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

moochedit said:
I am guessing your heating bills in winter are lower than ours though.
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we'll compare this winter. i switched from oil to natural gas two years. i had noticed very good savings last year. the first year i wondered if i had made a mistake.

heating oil is almost $6/gallon here now. i know some folks with oil heat who are dreading their heating bills this coming season.
 
bcuster said:
Problem solved?

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Click to expand...
I guess I have unconsciously benefited the other way round. My house has a massive south-east facing elevation which someone tastefully covered in rendering painted chocolate brown. No doubt the fact people say "Your house is so warm in winter" might be due to enhanced sunlight absorption as much as central heating?
 
I've asked EDF to reduce my DD to £192pm. It's been £240 for the past two months. We do use a lot of energy - two people who are at home nearly all the time, and my daughter is extremely wasteful - and we can reduce it somewhat. We have to or I'm going to go broke.

Unfortunately the change in rules for the warm home discount mean I'm no longer eligible. It used to be based partly on income and partly on whether you had a disability that meant you used more electricity (I do). But I'm not low income enough on £26k (in London) and disability no longer makes you eligible - it's income only. My daughter would be eligible - I'm going to look into whether it's worth naming her as the account holder. Might be too late for it to help now.
 
cupid_stunt said:
I am bloody lucky with my landlords, this place already had the walls & roof insulated, just after I moved in 8-9 years they had new double glazing fitted, and over tomorrow & Wed. my 30+ year old boiler is being replaced with a modern combi boiler, which should save 20-30% is usage according to the CH company, although one website seems to think it could be up to 40%.
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You will certainly get a massive saving, When we had the extension built 20 years ago, the old style open pressure boiler which had been in the house since it was built had to come out (not least because the wall it was attached to got knocked down)
It was replaced with a combi condensing boiler which despite having to drive an extra 4 radiators still managed to drop gas consumption by 30%. (we had the house insulated at the same time) That boiler itself was replaced 3 years ago with the current super whizzy Worcester Bosch and that has driven gas consumption down again though nothing like that first drop.
 
* Stupid question *

There aren't any solar panel things you can get to run from inside a flat window are there? Because of the UV filtering in glass?

I saw zora's post earlier and wondered how much in square metres her dad must be using to get a significant amount of solar power on his balcony. Obviously that's outside but I didn't think you'd have enough space, watts per square metre sort of thing but I know the tech has improved.
 
MickiQ said:
You will certainly get a massive saving, When we had the extension built 20 years ago, the old style open pressure boiler which had been in the house since it was built had to come out (not least because the wall it was attached to got knocked down)
It was replaced with a combi condensing boiler which despite having to drive an extra 4 radiators still managed to drop gas consumption by 30%. (we had the house insulated at the same time) That boiler itself was replaced 3 years ago with the current super whizzy Worcester Bosch and that has driven gas consumption down again though nothing like that first drop.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's good to hear, they have installed the 'current super whizzy Worcester Bosch' boiler here.
 
I’ve heard nothing from eon.next so far, I have power of attorney for my father, I deal with the bills. When the direct debit goes up in October, his pension won’t cover it, he has no overdraft facility and no credit cards or anything like that, I had it removed a couple of years ago when he got into debt, between us 3 siblings, we paid it off.

What do folks think, am I in my rights to ask them to keep the direct debit the same?

We know that a debt is likely to build up, but my brother told me he’d be able to pay it off. Dad has rheumatoid arthritis. My parents have definitely cut down their energy use, we got rid of an old fridge freezer, that took £20 off the bills per month, they use ipads for entertainment, big telly stays off, don’t use oven anymore, stuff like that. It’s heating the house that I’m concerned about, the temperature dropped a little bit this week and he’s already in pain. 91 year olds can’t sit in the cold. Dad built this house, it’s big and the main living space is open plan, what are we supposed to do, build walls so we can heat one bit?
 
cupid_stunt said:
Oh, that's good to hear, they have installed the 'current super whizzy Worcester Bosch' boiler here.
Click to expand...
Yes well, I partially agree with MickiQ on this. 10 years ago my traditional boiler conked out after 24 years faithful service. I had been minded to have a combi in 1988, but the CH engineer I used had strong views against. In 2012 there was a problem for me in that all boilers were now condensing boilers - due to 2 Jags "scrappage" scheme - and I could not get a boiler to fit into the existing space under the 40 gallon hot water cylinder in the downstairs toilet. So the only practical solution was to strip out the 2 cold water tanks in the roof, and the 40 gallon hot water tank at ground floor level and replace with a COMBI.

The one favoured by my (new) CH engineer was 28kW - by British Gas standards probably under-powered for the size of the house, but seems to work fine.

DOWNSIDE: water flow in the bathroom (3rd floor) is miserly. No chance of a shower. Not that I want to have one - I just wait 15 minutes to fill the bath. My Ghanaian lodger feels like its home from home - he uses a bucket to shower in the traditional manner. As regards economy going forward I intend to revert to Elizabethan standards, and only take a bath once a year - if necessary.
 
pinkmonkey said:
I’ve heard nothing from eon.next so far, I have power of attorney for my father, I deal with the bills. When the direct debit goes up in October, his pension won’t cover it, he has no overdraft facility and no credit cards or anything like that, I had it removed a couple of years ago when he got into debt, between us 3 siblings, we paid it off.

