£400 quarterly electricity bill for 1 bedroom flat

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NathanWeston
NathanWeston Posts: 6 Forumite
in LPG, heating oil, solid & other fuels
Me and my partner moved in to our 1 bedroom flat on the 24th September this year to find a letter saying Eon was our electricity provider. Seeing as neither of us had payed seperate bills before (it had always been included in rent in previous flats) we simply made an online an account and assumed all would be fine. Today, after 10 weeks in the flat, we get a bill saying we've used nearly 2000kwh and our quarterly bill is £408.

Some facts:

- We have a programmable boiler which is set to 3 hours of heating and 2 hours of hot water a day
- I was unemployed up until last week and was running my computer for around 10 hours a day
- My partner is a student so is home a little less than me using her laptop


This is crazy right?
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  • comeandgo
    comeandgo Posts: 5,744 Forumite
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    Did you give the correct readings to the electric company or is this an estimate bill?
  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,106 Forumite
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    edited 3 December 2018 at 10:45PM
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    This is a wake up call

    1) Is this an estimated bill ? There will be a letter E after the reading; A or C for an actual reading.

    Have you ever read your meter and given the reading to Eon ?

    2) You will be on their most expensive tariff - you need to switch suppliers. Assume 3000kwh for elec in a year; 10000 kwh for gas


    3) Read your meter now and see how many units you have used - multiply by 11.2 (approx) to give kwh (I assume this is gas).


    PS MSE Mod can you move this thread please to the main energy thread please
    Never pay on an estimated bill
  • NathanWeston
    NathanWeston Posts: 6 Forumite
    edited 3 December 2018 at 10:49PM
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    We personally didnt give the readings but the reading on the bill is accurate so they must have come and checked it. The readings have an A after them.


    And this is just electricity. There is no gas in the building.
  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,106 Forumite
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    edited 3 December 2018 at 10:54PM
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    How do you know its accurate - it is rare for companies to read meters? Have you read the meter yourself ?

    Who reads your meters ? Never rely on your landlord - take control.

    You appear to have an electric boiler for central heating - probably the most expensive form of heating you can get. Forget about laptops, lights etc - concentrate on controlling the heating. Is the a room stat - what is it set at ?


    What tariff are you on -
    Never pay on an estimated bill
  • NathanWeston
    NathanWeston Posts: 6 Forumite
    edited 3 December 2018 at 10:58PM
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    I checked the meter myself an hour ago and it corresponds almostly perfectly to the bill.


    There is no heating thermostat, but the radiators are on high when they come on for those 3 hours a day.


    The tarriff is economy 7 eon energy.plan
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,596 Forumite
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    Two hours of hot water per day seems quite a lot, is this in two separate stints (1 hour each).

    When do you mostly use your hot water?
    Do you have an electric shower?
    Cut down the amount of time it is heated for and see how you get on (cut it down in 10 minute intervals).
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • NathanWeston
    NathanWeston Posts: 6 Forumite
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    Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »
    Two hours of hot water per day seems quite a lot, is this in two separate stints (1 hour each).

    When do you mostly use your hot water?
    Do you have an electric shower?
    Cut down the amount of time it is heated for and see how you get on (cut it down in 10 minute intervals).


    Since getting the bill I've changed it to an hour a day. 30 mins in the morning, 30 in the evening.
  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,106 Forumite
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    Could you post the readings from your bill please - both low (night) rate and normal (day) rate ?
    Never pay on an estimated bill
  • J_B
    J_B Posts: 6,445 Forumite
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    NathanWeston wrote: »
    Since getting the bill I've changed it to an hour a day. 30 mins in the morning, 30 in the evening.
    If (as you say) you are on Economy7, are you aware that the night rate is less than half the price of day units?
    Just heat the water during the night


    https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/help-and-support/metering-questions
    What is Economy 7?

    Economy 7 (E7) is an electricity tariff that has different unit prices based on the time of day.
    The E7 tariff offers seven hours of cheap rate units during the night. Daytime units are charged at a higher rate than E.ON EnergyPlan, our standard tariff.
    To benefit from an E7 tariff you need to use more than 34% of your electricity during your night-time cheap rate hours.
    If you use less than 34% of your electricity during your cheap rate hours, you’d probably be better off on our single rate tariff.
  • NathanWeston
    NathanWeston Posts: 6 Forumite
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    Okay so I'm not using the boiler right for the economy 7 tariff... but still all these little changes dont add up to a £400 bill in 10 weeks.
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