Electric Bill Increase

cannugec5

venomx said:

Well I have submitted my readings and they match British Gas estimates.
So now I am paying £36 more each month is this because I have been underpaying for a while potentially ?
I am currently on " Standard Variable Tariff "  but looking at their site the " Fixed Tariff " is cheaper per month for me

It has been about £110 per month for ages, why now is it £140 odd ?
Also says I am now in debit £220 

You say ‘cheaper per month’ but are you actually comparing the tariffs ie the price per KWh , or simply comparing their estimated monthly price for an unknown usage? 

If you are in debt now, then your increase of £30 per month will only bring it up to break even point after a few months. You will likely be entering winter with another increase. 

badmemory

Bear in mind the prices are expected to go up again on Oct 1st & again on Dec 1st, just in time for our usage to increase, so an even bigger reason to keep a sharp eye on your meter.

Scot_39

You say have gone from £130 credit to £220 debit.

That's a £350 swing in balance  - after submitting reading - but say you also submitted reading in April.

So that sounds steep swing for 3 months - especially 3csummer months - on top of your £110 pm DD credits.

Did BG actually bill to that meter reading - or issue bill based  on estimated readings for billing.

You say readings match BG estimate - do you have an actual current bill based on actual readings ?

In terms of the impact that swing in balance  might have on future DD  - £350/12 = nearly £30.  But you need to be careful re timings of credit and usage debit especially if on 3m or even 6m billing.




Given Cornwall Insights forecasting 10% increase come Oct 1st and last Jan saw a further increase - the change in DD isn't silly.



But we would need a history over last few readings and actual bills - consumption (measured or estimated ?) and cost vs payments (was £110)  - to really look at true reasons for the swing. 

Assuming it's real and not a BG accounting issue.


You / we to comment need a far better understanding of your use before you can make a decision as to whether e7 dual rate electric could work out cheaper.

Although e7 comes with a cheaper night rate - you pay a premium for the other 17 hours a day at a peak rate.  Use less than around 35-40% at night rates - it works out more expensive.

A lot will depend on how you space heat (storage vs normal panel or plug in heaters if all electric) and with hot water - does immersion het tank also feed shower or is cold fed / self heating ?

£110-£140pm is in theory a lot for a 1 bed flat, especially if single occupancy. 

But not excessive if keep it quite hot in winter , with conventional electric heating.

Unfortunately without your consumption history in kWh - its impossible to say what has gone on with the £ DD amount.

You really need to sit down and track through recent past bills and readings to get a better grasp of those monthly DDs

Balance at start of period
KWh readings - measured or estimated
Usage cost charged for those readings (*)
Payments via DD made during that bill period
Balance after that usage deducted / credit applied.

(*) The £ amount is driven largely by the kWh consumption and rate - essentially you control the kWh consumption by use choices - durations and temperature setpoints for heat etc, your choice of tariff rate(s) controls the £ cost for those units and the daily standing charge.

And be especially observant around their accounting system switch if you've recently transitioned - as some people have had payment and credit issues.

Do you know what your monthly / annual kWh consumption is  ?

For instance - and Ill use ave Ofgem region as dont think you told us which region - the old DD of £110pm assuming Ofgem ave SR electric DD rates for Apr (not Jul lower unit rate)  is (£110-c30×0.601)/0.245 = 375 kWh.

Without any space heating in a summer month that's again getting excessive.  So if anything between Apr and Jul readings you submitted I would expect you to be building credit or reducing any outstanding winter heating debit.

Multiply that by 12, 4500kWh  - which is higher than Ofgem  current median tdcv for all electric of 3900kWh (based on mulirate metered homes ).

But that is widely seen as flawed and likely an underestimate.

I am below that median TDCV in a small 2 bed mid terrace with DG het by NSH,  but I have to be very frugal with room temperatures to do so and that involves layering up in winter.  But without space heating I use less than 200kWh in summer months  - so would be building up credit for winter heating at £110pm - you appear to have been underpaying ?

My neighbours either side according to CTM website - use far more - 7000kWh plus annually - as 2 or 3 occupants vs 1, and one definitely keeps much higher room temperatures (t shirt comfort levels for me).

MP1995

April wasn't as warm as some expected (regional variance was huge) so possible the OP used a decent amount of energy in April.

Scot_39

Yes my LR / kitchen plug in oil filled rad standby heating not nsh (take days to heat and cool)  went on for a couple of hours for a couple of days here even in EM.

But the OPs last 2 readings were Apr and Jul - so it should still be relatively light use.

Even last week or so relatives in Scotland have had heating on. 
But there's a big difference heating against 10-15 external than sub zero in a cold snap cost wise.

One in NE even saw snow in last few weeks - didn't lie at his level - but it capped a couple of hills he can see in distance.

venomx

cannugec5 said:

venomx said:

Well I have submitted my readings and they match British Gas estimates.
So now I am paying £36 more each month is this because I have been underpaying for a while potentially ?
I am currently on " Standard Variable Tariff "  but looking at their site the " Fixed Tariff " is cheaper per month for me

It has been about £110 per month for ages, why now is it £140 odd ?
Also says I am now in debit £220 

You say ‘cheaper per month’ but are you actually comparing the tariffs ie the price per KWh , or simply comparing their estimated monthly price for an unknown usage? 

If you are in debt now, then your increase of £30 per month will only bring it up to break even point after a few months. You will likely be entering winter with another increase. 

On the left is my current one, on the right is the fixed Tariff.

Come to think of it, around April I had forgotten to turn off the storage heater and it was on a very low powersaving mode when it didn't need to be on, perhaps this has contributed.
Also. I have an emersion heater for my water running during the night on a timer.

I think switching to the Tariff on the right would be the best idea.

Robin9

If you are in debt then your present supplier (BG) will block your transfer 

venomx

Robin9 said:

If you are in debt then your present supplier (BG) will block your transfer 

Both tariffs are with BG

Scot_39

The benefit of the e7 tariff depends largely on your e7 off peak use as a percentage of total.


It is unclear whether you are being billed at single rate on a current dual rate meter or if BG are just assuming a split as it only mentions your 5809kWh total.

You say you submitted readings plural.  So are you being billed SR on a dual rate meter - if so can you provide tge split of the 5809 between peak and off peak registers.




The above quote assumes around 55% of total off peak if Ive got my mental arithmetic right - but if not from your own twin readjngs - how did they get usage split ?
.

venomx

Scot_39 said:

The benefit of the e7 tariff depends largely on your e7 off peak use as a percentage of total.


It is unclear whether you are being billed at single rate on a current dual rate meter or if BG are just assuming a split as it only mentions your 5809kWh total.

You say you submitted readings plural.  So are you being billed SR on a dual rate meter - if so can you provide tge split of the 5809 between peak and off peak registers.




The above quote assumes around 55% of total off peak if Ive got my mental arithmetic right - but if not from your own twin readjngs - how did they get usage split ?
.

Yes as far as I know my current Tariff has the same rate for day AND night which is why I'm considering changing to an E7 Tariff so it costs less overnight. Here are the meter readings for the last year