Have Electricity prices soared?

swift1_2
swift1_2 Posts: 130 Forumite
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in Energy
My sainsburys fixed price may 2017 is coming to an end and I'm shocked by the massive price increases, the cheapest tariff now is £350 more expensive, with £300 of it being electricity!

This is utter madness!

Comments

  • boliston
    boliston Posts: 3,012 Forumite
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    swift1 wrote: »
    My sainsburys fixed price may 2017 is coming to an end and I'm shocked by the massive price increases, the cheapest tariff now is £350 more expensive, with £300 of it being electricity!

    This is utter madness!

    In order to make sense of this you would need to quote the rate per unit and the daily standing charge.
  • dogshome
    dogshome Posts: 3,877 Forumite
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    Have Electricity prices soared ?
    The answer is YES, by around 20%
  • JJ_Egan
    JJ_Egan Posts: 20,281 Forumite
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    My elec tariff has not soared nor gone up by £350 pa .
    My unit rate has gone from .108275 to .12097 .
  • lstar337
    lstar337 Posts: 3,441 Forumite
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    Prices have gone up for sure, but for a £300 increase you must be using a truly exceptional amount of energy.
  • JJ_Egan
    JJ_Egan Posts: 20,281 Forumite
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    Its more likely a bad estimate .
  • swift1_2
    swift1_2 Posts: 130 Forumite
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    Our annual consumption is:
    Elec: 8,000
    Gas: 22,000

    Currently on Sainsbury's Fixed Price May 2017 dual fuel.
    Cheapest on comparison websites is Affect Energy (not much in it between the next few suppliers)

    Rates inc VAT Existing tariff New tariff
    Elec Supplier Sainsbury's Energy Affect Energy
    Tariff name Fixed Price May 2017 Fixed Until May 2018
    Payment method Quarterly Direct Debit Monthly Direct Debit
    Unit price (kwh) 8.096p 11.849p
    Standing charge 26.009p per day 25.001p per day


    Rates inc VAT Existing tariff New tariff
    Gas
    Supplier Sainsbury's Energy Affect Energy
    Tariff Fixed Price May 2017 Fixed Until May 2018
    Tariff type Fixed Fixed
    Payment Quarterly Direct Debit Monthly Direct Debit
    Unit price 2.436p 2.749p
    S/charge 26.009p per day 23.520p per day

    Annual Cost based upon above usage (I've not got main my spreadsheet with me but rough calculations):
    Sainsburys Elec £743 Gas £631 Total £1,373
    Affect Energy Elec £1039 (+£297) Gas £691 (+60) Total £1,730 (+£356) :mad:
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,088 Forumite
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    edited 17 May 2017 at 2:05PM
    Assuming gas CH and DHW, your leccy usage is incredibly high. The UK average is around 3,500kWh.
    Getting 25% off your usage will take about £236 off your annual spend.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • swift1_2
    swift1_2 Posts: 130 Forumite
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    Yes, Gas Heating and Hot water. We have 3 adults and 3 children in the house.
    Showers are electric. Using on average 20 units/day for elec.
    Just don't know where its all going. Tried getting one of those energy monitors, but unless your looking at it all day, it just reports usage at the instance.

    I suspect its the electric shower 9kw, plasma tv, kettle, hoover, washing machine.
  • Raxiel
    Raxiel Posts: 1,401 Forumite
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    swift1 wrote: »
    Yes, Gas Heating and Hot water. We have 3 adults and 3 children in the house.
    Showers are electric. Using on average 20 units/day for elec.
    Just don't know where its all going. Tried getting one of those energy monitors, but unless your looking at it all day, it just reports usage at the instance.

    I suspect its the electric shower 9kw, plasma tv, kettle, hoover, washing machine.

    With the number of people, it's natural that you'd be well above the average, but it still seems high.

    Those appliances will all contribute to some degree, but of those the shower will be the main culprit. Space and water heating are the biggest consumers of energy.

    We just replaced our electric shower with one running off a new combi, and even with conservative estimates of 85% efficiency with the gas (vs 100% for the electric) and 15 minutes use every other day (5 for me 10 for her) I calculate it will save about £5 a month. The reality is probably more.

    In your case, with 6 people, even if everyone was really good and limited themselves to no more than 5 minutes for the shower every other day (assuming the kids have showers rather than baths) that's a minimum of 820kwh, a little over 10% of your annual total. If people like longer showers or have them every day, that's quickly approaching a quarter.

    If using the gas for that is practical it could save a fair bit.

    In terms of other low-hanging-fruit, are all your lights energy efficient? Any Halogens?

    If you still have the energy monitor, if you wait until everyone else is in bed (so usage levels off) It should make it easier to see what effect turning individual appliances on or off will make (or unplugging them to check their standby draw)
    3.6 kW PV in the Midlands - 9x Sharp 400W black panels - 6x facing SE and 3x facing SW, Solaredge Optimisers and Inverter. 400W Derril Water (one day). Octopus Flux
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