What do folks think, am I in my rights to ask them to keep the direct debit the same?

We know that a debt is likely to build up, but my brother told me he’d be able to pay it off. Dad has rheumatoid arthritis. My parents have definitely cut down their energy use, we got rid of an old fridge freezer, that took £20 off the bills per month, they use ipads for entertainment, big telly stays off, don’t use oven anymore, stuff like that. It’s heating the house that I’m concerned about, the temperature dropped a little bit this week and he’s already in pain. 91 year olds can’t sit in the cold. Dad built this house, it’s big and the main living space is open plan, what are we supposed to do, build walls so we can heat one bit?
Click to expand...

not sure i know what to suggest as regards the energy companies, but just wondering (appreciate you may already have done this) whether it's worth investigating if parents are entitled to pension credit (it's like the old supplementary pension - it's not 'credit' as in a loan) and / or attendance allowance for disability?

age uk website has more on these
 
A slight bit of good news this morning.

The day-ahead UK wholesale gas price tumbled by more than 20% to 447p per therm on Tuesday, while the month-ahead contract dropped by a quarter, to 473p per therm.

Prices eased from near record highs but are still 12 times higher than at the start of 2021, before the energy crisis began.
Click to expand...
The German economy minister Robert Habeck said he expected gas prices to fall soon as Germany, Europe’s largest gas consumer, was making progress on its storage targets and would not have to pay the high asking prices to continue replenishing stocks.
Click to expand...

www.theguardian.com

Wholesale gas prices tumble as Europe prepares to intervene in energy markets

European Commission says it is working ‘flat out’ on emergency intervention and on longer-term structural reform
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
cupid_stunt said:
Oh, that's good to hear, they have installed the 'current super whizzy Worcester Bosch' boiler here.
Click to expand...
They're very reliable to boot (well mine is at least) the only problem I have had with it in 3 years wasn't actually the boiler, the condensate pipe feeds into the plumbing under the sink in the downstairs khazi and the sink was blocked. The condensate backed up and the boiler shut down as a safety measure. Even cleverer since it has BoilerIQ it called up British Gas and told them it wasn't working and they texted me to tell me that the boiler wasn't working.
I couldn't unblock the sink myself so DynaRod came round with the biggest plunger I have ever seen in my life to unblock it and it started up again.
 
EON quoted a rise from £69 per month to £267 per month if I fix. MSE are saying don't fix with an offer it it's £145% more than you pay now. My maths isn't great but that seems more. I used their calculator thing, but I think I need to sit down and look at it on a computer. EON also don't see to have accurate end of year usage on bills so will need to look at that.

The non fix is £127, but I'm guessing that will rise later in the year and then we'd be fucked.
 
BristolEcho said:
EON quoted a rise from £69 per month to £267 per month if I fix. MSE are saying don't fix with an offer it it's £145% more than you pay now.
Click to expand...

That's an increase of over 285%. :eek:

That's assuming what you are currently paying is about correct.
 
pinkmonkey said:
I’ve heard nothing from eon.next so far, I have power of attorney for my father, I deal with the bills. When the direct debit goes up in October, his pension won’t cover it, he has no overdraft facility and no credit cards or anything like that, I had it removed a couple of years ago when he got into debt, between us 3 siblings, we paid it off.

What do folks think, am I in my rights to ask them to keep the direct debit the same?

We know that a debt is likely to build up, but my brother told me he’d be able to pay it off. Dad has rheumatoid arthritis. My parents have definitely cut down their energy use, we got rid of an old fridge freezer, that took £20 off the bills per month, they use ipads for entertainment, big telly stays off, don’t use oven anymore, stuff like that. It’s heating the house that I’m concerned about, the temperature dropped a little bit this week and he’s already in pain. 91 year olds can’t sit in the cold. Dad built this house, it’s big and the main living space is open plan, what are we supposed to do, build walls so we can heat one bit?
Click to expand...
It's got to be worth asking they all spout this 'Contact Your Supplier If You Are Having Trouble Paying Your Bill, We are Here to Help' guff. Your Dad has got to be a genuine case surely if he isn't then I don't know who is.
 
cupid_stunt said:
That's an increase of over 285%. :eek:

That's assuming what you are currently paying is about correct.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I think I am paying the right amount as when my Tarrif ends I won't owe any money.

I reckon they've overestimated my Gas usage to be honest. Will take a deeper look at it.
 
BristolEcho said:
Thanks! I think I am paying the right amount as when my Tarrif ends I won't owe any money.

I reckon they've overestimated my Gas usage to be honest. Will take a deeper look at it.
Click to expand...

Oh, hang on, do you mean you are currently on a fixed deal that's coming to an end?

If so, that throws things out completely, as the new fixed price deal would be based on the current standard rates, plus extra based on future possible increase, if that makes sense.

.
 
Puddy_Tat said:
not sure i know what to suggest as regards the energy companies, but just wondering (appreciate you may already have done this) whether it's worth investigating if parents are entitled to pension credit (it's like the old supplementary pension - it's not 'credit' as in a loan) and / or attendance allowance for disability?

age uk website has more on these
Click to expand...
We got attendance allowance and that fortunately covered the previous bill rises. I’m looking into carers allowance, now but I suspect their pensions are ‘too good’ to entitle them to any more cash.
 
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