Is our electricity bill too high - share of freehold in small block, communal areas

YH14

Hi everyone, I own a flat in a small block of 4 flats - a Victorian conversion over 2 floors, share of freehold with a dormant company owning the freehold.  I have recently taken over the directorship of the freehold company and am now working with the management company to try and bring down costs as our service charges are very high.  One thing that stood out to me was that last year's electricity bill for the communal areas from SSE was over £600.  There is one light in the ground floor hallway and another on the first floor landing, all on timed switches, and an exterior porch light which is on overnight.  Even with this light being on all night, this seems very high just for a bit of lighting.  We are on a business account, but apparently don't pay the climate levy and only pay 5% VAT as they recognise that it is a residents' association and not a business as such.  What do others think?  What should we be expecting to pay annually for such a small amount of electricity?

YH14

Sorry, I should add that there are no plug sockets or heaters in the communal areas, only the lights.

FrugaiMacDugal

What is usage, tariff and standing charge?

DE_612183

How much of the bill is standing charge and how much is units consumed?

and how many units consumed?

Robin9

What are the meter readings on the bill (for the last year )? Please include the letters A C E S our read/your read

YH14

The actual bill for the first half of last year which they have sent me is totally unintelligible.  The management company have told me that SSE have now changed the way they do their bills as too many clients were finding them confusing.  However, looking at it again in more detail, yes I think it is the standing charge which is so high.  The actual electricity usage is negligible.  I don't live in the UK (the flat was rented out and is now for sale, but I have ended up the director due to circumstances with the other flats), so have no idea what a reasonable standing charge should be. To me, it seems exorbitant.  

FrugaiMacDugal

Do they have you on a business standing charge?

DE_612183

YH14 said:

The actual bill for the first half of last year which they have sent me is totally unintelligible.  The management company have told me that SSE have now changed the way they do their bills as too many clients were finding them confusing.  However, looking at it again in more detail, yes I think it is the standing charge which is so high.  The actual electricity usage is negligible.  I don't live in the UK (the flat was rented out and is now for sale, but I have ended up the director due to circumstances with the other flats), so have no idea what a reasonable standing charge should be. To me, it seems exorbitant.  

But what is it?

It's usually shown as a daily rate....

By the way - which area is it in?

MeteredOut

Without the standing charge and unit rate or kWh usage, people will be guessing. The £600 could be 600 kWh at £1 with no SC, a £500 yearly standing charge and 10000 kWh at 1p, or anywhere in between.  

YH14

OK sorry, the standing charge is £2.05 per day, although I think there are some deductions from that (as I said, the bill is unintelligible as there are amounts added then subtracted then added again for multiple different periods, it is impossible to understand).  It went up last year in April from £1.75 per day.  Forget the kwh charge, the total electricity used as it is only for 3 lights. The money is all going on the standing charge. According to an article I read on the MSE website, the average household standing charge for electricity is about 51p, so we are paying 4 times that.  But I don't know if this is normal for business accounts.  In total our payments last year amounted to £636.  If there is anyone else here who deals with electricity for communal areas in flats like this who can give any recommendations, that would be great.

YH14

DE_612183 said:

YH14 said:

The actual bill for the first half of last year which they have sent me is totally unintelligible.  The management company have told me that SSE have now changed the way they do their bills as too many clients were finding them confusing.  However, looking at it again in more detail, yes I think it is the standing charge which is so high.  The actual electricity usage is negligible.  I don't live in the UK (the flat was rented out and is now for sale, but I have ended up the director due to circumstances with the other flats), so have no idea what a reasonable standing charge should be. To me, it seems exorbitant.  

But what is it?

It's usually shown as a daily rate....

By the way - which area is it in?

It's on the south coast.