Average Electricity Costs Poll

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mum2b wrote: »

Hi guys, we moved into our current property Dec 2009 and managed to rack up £1200 bill with our electic company between then and March - we do not have any gas/oil heating so everything is electric.
Is this as unreasonable as I think it is? .
I'm not sure we are on a great tariff but can't move utility co's until the debt is paid off - we are getting there paying £209 per month :mad:
xx

Horrendous!

That's the average household energy bill per year, not just 3 months. An all electric property may prove be a little more expensive than the average, but not by that amount.

Presumably you gave the supplier a meter reading when you moved in and the bill is based on an actual meter reading?

I would suggest you use a site such as imeasure.org.uk to keep an eye on your ongoing consumption.

Unfortunately, now you have an outstanding debt, you probably won't be able to change supplier as you say. However you can change tariffs within that supplier. Contact the supplier for details or use a comparison site (ignoring any suggestions made involving other suppliers) to ensure you are on the best tariff.

Beware of any early exit fees if you plan to switch suppliers once you've paid off the debt.

davidjwest

If anyone has an iPhone there's an app that I find quite useful called "Meter Readings" that as you may have worked out from the name allows you to read your meters. It then works out how much your bills are, assuming you can find out the relevant information from your suppliers as this isn't easy to calculate! Electricity is pretty simple as it comes down to what you are charged per kWh but gas is more complicated. I managed to enter the details I needed after spending 10 minutes on the phone to my supplier but I do think it's worth doing as now I just enter a meter reading when I want, usually once a week and can then see at a glance how much it's costing me.
You need to add any standing charges that may apply and this app does cater for that as well as tarrifs where you pay more for the first x therms before a discounted rate etc. The only thing it can't cater for is the calorific value of the gas which can vary and even your supplier doesn't know this until after you've used it - but it doesn't make a huge difference.
I've found, since I started using this app in March that my electricity use is fairly flat at around £30-£35 a month although by keeping an eye on it my use has fallen a little.
Gas is another matter however - I was prompted to do this after receiving a £440 gas bill in February and my usage in March was around the £90 mark and it's fallen steadily as the weather has warmed up until I only used £16 worth of gas in July - we have a gas cooker and water heater or it would have been £0
I've worked out that I need to pay £90 a month on my direct debit to ensure I am in credit enough this Winter to avoid any more nasty shocks, so while this iPhone app is probably not saving me a huge amount it is at least going to help prevent any nasty bills. I think the app cost about 59p so it's worth getting and there may well be similar things for other phones or maybe an online version.
Well, I've rambled on long enough, hope this is useful to someone!

kad1

Hi all.

My sister is about to move into her 1st home - a 2-bed flat. She's a single person, working f/t, and I wondered if anyone could me a rough estimate of how much her elec bill should be per month and which company will give her the best value for money.

Thanks!

Premier_2

kad1 wrote: »

Hi all.

My sister is about to move into her 1st home - a 2-bed flat. She's a single person, working f/t, and I wondered if anyone could me a rough estimate of how much her elec bill should be per month and which company will give her the best value for money.

Thanks!

That really is like asking how long is a peice of string.

Her costs will be a direct correlation to how much she uses and what tariff she is on. Her consumption will be based on many variables. e.g. how many gas appliances she runs, the type of appliances, how often she runs them and if gas is used for heating purposes, the standard of insulation, the size including height of the rooms, where abouts the flat is located withinh the block etc.

Best advice would be to register with the existing supplier to the premises, and consider any advice they provide as to what they may consider may be the best tariff keeping in mind any early exit fees.

Then keep a regular check on the meter that measures consumption. That will indicate the cost. Perhaps use a site such as imeasure.org.uk to help?
Once whe has a good idea of how much her annual consumption in kWh is likely to be, use a comparison site to see if she could get a better deal.

If she is just looking for a figure for budget purposes, if she thinks about allowing about £40 per month for gas, she probably won't go too far wrong

lu_lu_2

I pay £13 pm for elec am single live in a 3 bed semi with gas CH (not on at mo) and my middle name is skinflint!!!!

Allow £20pm & if she can't be bothered to turn appliances off on the wall then allow £30.

kad1

Hey guys thanks. Lu lu - £13 pm?! wow!
Unfortunately i dnt think my sis will be as good as you! I'll tell her to budget £35 as the middle ground between your two estimates. Fingers crossed she'll be regularly under that!

Thanks!

pineapple

Single person here in a 2 bedroom stone cottage. I just switched tariffs with my supplier (Scottish Power) and will be paying an average of £50+ per month for gas AND electricity. I have gas central heating, gas hob, electric shower, electric oven and I run a dehumidifier pending repair of my leaky roof!
Also I sometimes buy coal for a solid fuel stove but I still think it's reasonable.

Savvy_Spender_South

4 bed family home with Gas CH.

Elec £20pm with EDF dual fuel discount etc.
Gas £40 pm to build credit for winter then save during summer.

we are happy with these prices...

ingriddp

hi, new to this i have just read mmt re-electric prices may go up, so did a comparison and found that ovo energy? will do a fixed price for a year. have signed up as it would only be £2.00 more than going with brittish gas online 9 which i was just about to change to from their standard, my question is do you think the price is fixed on the day it is switched and what if there is a price hike before take over do i just grin and bear it. £30 cancel fee applies, anyone had any dealings as never heard of them before, has anyone else acted on this price increase info?

gnirokasysn987

Just wondering if anyone can give an indication of what my bill should be as i've just had a quarterly bill for £704!!!

I'm a single person and live in a new two bedroom flat. My second bedroom is none existent though :P

I don't have gas - only electricity.

I work full time so am out most of the day.

I'm quite conservative with my electricity use - i turn all appliances off at the plug, energy saving bulbs, etc. I also don't have that many appliance. Water is heated with electricity though which i guess may use a lot? Have storage heaters but i hardly ever use them, i much prefer putting an extra jumper on!

Flat is above the car park but between other flats which are occupied. The rooms are small and quite enclosed with small windows.

Not sure what else i can give info wise to help with an estimate, but it really would help as £704 seems really really high and very very wrong!

(PS. i will be checking the meter reading when i get home, but if it is correct, then i don't really know how to go about making a complaint, any advice on that would also be handy!)