Shit just got my electric bill!!

[2anddone]

Just got my electric bill it's gone up £200 compared to this time last year....it's going to get worse isn't it!
I have night storage heating which works on a thermostat and is set to low (17 degrees) plus a log cabin which I need to heat for my work (childcare so have to have heat!). I don't leave lights on unnecessarily, don't have my hot water heater switched on, only run my washing machine and dishwasher when they are full. The tv is on every evening but not in the daytime, don't have a tumble dryer.
I honestly can't see where I can save money on my electric bill (was over £400 this month)

@LoveMyPiano

HNRTFT (sorry) - bur I am failing to understand why anyone has a higher than usual (for time of year) bill, when the Price Cap has not changed yet and prices have not increased?. Any bills coming in now would surely be for recent usage and at the prevailing prices since the previous bill/reading..... (and direct debits cannot be changed willnilly in anticipation of hgher bills?)

In my case, my energy company collapsed, so I was moved to Shell and a new pricing structure.

Instead of my lovely deal till 2023

If you have a prepayment meter it will go up really steeply. I honestly don't know what we are all going to do, and am very worried.

@FTEngineerM

you cant reduce useage

Now that, right there, I’d fundamentally the problem with peoples attitude 😂

Of course you can reduce usage! You don’t need a fucking sunbed for a start. Go outside in the actual sun.

Not all of us can afford the luxury of a sunbed, in fact I have never had the money nor the opportunity to use one....in my home is one fridge freezer, one cooker, one kettle , a pc and a washing machine, we barely use these as it is, not been able to afford heating for the last couple of years anyway, and we currently go to bed when it is dark, there IS no way to cut back more, and our electricity more than doubled in price already..... I already cannot afford it, am dreading april with even more thieving oops rises

@Dibbydoos sorry for posting this so long after your comment, I've only just read the post.
I was with pure planet and they moved me to shell. Took forever, only just had first bill. 2 weeks ago they told me I had to increase my DD to £100pm from £85 even though I was £360 in credit so I ignored it. 2 days later they said increase it to £90 so I ignored again. Last week they told me I'm paying too much and I have to reduce it to £65pm so I don't get too much in credit! I tried to set it as £70 so I'll keep some credit for when the prices go up/next winter and they said that was too much! If you're that much in credit, I'd just ignore requests to up it

@LoveMyPiano

HNRTFT (sorry) - bur I am failing to understand why anyone has a higher than usual (for time of year) bill, when the Price Cap has not changed yet and prices have not increased?. Any bills coming in now would surely be for recent usage and at the prevailing prices since the previous bill/reading..... (and direct debits cannot be changed willnilly in anticipation of hgher bills?)

Because the Price cap went up in October, all fixed tariffs were pulled mid September so anyone coming off a fixed rate had to go on a SVT. The April cap will be the second rise in prices.

some upthread, it wont let me quote, stated that we all choose our meters, no, we don't, this house is a rental, it came with a smart meter already here, pay as you go, i have tried and tried to get this changed but apparently that cant happen once one is installed..... I am not being allowed to even change supplier, reason given was the meter wont work with anyone elses, and yes I have asked the current supplier and pretty much all the others I could. It literally costs more to run this one house, same appliances etc that the last two did combined! ( those were on quarterly bills with ability back then to switch), and that was 3 years ago BEFORE all this crap started

@Flamingle18

I was also with Pure Planet. I've just changed to pay each bill monthly by DD. They have over exaggerated my usage so I am waiting till it settles down.

And again in October

Have you switched to LED lighting throughout?

is this a good tariff went on last sept , based on forecast increases this year ?. Terrible situation for all is a worry for sure:(.

Super Green Octopus 24M
This 24 month fixed tariff is the very greenest you can be with Octopus! The electricity you use is 100% matched by renewable sources, and any gas you use is fully carbon offset through our partner Renewable World. Like all our tariffs, Super Green Octopus has no exit fees.
Tariff info (all prices include VAT)
Reference SUPER-GREEN-24M-21-09-17
Starts from 12:00 AM, 22nd Sep 2021
Electricity
Unit price 25.87p per kWh
Standing charge 23.50p per day
Gas
Unit price 6.03p per kWh
Standing charge 26.10p per day

this was best deal available at time , but still crazy increase.Tactic was pay more this winter , but use less than usual and try protect from prices ready for winter 22/23. Feel for us all , goverment couldnt care.Line there pockets with backhanders frm energy companys/shareholders.Knowing full well can afford there energy bills anyway regardless.Tories never cared about anyone but themselves and never will.As per other countries example , could have done so much more to help ppl in this country and living costs/energy costs.But they prefer the average person in this counry to struggle and suffer , always have the fuckers.

