Does it sound like my electric is being charged incorrectly?

[RogerDodger]

I have a small 3 bed terrace, myself and two teenage DC. I’m at home most days but other than a bit of TV and the kettle being boiled a few times I don’t use much electric during the day. I use the tumble drier maybe once a fortnight for towels. Washing machine is on every other day. We don’t have an electric shower- it’s heated from the hot water tank from the oil boiler. My electric is costing over £100 a month. My unit rate is apparently 22.58p on a keypad meter.

I was talking about it to my friend who lives a 5 minute walk away and is with the same electric provider but on a monthly direct debit. Her rate is 21.76p. She pays £45 a month. It’s her and a teen daughter. She works from home about half the week (so laptop plugged in) she washes clothes and uses the tumble drier daily, TV on in the evenings, has an electric shower. lots of cups of tea

We were both shocked at the difference in cost.

Do you think there’s an error with my meter? Should/can I get my provider to come out and have a look?

Should add my friends house is a 4 bed, 3 storey semi- detached house.

It's too hard to say with just that info. You need to read your metre regularly and understand how many kwh you use every month/year.

It really is worth doing because it will 'demystify' your bills now and in the future...

That sounds like far too much for the usage you describe.

Our electricity is around £70 a month, with a unit cost of 19.9 p but we have an electric shower, all electric cooking, dishwasher, I WFH so laptop, screen on quite a lot, plus average washing machine and cups of tea, occasional tumble dryer use so I'd say we definitely use quite a lot more than you do.

What's your standing charge? Ours is just under 27 p a day, we're on a price cap tariff and pay by direct debit.

Your teens aren't running gaming PCs, bitcoin mines or leave high powered lightbulbs on a lot do they?

We also have a very old fridge freezer which probably costs more to run than more modern ones.

I've been wanting to let it keep running due to idle curiosity as to exactly how long it will last (it's currently something like 24 years old) but with the increases in fuel prices, it's probably getting near to the time when we should get a new one.

One teen is running a gaming PC! Is this the culprit?? He doesn’t mine Bitcoin though. He’s all mine craft and fortnight. Other than that his room is in darkness

Are all your lightbulbs LED, that can make a big difference. Also older appliances (ovens, fridge, dishwasher) can draw more too.

You're not repaying debt on the account are you?

Have you done the maths in terms of (number of kWh used x rate) + (daily standing charge x 30) and does this add up?

Oven and dishwasher are both less than 3 years old. Fridge was second hand so not sure if age. I would guess maybe ten years old.

Some of our lightbulbs are LED but not all so will get onto changing them over.

No there’s no debt on the account.

How do I find out the daily standing charge?

@RogerDodger

One teen is running a gaming PC! Is this the culprit?? He doesn’t mine Bitcoin though. He’s all mine craft and fortnight. Other than that his room is in darkness

I think some gaming PCs can use quite a lot of power.

Google suggests that they can use around 0.3 to 0.5 kWh so if it's on a lot, say 50 hours a week = 0.4 x 50 x 4.33 x 22.58 = 19.55, which is nearly £20 a month for the PC alone on average, assuming the power is 0.4 kWh.

If he averages more than 7 hours a day, it could cost a lot more. If this is the culprit, you could at least ask him to only have it running if he's using it.

I think you're right that something's going on. Got my calculator out and even if I assumed a very high standing charge of 25p, that works out to over 13kwh a day. And I think you should be using about 5 or 6kWh a day from what you describe.

Could you turn off everything, then turn it back one by one while looking at your meter?

Disclaimer: my only qualification is a slightly unhealthy obsession with my smart meter

Disclaimer: my only qualification is a slightly unhealthy obsession with my smart meter grin

I think I might be taking up that hobby myself now!

I will get my pen and paper out and do some investigating.

Thanks all.

If your home a lot take a slightly higher daily charge than a cost per unit if you are looking at deal.

You don’t know if your friend is underpaying. Jus t because her direct debit is that she might get to the end of the year and owe money.

It does sound high but how does it compare to what you’ve used historically?

Ok so I’ve gone round the whole house.

There is no standing charge on my meter so I’m only paying for what electric I use. Also, I get 2.5% discount bringing my unit rate price down to 22.13p and I get a £2 bonus onto my meter every time I top up £80+ which is every month (and then I always need to top up £20-£30 more)

Compared to what I’ve used historically it does feel like it’s been a big jump but It’s coincided with covid, me/DC being at home more/home schooling as well as unit price increases so I put it down to that. It wasn’t until I spoke to my friend (who was affected by all those issues too) that I wondered if there is an issue as hers is so much lower.

I have the KW figure for exact appliance- do I multiply that number by how many hours something is on to work out how much it costs me per month?

Exact= each

Key meters are more expensive than having usage on a direct debit set up. When we moved into our first home there was a key meter we didn't put anything on for 2 months as we were refurbishing and living elsewhere. Moved in and it was eating 15 quid for every 20 we put on. Rang them - they said we owed the weekly charge from the date we took over the meter and that was £5 per week.

Which provider are you with? Do you have electric heating?

It’s power NI as I am in Northern Ireland. I have oil central heating. I tested the heating system usage too during my test. It’s 0.19kw when the boiler is fired up and 0.10kw when the boiler isn’t fired up. Heating is on 4-5 hours a day for 6 months of the year. It’s off the rest of the year. Using the 0.19kw figure and a 5 hour per day figure I worked out it’s costing £28.50 per month which seems really high! Does that sound right? That’s not including the oil which is about £70 per month.

I’ve just realised the 28.50 is the kw usage per month- not the £ cost. Cost is 28.50 X 0.2213 = £6.40

I suspect your friend is underpaying. Did she start her tariff in the summer when the bills are lower, and just maintained the same payment all year round?

average costs

Just found this article which suggests that a 1-2 bedroom or house would pay estimated £66 per month.

I’m not sure when she started hers. I can check with her. She has been in her house about 6/7 years.

Looking at that link it seems my costs are pretty average. And we can expect them to shoot up soon.

Take a meter reading at the same time everyday for 7 days continuing to use the electricity as usual. Then call your energy provider and ask to speak to their energy efficiency department they will look at your usage and your circumstances and if there does seem to be a meter issue send someone to look at it. I used to work in the field it is VERY rarely a meter issue.

Thanks @Hellocatshome I’ll do that.