My electricity bill has just tripled: how about yours? Alternative suppliers?

[MrCurry]

I can’t match @gentlegreen’s meagre usage, but pretty pleased to get down to 307kWh for Nov. That’s versus 518kWh for same month last year, and includes electric heating (ground source heatpump) & hot water of a fair sized house in a cold climate.

The reduction from last year is mostly because we are running the heating much lower (16-17C downstairs and 13-14C upstairs) and also because last Nov was colder than this year. The graphs are from a spreadsheet I’ve been running for years now, keeping an eye on our consumption and challenging myself to improve on the year before. The cumulative consumption and price graphs show sum of previous 12 months, so the recent price rises are only just beginning to make the price graph rise. That will get much worse as more months at the new 3x higher prices work their way into the graph over the next year

 

[cupid_stunt]

The mild weather of Oct meant I didn't use any heating, just hot water, and as much of Nov was reasonably mild compared to last year, the heating was used less than expected.

This compares my gas use last winter & what it would have cost this year, to what I've actually used this year.



My target is to use 50% less gas, 35% from the new boiler & 15% from my measures, as you can see for Oct/Nov it would have cost about £190, so my 'target' was a max. of £95, but I actually only used £36 worth of gas, and rather than saving £95, I've saved £153.73, and almost 1500kWh.

ETA - I certainly don't expect anything like those savings during Dec-Feb.

 

[rubbershoes]

Don’t chase them Check the energy back-billing rules they can’t bill you back past 12 months.

Thanks for the advice. They still haven't changed it.

I've been with them since October last year so am now over the 12 months for the bill for then. Long may it continue.

My billed energy for November 22 is 65kwh

 

[Leafster]

My energy supplier Octopus now has a forecast that apparently takes into account usage for the property in previous years (including where applicable previous tenants) and weather forecast for the foreseeable plus another couple of parameters, so if yours is similar I would have thought that your lower payment predictions would include a bit more heating for these next few coldest months of the year.

Yeah, it's a combination of past and predicted usage for Bulb too. But I think what's happened here is that my recent usage has been below their predictions so I was building up more credit than anticipated. However, the lower usage has been down to me not having the heating on so much or at such a high temperature combined with my attempts to use less electricity too. So long as I can remain restrained in my consumption then the lower monthly payments should be accurate. If I get a bit profligate I may find the monthly payments won't be enough.

 

[magneze]

Now that we're getting into colder months it's interesting to look at usage vs cost.

Compared to last November we've used 45% less electricity and 35% less gas. However, the cost of doing this is 20% more.

 

[gentlegreen]

Now that we're getting into colder months it's interesting to look at usage vs cost.

Compared to last November we've used 45% less electricity and 35% less gas. However, the cost of doing this is 20% more.

I'm using roughly a quarter as much electricity but paying half what I was
Based on my current usage, my bill for last November should have been under £20 instead of £92 !
Shame on me, quite frankly.

 

[MrCurry]

This is a fun game…(not really). I’ve used 40.7% less electric than last year and paid 50% more

Edited to add: if we had used the same 518kWh as last year, we would have paid 130% more. Not 130% of what we paid last year, but 130% more… so turning the heating down to 16C has been pretty essential really.

 

[MickiQ]

I checked the gas usage on the smart meter this morning. It was running at 57p per hour rather than 39p this morning. This makes sense when you think about it the house had cooled to 13C by 6am and the radiators would be releasing heat faster and returning colder water to the boiler to heat up again so the burner would be running for a greater percentage of the time. This doesn't look great going into winter when it gets even colder

 

[Leafster]

The background temperature in my place is dropping too. This is the outdoor temperature compared to two sample rooms (Max & Min).



The minimum indoor temperature so far has only just dropped to 13°C once overnight but I suspect it'll be more frequent for the colder months.

I'd forgotten that cold snap back in April!

 

[gentlegreen]

woot

If my plans come to fruition I will have a whole website full of telemetry - including urine timing, volume and duration
Who knows what health metrics will reveal when placed alongside other data.

I deffo want to have my outdoor clothing chosen by a computer.

"you're going sailing today - this is what you need" ...

 

[BristolEcho]

Meh. My first bill was already stupid after we started using the heating. Keeping the thermostat set to 18-19c at the moment when we have it on as otherwise the heat goes to quick - also not sure our thermostat is in the most accurate place. Did manage to scab £100 back from our landlord, but having a landlord also means we are limited to what we can do.

It's going to be a really grim winter for people once the bite sets in. No idea how the government can withdraw funding for next year.

