My electricity bill has just tripled: how about yours? Alternative suppliers?
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gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Yes, sadly basic energy and power is beyond most people's understanding - and I bet you would struggle to find anyone in government who does - even Coffey.
Some loon on PT was quoting increases that would have applied only to people who had somehow fixed their energy tariff in the 1980s ...
I struggled to make any sense of the published figures until they actually published the price per KWH.
27p to 34p is 25 percent.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
According to Ofgem, the average British household has 2.4 people living in it and uses 2,900 kWh of electricity and 12,000 kWh of gas. This works out at 242 kWh of electricity and 1,000 kWh of gas per month.
It should be easy enough to compare your annual usage to that, mine over the last year was approx. 75% of the average, so £2,500 - 25% = £1875.
And, I was very close with that estimate, which I made when the Energy Price Guarantee was announced, because in OVO's e-mail they estimated my next 12 months to be £1,888 - although it will in fact be a lot less with the measures I am taking.
You should have had an e-mail, or letter, showing the new rates, your annual usage & charges.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
Talking about savings, for electric in August I averaged 4.84kwh per day, in Sept. that's down to 4.46kwh despite the darker mornings & evenings, saving 0.38kwh daily or 11.4khw for the month - this mainly reflects using the new air-flyer from the middle of the month rather than electric oven.
Oct. is going to be interesting, I am expecting decent saving with the new fridge/freezer, it's first full day of use was yesterday, resulting in just 3.15kwh being used - the average will be higher once using the washing machine comes into play, but if I can bring the 150kwh/£44.23 used in August down to around 110kwh/£38.84 in Oct., I'll be saving over £5pm despite the rate increase or equal to a monthly saving of over £14.00pm off the new rate, which I'll be very happy with.
Oct. is going to be interesting, I am expecting decent saving with the new fridge/freezer, it's first full day of use was yesterday, resulting in just 3.15kwh being used - the average will be higher once using the washing machine comes into play, but if I can bring the 150kwh/£44.23 used in August down to around 110kwh/£38.84 in Oct., I'll be saving over £5pm despite the rate increase or equal to a monthly saving of over £14.00pm off the new rate, which I'll be very happy with.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I am increasingly thinking that replacing my old, rather tatty fridge/freezer with a newer, more economical model would be a good thing to do. So thanks a bunch
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
You could always benefit from the unheated parts of your home by using that instead of the fridge.I am increasingly thinking that replacing my old, rather tatty fridge/freezer with a newer, more economical model would be a good thing to do. So thanks a bunch
I'm starting to think about what I could do with wire mesh - and perhaps even a small fan bringing in cold air from outside.
My "negative" energy bill just arrived - somewhat galling that the standing charge amounts to a third of it.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
There's no part of my home that is unheated to the extent that it'd be good for storing food!You could always benefit from the unheated parts of your home by using that instead of the fridge.
I'm starting to think about what I could do with wire mesh - and perhaps even a small fan bringing in cold air from outside.
My "negative" energy bill just arrived - somewhat galling that the standing charge amounts to a third of it.
Particularly since I now have a neighbour downstairs again. So long as I maintain my flat at a lower temperature than hers, I'm benefiting from heat leakage from her to me
WouldBe
Dislicksick
Ouch. I'm with utility warehouse and mine are
Electricity sc 30.361p
kWh 33.017p
Gas sc 10.231p
Kwh 10.236p
Leafster
.
When I was a small child my grandparents didn't have a fridge. Instead they had something they called a 'safe' which was an outdoor cupboard on the shady side of the house with fine mesh sides.You could always benefit from the unheated parts of your home by using that instead of the fridge.
I'm starting to think about what I could do with wire mesh - and perhaps even a small fan bringing in cold air from outside.
My "negative" energy bill just arrived - somewhat galling that the standing charge amounts to a third of it.
Wouldn't it be better for you to make something like that rather than bringing the cold air into the house?
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Mostly it's about convenience - my bathroom / kitchen is draughty in any case and without a fridge I tend to keep veggies near the window ...
_Russ_
Never not Knowingly Misunderstood
Yes the linked explanation is quite straightforward, but it cant be as simple as set unit price cap without making the average price cap statement a lie.
No company can know in advance what the average bill is going to be next month as it doesnt know what usage will occur so will be guessing its unit price based on reaching the limit stated as an average price cap.
You cant say the unit price is a set rate and their is a set average cap on the monthly/yearly fee without one of those statements being a lie or the energy supplier purposely charging a unit rate thats so low as it definately cant breach the yearly cap
_Russ_
Never not Knowingly Misunderstood
My Dad used to keep his bottles of Newcastle Brown in the Fish Pond
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
The average price cap statement is a lie.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Yep we had one of those, in the (small) pantry which again was reasonably cool. I wanted one of them for years and finally got one 15 years ago
They're good for keeping cheese and vege type things although I tend to keep them in the fridge. Despite their name - I knew it as a meat safe - I wouldn't trust keeping meat in them.Have said before when I was at uni I had a small cabinet lined with metal on the inside and the body was made of expanded polystyrene. You poured water in a chamber in the top and evaporation kept the thing below room temperature. It worked ok as I recall. A container with a wet tea towel over it would keep things below room temperature but is a bit temporary.
I did have a hole dug into the kitchen floor and slate lined when the renovations were done. I ought to check what temperature it keeps but I've never really used it since I was given a fridge and since then have the newer one and freezer.
I'd get a small energy efficient fridge if it's only one person and they're not vege.
