Excessive energy usage and Economy 7

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lucilles1
lucilles1 Posts: 3 Newbie
in Energy
Hi All,

I am after some advice......

Our bills have just been increased by Scottish Power to £319pcm! I felt this was excessive so decided to investigate. Upon investigation it turns out we have an average of 22,000kwh usage per year which is significantly above average for a detached property containing a family of 5! Scottish Power however, dont seem concerned that we are consuming 5 times the national average for our type of property...... in addition, we are on economy 7 even though the storage heating was disconnected 6 years ago and replaced with renewable energy. I asked them to assess if we should move to a standard meter and they said it would be more expensive! We are using 25% at night, 75% day time so it doesnt seem to make sense.

I need to talk to someone independent as im not convinced that Scottish Power are even interested. Who can i speak to? i am at a complete loss and cannot believe our bills are going to be that expensive!

Thanks

Comments

  • frugalmacdugal
    frugalmacdugal Posts: 10,077 Forumite
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    Hi,

    are you sure your meter readings are correct?
  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,103 Forumite
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    First question - is the 22,000 kwh based on ACTUAL readings - not ESTIMATES.

    How do you heat your house ?

    How often do you read your meters ?

    25/75 is too low for E7 - simply ask SP to transfer to the best single rate tariff
    Never pay on an estimated bill
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,098 Forumite
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    edited 14 June 2018 at 5:28PM
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    But you are not using 5 times the national average. That figure, c 4,000kWh, is for properties with gas CH and hot water. If all your heating and hot water is electric, then your total usage of 22,000 kWh is not excessive for 5 people, though on the high side.
    What is the 'renewable' system that you are now using to heat and hot water the property?
    You certainly should have come off E7 6 years ago if you are only using 25% on night rate: 33% is generally the minimum needed, though it does depend on tariff and supplier.
    10 mins work on any comp site will tell you the best options for your usage. No need to rely on the advice of clueless SP drones or get independent advice.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • Scottish_Power
    Scottish_Power Posts: 1,263 Organisation Representative
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    lucilles1 wrote: »
    Hi All,

    I am after some advice......

    Our bills have just been increased by Scottish Power to £319pcm! I felt this was excessive so decided to investigate. Upon investigation it turns out we have an average of 22,000kwh usage per year which is significantly above average for a detached property containing a family of 5! Scottish Power however, dont seem concerned that we are consuming 5 times the national average for our type of property...... in addition, we are on economy 7 even though the storage heating was disconnected 6 years ago and replaced with renewable energy. I asked them to assess if we should move to a standard meter and they said it would be more expensive! We are using 25% at night, 75% day time so it doesnt seem to make sense.

    I need to talk to someone independent as im not convinced that Scottish Power are even interested. Who can i speak to? i am at a complete loss and cannot believe our bills are going to be that expensive!

    Thanks

    Hi lucilles1

    I am sorry to hear about the issues you have been having with your ongoing usage. I can certainly have a look to see what the best option is for you based on your usage going forward. We will need to check the heating and hot water set up too. If you can send me an email to the below email address I will have a look into it for you. We also could arrange for a customer liaison officer to visit the property if you aren't sure of what set up will work out best for your consumption.

    If you need any further advise you can email us at Social@scottishpower.com with the following information-
    your MSE handle in the subject heading
    your full address
    your name and telephone number
    and some details of the issues you have encountered

    Kind Regards
    Danielle
    “Official Company Representative
    I am the official company representative of Scottish Power. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,494 Forumite
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    You can ask SP to transfer to the best single rate tariff - this does not require a meter change. They just add the two readings together.

    Alternatively you can adapt your usage to make more use of E7.

    I also had storage heaters removed but stayed on E7. We run washing machine, dishwasher and dehumidifiers at night and start the morning routine (kettle, instant elec shower) while still on the lower rate.

    However, I left SP years ago because they were expensive and poor service.
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,037 Forumite
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    fatbelly wrote: »
    You can ask SP to transfer to the best single rate tariff - this does not require a meter change. They just add the two readings together.


    Scottish Power do not have the facility(or desire!)* to add the two readings together. If you have an E7 meter with SP you must be on one of their E7 tariffs.


    * or at least that was the case up to a couple of years ago.


    As said above 22,000kWh pa is not excessive for 5 people in a detached all-electric house.


    Also what do you mean by 'renewable energy'. Generally this term when applied to energy companies(including SP) means nothing of financial advantage to the customer - in fact the tariffs are more expensive.
  • FullForce
    FullForce Posts: 177 Forumite
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    First post in 10 years by the OP. Left immediately afterwards, and not returned since.

    Just saying... :cool:
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,608 Forumite
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    edited 19 June 2018 at 10:27AM
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    I'd suggest that you stsrt reading the meters yourselves a bit more frequently so you can see what is using it all and when and then recording it on a spreadsheet.

    When you monitor it you can then control it. The only way to really save money is to use less. You could also get yourself onto a better tariff rather than staying with Scottish Power.

    As Others have said your consumption is high but not escessive, especially if you are using lots of hot water for showers or baths.

    Do an audit of what you use and when and try to use stuff a bit more efficiently. Washines machines, dryers and dishwasher could be run during the off-peak period and should be full, not half empty.

    Reduce you hot water requirements by taking shorter showers, shallower baths or fewer of them. Fit flow restrictors to you shower and taps. Dont let water, either hot or cold run down the sink when washing and rinsing stuff. Use cold water for rinsing.

    Look at your lighting, replace with LEDs. Other stuff that gets left on like computers, TV's, Sky boxes etec. should be turned off rather than on standby when it's not in use.

    As Cardew says, unless you are generating your own leccy then renewable energy costs more than stuff from a convention power station.
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
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