 

[gentlegreen]

Heating usage is creeping up ... I spent 44p since yesterday.

 

[dessiato]

Just got my first bill, fully in our name, for this house. We have a smart meter for the electricity, but not the gas. Apparently they don't read it nowadays. Is this normal here? Our Spanish bill was read wvery month.

 

[MickiQ]

Just got my first bill, fully in our name, for this house. We have a smart meter for the electricity, but not the gas. Apparently they don't read it nowadays. Is this normal here? Our Spanish bill was read wvery month.

They will read it eventually, I think they have to at least once a year by law but reading them requires someone to come and do it. Before we had smart meters we used to get mostly estimated with the odd actual read. If you think that they overcharged you, you can take your own reading, ring them up and they will send you a new bill. I'm surprised you've only got one smart meter do you get your gas/electric from seperate suppliers?

 

[dessiato]

They will read it eventually, I think they have to at least once a year by law but reading them requires someone to come and do it. Before we had smart meters we used to get mostly estimated with the odd actual read. If you think that they overcharged you, you can take your own reading, ring them up and they will send you a new bill. I'm surprised you've only got one smart meter do you get your gas/electric from seperate suppliers?

Same supplier, it was put in years ago for my f-i-l

 

[prunus]

They will read it eventually, I think they have to at least once a year by law but reading them requires someone to come and do it. Before we had smart meters we used to get mostly estimated with the odd actual read. If you think that they overcharged you, you can take your own reading, ring them up and they will send you a new bill. I'm surprised you've only got one smart meter do you get your gas/electric from seperate suppliers?

No-one (other than me) has read my electricity meter for over 5 years. No idea when it was read before that, as that’s when I bought the place.

 

[prunus]

No-one (other than me) has read my electricity meter for over 5 years. No idea when it was read before that, as that’s when I bought the place.

Well it’s a quiet morning so I’ve looked into this, and it looks like the requirement for them to read the meters themselves has been dropped:

21B.3 The licensee must take all reasonable steps to obtain a meter reading for each of its Customers (including any meter reading transmitted electronically from a meter to the licensee or provided by the Customer and accepted by the licensee) at least once every year.
This paragraph does not apply in relation to any Customer with a Prepayment Meter;

From The Electricity and Gas (Billing) Regulations 2014

Nothing like a bit of legislation.gov.uk of a Saturday morning.

 

[gentlegreen]

Since I haven't used any gas for years, NPOWER used to repeatedly send horrible letters threatening door-kicking and bailiffs over "gas safety checks" - in between endless pestering texts about smart meters... switching to Bulb was followed by COVID, so no meter readings for years ...

 

[existentialist]

They will read it eventually, I think they have to at least once a year by law but reading them requires someone to come and do it. Before we had smart meters we used to get mostly estimated with the odd actual read. If you think that they overcharged you, you can take your own reading, ring them up and they will send you a new bill. I'm surprised you've only got one smart meter do you get your gas/electric from seperate suppliers?

I've been here nearly 4 years, and in that time, nobody has come to read the meter. Or at least, not when I was in, and that's the only way they're going to be able to.

 

[Leafster]

I've been in my place for just over 8 years and I've only had someone read the meters once. That was about a month after I moved in. I do submit meter readings every month though so perhaps that influences how often the send someone out.

 

[Elpenor]

I had a meter reading in my first week living here, but I tend to submit readings every few weeks to make sure I’m still in credit

 

[redsquirrel]

I do think that the standing charges are iniquitous. It's almost the definition of "regressive taxation".

Obviously standing charges are regressive with respect to use but are they, and by how much, are they regressive with respect to wealth?

Electricity use may increase with wealth but I'd predict energy efficiency to increase also. So for the same amount of electricity those of lower incomes are probably going to have to use more electricity to get the same results.

I'm living alone in a small flat which heats well, I've enough capital to go out and buy a microwave or air fryer, I can replace old inefficient equipment.
Compared a single parent with a couple of kids living in a poorly insulated house, with no option but to use an oven, old low efficiency appliances etc, my usage is going to be much lower.
Abolishing standing charges and having cost solely determined by use is surely going to benefit people like me at the expanse of low income families, and so can also be regressive.

That's not to say that the current standing charge set up is right, it's crap that people are paying for the failings of capital.
But while payment for energy comes at the point of use then don't you want some sort of standing charge (one which might look very different to the current set up) to make the system more progressive against income/wealth?

 

[danny la rouge]

There’s a long version and an even longer version of this. I’ll try to stick to the former.

