thank you.

I rent and my landlord say is fine if I want to get a direct debit and choose whatever supplier I want. Sorry for the silly question, but what is NSHs? 

If you are on THTC you will not be able to change supplier without the wiring being changed within the property, that has implications and the landlord would need to consent. NSH is Night Storage Heaters. Giving Gerry's sanity test a go would be a good idea. 

vst01 said:

Do you think it would be better to go on a smart meter, or it doesn't matter? What do you think about direct debit instead? I'm just hoping to find a cheaper provider. The charging charge of 64.05p seems quite a lot.  Yesterday I had my small bedroom heater one for 2 hours and the TV for 2 hours and was out most of the day until 8pm. Didn't use the cooker and just one light and when I checked this morning it used £11. I found it a lot. 

Ultimately a smart meter would be better, but that will require changing the heating setup and removing the THTC system. How did you check this morning to get to the £11 figure? Direct Debit would be slightly cheaper. 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

vst01 said:

 what is NSHs? 

night storage heaters.

SAC2334

My friend up in Aberdeenshire was a long term hostage to SSE on the THTC ( total heat total control ) legacy meter on probably the highest rates in the UK .
He managed to get a transfer to EDF last year  using their complex meter team . Surprisngly the transfer actually went through as the others he tried over the years all failed .
His two meters , ( one standing charge ) were the THTC meter which is controlled by Radioteleswitch , and a normal meter. 
His tariff is called Singleheat(variable ) with the heating rate since April 1 being only 9.41p/kwh , normal rate is 32.55. Hes very happy at that as his heat rate was approx 25p/kwh with SSE.
EDF have been the only supplier to be able to switch supply from SSE

molerat

SAC2334 said:

My friend up in Aberdeenshire was a long term hostage to SSE on the THTC ( total heat total control ) legacy meter on probably the highest rates in the UK .
He managed to get a transfer to EDF last year  using their complex meter team . Surprisngly the transfer actually went through as the others he tried over the years all failed .
His two meters , ( one standing charge ) were the THTC meter which is controlled by Radioteleswitch , and a normal meter. 
His tariff is called Singleheat(variable ) with the heating rate since April 1 being only 9.41p/kwh , normal rate is 32.55. Hes very happy at that as his heat rate was approx 25p/kwh with SSE.
EDF have been the only supplier to be able to switch supply from SSE

Weird how they dream up these tariffs.  His normal rate is standard single rate, would be 42.26p on E7, but the heat is way less than the 17.32p E7 night.  Looks like a bargain, in relative terms of course.  The only downside is their abysmal billing but if going from pre pay then paying full bill DD would not be too onerous.

wrf12345

An all-in-one (mono) air source heat pump heating the lounge only might be an alternative as it is installed internally and could then run when needed on std rates (but COP means the same heat for a third of the cost), the bedrooms would be heated when their doors are open by air circulation. You can buy them off eBay for £600 to £900 depending on supply/demand (ex-factory in China they are more like £250), they plug straight into an electric socket and can be a DIY install but probably with a rental may have to hire a professional and get permission as two six inch diameter holes are drilled through the wall to the outside. Arguably, the renter could take it with him if he moves!

theoretica

vst01 said:

Hi everyone,

I just moved to the property a few months ago and created an account with SSE. I live in the North of Scotland, so my flat is electricity only. I have a pre-payment meter, and I think it uses too much electricity. My heaters are old storage heaters, so probably that doesn't help! 

The standing Charge per day is 64.05p , the standard energy per kWh is 37.07p, the heating control per kWh is 26.21p, and the Estimated annual cost is 2271.73! Which I think is extortionate since I live by myself in a small 2-bed flat. I only use one bedroom and barely use the heating because of how bad it is.  Apparently, I already have their cheapest prepayment tariff.

Do you think it would be cheaper to change to a smart meter and perhaps get a direct debit with a different company? I can't get quotes from switching sites due to the current situation, and I honestly do not know about electricity, prepayment meters and costs in general! I used to flatshare and had a gas boiler which was much much cheaper, but yeah that's my situation now. 

Any advice, is much appreciated!

Be very clear about the difference between an estimated prediction of use, and what you actually use.  The estimated annual cost may be as simple as 'how much electricity the previous people living there used in a year'.  Which can be quite different from what you are using! 

The £11 does seem high for the day you describe and worth doing some detailed work to find out where electricity is being used.  You don't mention water heating - immersion heater (on what schedule?, how insulated is the tank?) and do you have an electric shower?  Are the night storage heaters the simple sort that take forever to respond after you turn them on or off, or do they have other controls?  Only having the heater on for 2 hours is not a way we could use my childhood NSH.

You can get quotes to see what tariffs you could get on direct debit and smart meters - but tracking down where the electricity you are paying for is going may make more difference.  And of course the meter sanity test - that it is only your electricity you are paying for and does not include any hallway heaters etc!