Leafster
.
Now you come to mention it, it probably was called a meat safe. I suspect it was shortened to just 'safe' when they spoke about as it was the only one they had.Yep we had one of those, in the (small) pantry which again was reasonably cool. I wanted one of them for years and finally got one 15 years ago
Have said before when I was at uni I had a small cabinet lined with metal on the inside and the body was made of expanded polystyrene. You poured water in a chamber in the top and evaporation kept the thing below room temperature. It worked ok as I recall. A container with a wet tea towel over it would keep things below room temperature but is a bit temporary.
I did have a hole dug into the kitchen floor and slate lined when the renovations were done. I ought to check what temperature it keeps but I've never really used it since I was given a fridge and since then have the newer one and freezer.
I'd get a small energy efficient fridge if it's only one person and they're not vege.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
The average price cap statement is true, it's based on OFGEM's calculation of what the average household used in the last year, it's just a benchmark figure, used as a guide.
To say that's the maximum any household will be charged is the lie.
I don’t understand how we’re apparently using so much more than the national average of electricity. We don’t have electric hot water or an electric shower, even. I understand some of the excess but there’s about half our usage that makes no sense to me.
Is it even remotely possible that our meter could be borked? Is that a thing that happens?
Is it even remotely possible that our meter could be borked? Is that a thing that happens?
story
Changing the facts
Which one did you get?
One of the problems these days is that there is so much choice for everything. I read the articles, I read the 1 star reviews….
story
Changing the facts
Which one did you get?
One of the problems these days is that there is so much choice for everything. I read the articles, I read the 1 star reviews….
2hats
Dust.
Meters can indeed be borked.
At a previous place I noticed that my apparent electricity consumption suddenly started rocketing one day having been consistent for months and years prior (I used to log meter readings several times per week). Nothing was even on and it still was ticking over. I cut everything at the consumer unit and still the meter claimed to be measuring something. Clearly broken. Engineers came to look and agreed there must be a problem. They fitted a separate calibrated meter alongside the original one for a couple of weeks after which they officially admitted the meter was faulty and replaced it, cancelled the previous bill and provided a payment for the inconvenience.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
This is the design but there seem to be lots with that design but made by different people - possibly sourced from china and different company badges on them. Needs a UK plug as this one has:
UK Plug-in Electricity Power Consumption Meter Energy Monitor Watt Kwh Analyzer | eBay
Total KWh and Cost Display: 0.0-9999KWh, 0.0-9999COST. Overload Setting: when current load power goes beyond the max. load power, the letters "OVERLOAD" on LCD will keep blinking to remind you. Plug: 3-pin UK Plug.
www.ebay.co.uk
On Amazon they all seem out of stock or £27.
You just plug it in and it shows the consumption in W - you may need a torch though it's not bright. Let it run for a day (say for a fridge) and press Mode and it shows consumption in kWh.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
From my utterly useless British Gas app. (It’s up for September because my readings are normally on the 15th of the month and in September I submitted readings on 15th and 30th).
Note how they admit to estimating June, July and August despite the FACT that I send in readings EVERY MONTH. This is the shit we have to put up with. But there’s no way of actually telling them that. You get sent in circles trying to message them.
Note how they admit to estimating June, July and August despite the FACT that I send in readings EVERY MONTH. This is the shit we have to put up with. But there’s no way of actually telling them that. You get sent in circles trying to message them.
2hats
Dust.
You could of course just look at the ratings of the equipment you have connected, use a socket power meter, or an inductive "smart" meter at the consumer unit to sanity check the main meter over a few days. Or alternatively, simply just cut all power for a few hours and see if the meter is still clocking up phantom juice.
I did all of the those at the time (just checked my notes). The vampire reading overnight, with power off at the consumer unit, suggested a constant 24/7 floor of 1.2kWh (red 'flow rate' LED flashed relentlessly every ~3 seconds). The faulty meter was overclocking by a factor of 3-10x in typical use versus the official 'check meter' reading (varied widely from day to day). My notes also remind me that one of the visiting engineers told me that the particular model of meter that I had (unfortunately didn't record the details) apparently had a bad reputation as regards breaking down and mis-metering.
Moral: always worth periodically sanity checking your meters.
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cesare
shady's dreams ♥
For years I was trying to tell Scottish Power and then subsequently British Gas that there was NO WAY I could be using that much electricity and begging them for a new meter as mine was very old. No joy, they wouldn't entertain it. Then I moved to another supplier (E.ON I think) and within what seemed like nanoseconds they'd changed the meter and my bills had halved.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
No, I didn’t find the help I needed in the help and support section. The help and support section directed me to message an advisor!
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Blimey that's cheap - I paid £17.99 for mine on Amazon ...This is the design but there seem to be lots with that design but made by different people - possibly sourced from china and different company badges on them. Needs a UK plug as this one has:
UK Plug-in Electricity Power Consumption Meter Energy Monitor Watt Kwh Analyzer | eBay
Total KWh and Cost Display: 0.0-9999KWh, 0.0-9999COST. Overload Setting: when current load power goes beyond the max. load power, the letters "OVERLOAD" on LCD will keep blinking to remind you. Plug: 3-pin UK Plug.www.ebay.co.uk
On Amazon they all seem out of stock or £27.
You just plug it in and it shows the consumption in W - you may need a torch though it's not bright. Let it run for a day (say for a fridge) and press Mode and it shows consumption in kWh.
I'm going to see how cheaply I can set up proper data-logging
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