We were swapped to British Gas when People’s Energy went under in October 2021. We supplied monthly meter readings which went unacknowledged. We made sure to supply an extra reading at the end of March when the rates rocketed. But then we had a battle over several months where they kept estimating our bill, they took away the credit we’d built up, they double charging us when we paid the estimated amount but then charged us again for amounts we’d already paid, and issued a baffling array of bills and reversals so we eventually didn’t know where we stood. We had to get the local MP involved and threaten them with Martin Lewis. We had contradictory communications with them, and often periods of being completely ignored.

Eventually, though, we got to a place where we thought it was all sorted and we insisted on paying the amount we used when we used it to avoid the confusion building up again. The first “normal” month was the September payment.

Since then, though, they haven’t been taking direct debits. But they have been crediting us with the government rebates. We are proving readings every month on the requested date, plus again the extra one when the cap rose.

This might seem good. But I’m worried that a huge bill awaits us at some point. It could be that we overpaid up to September and are still in credit. I honestly would have no way of knowing: the “paper” trail is chaos and makes no sense. (One of my issues was I wanted paper bills because the figures in the app and on the website would actually change! But they haven’t been forthcoming).

Should I prod them or keep quiet?

What would you do?

 

[cupid_stunt]

Should I prod them or keep quiet?

What would you do?

Have I got this right, that you haven't managed to work out what you have used and whether you have overpaid or underpaid?

If so, it's difficult to answer those questions.

If you think you had it straight back in Sept., can you not work out what you have used since, how much it should have cost, and therefore if you're in credit or debt?

I had to do that over my problem with OVO, then escalated my complaint with them, giving them the 8 weeks required to resolve it, and finally going to the energy ombudsman to let them sort it out, result £570 credit for over payments, plus a goodwill payment of £150.

Now I have smart meters, I haven't had any further problems.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

There’s a long version and an even longer version of this. I’ll try to stick to the former.

We were swapped to British Gas when People’s Energy went under in October 2021. We supplied monthly meter readings which went unacknowledged. We made sure to supply an extra reading at the end of March when the rates rocketed. But then we had a battle over several months where they kept estimating our bill, they took away the credit we’d built up, they double charging us when we paid the estimated amount but then charged us again for amounts we’d already paid, and issued a baffling array of bills and reversals so we eventually didn’t know where we stood. We had to get the local MP involved and threaten them with Martin Lewis. We had contradictory communications with them, and often periods of being completely ignored.

Eventually, though, we got to a place where we thought it was all sorted and we insisted on paying the amount we used when we used it to avoid the confusion building up again. The first “normal” month was the September payment.

Since then, though, they haven’t been taking direct debits. But they have been crediting us with the government rebates. We are proving readings every month on the requested date, plus again the extra one when the cap rose.

This might seem good. But I’m worried that a huge bill awaits us at some point. It could be that we overpaid up to September and are still in credit. I honestly would have no way of knowing: the “paper” trail is chaos and makes no sense. (One of my issues was I wanted paper bills because the figures in the app and on the website would actually change! But they haven’t been forthcoming).

Should I prod them or keep quiet?

What would you do?

What would I do?

What I actually do is keep it all on a spreadsheet so I know what I owe. If you have noted or have access to your readings and unit prices you can start now and that will fix the fear of a huge bill. If it's easy to get in touch with them, you could let them know they've messed up your DD but if it's a massive pain I wouldn't bother, their system will flag it eventually. Are you paying a higher tariff for PAYG? If so, let them do the work.

 

[danny la rouge]

Have I got this right, that you haven't managed to work out what you have used and whether you have overpaid or underpaid?

That is correct.

 

[cupid_stunt]

That is correct.

So, can you not work it out from your meter readings and current rates?

 

[danny la rouge]

I’m going out. Will reply more later.

I must admit I didn’t keep a note of my readings until March when I realised they weren’t either! And I don’t actually know how the readings relate to kWh. I’m a bit clueless with all that. They’re old fashioned meters.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

I’m going out. Will reply more later.

I must admit I didn’t keep a note of my readings until March when I realised they weren’t either! And I don’t actually know how the readings relate to kWh. I’m a bit clueless with all that. They’re old fashioned meters.

Do you want a copy of my spreadsheet?

 

[cupid_stunt]

I’m going out. Will reply more later.

I must admit I didn’t keep a note of my readings until March when I realised they weren’t either! And I don’t actually know how the readings relate to kWh. I’m a bit clueless with all that. They’re old fashioned meters.

The BiB that should be explained on your bills, it should show the calculations used to convert the meters reading in kWh/units.

If you wish, PM me a copy of a bill and I'll see if I can help.