@SmoggieC

My gas and electric was £300 from 4th Jan to 4th Feb. Worked from home for most of it so had heating on more but still wowsers

That's a lot of money! Our quarterly bill for Nov, Dec and Jan was 360 pounds with EON. There are 2 of us usually - we live in a 3 bed house but it is new so very well insulated and all appliances are up to date. We have LED everywhere. We have our heating on twice a day for 1 hour 30 mins. We use the dishwasher every night and the washing machine every other day on a cycle that takes 1hr 27 or 1hr 49. I use the tumble dryer at this time of year maybe 3 times a week for at least 1 hour at a time, sometimes 2 if sheets and towels. We have an extra fridge/freezer and chest freezer in the garage.We use an electric throw when sitting at the TV at night ( to save bumping on the heating) and we have electric blanket on low for about 4 hours every night. I don't use the oven every day - I will use gas hob or an airfryer. We have a gas combo boiler which is instant hot water for showers. Cant think of anything else I've missed.

The whole situation is out of control/order. If we are to believe it is going to get worse by April then I reckon it will be outwith many folks ability , including mine to turn on heating at all. My bills also soared - despite being frugal , only having heating on when grandson/visitors are in. Hot water bottle and blankets when they are not. Is electricity and gas now more valuable than gold? Will the government do anything? ha ha ha

This is a global situation. We are also just coming out of a pandemic where many people were happy to take whatever handouts they were entitled to from the Gov. How can the Government subsidise all of this? Too many people expect and believe it is their right to have x, y and z while making little effort. Many people do not think ahead and spend willy nilly - we were just at the cinema this evening and were unable to get into any of the restaurants. Queues out the door. Several of these threads all tie together - dentists, pensions, utilities and yes even that takeaway thread. People expect to just get it all even if they make little planning towards these things. It surprises me the things that some people think they are entitled to regardless of their income and effort.

@RightOnTheEdge

I have a pre payment meter and I seem to be topping it and the gas one up every other day now! I know that everyone says it costs more to have a pre payment meter but I do like knowing where I'm at with it. I don't think I could cope with waiting for a bill now and then getting a shock.

It's okay if you pay by Fixed Price Monthly Direct Debit. That way you exactly how much you will be paying. For those people on a variable tariff, their bills will go up in April. I am on a Fixed Price tariff until May next year, so my shock will be delayed!

@wishedforchild2016 those tariffs are:

• Better than any fix you could get now

- less than the new price cap from April.

And Industry commentators are expecting a further increase to the price cap from October.

You’ve got a 2-year fix, so you’ve probably done well. And if prices fall sooner than currently expected - you have no exit penalty, so you could move early.

@FourTeaFallOut

generally dishwashers use less energy than hand washing apparently

But how much less? Enough to make up for the disparity between the cost of gas and electric?

www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/dishwasher-vs-hand-washing

i just feel for everyone in thread , regardless whether deal good.Just makes me anangry/upset some of things read in this thread.But thanks for feedback struggle with whole prices and increase etc , need to get on top of what in house costs what elec wise.

Its like going backwards to victorian times based on this thread and many others read recently, seriously.Not being dramatic or ott, just as see it unfortunately.

Our monthly duel fuel has risen £100 a month since this time last year. Currently £251 a month. Just had an email from out provider to tell us it’ll be going up to £371 a month in April. How the hell do they expect people to live? We’re a family of 4, 5 if you include the dog, two teenage sons who spend most of their time in their rooms (in the dark) on their phones to friends. mum and Dad out to work 3/5 and 5/5 days. Nothing is left on. It’s absolutely ridiculous!

@PickledOnionSandwich

As an aside, the government are dead keen on us all having electric cars. Most people can’t even afford to buy one and now the electricity is going to be too expensive! I guess that idea is going to need to be reviewed (spoilers, it won’t be) 😂

Errrm our electric car costs £9 to charge for 200 miles.... even if that doubled tomorrow it's still cheaper to run than our old petrol car.

Services are cheaper (eg no oil changed), no road tax, insurance is marginally cheaper and no London congestion charge (which to be fair we hardly drive into London, maybe 4-5 times a year)

Going up in April then again in October then the following april and again following October. Its going to get really really bad, let's hope for mild winters.

DirtyDancing for us we have to take into account that it is a work car and we did look at electric cars but by the time you have paid more each month for the lease, then because we would have to top up each day for an hour or so which means I then can’t work that also had to be added to the cost and we worked out that it would cost £23/26 per day to recharge it overnight. Adding everything up it just wasn’t worth going electric at this stage and the hybrid versions were getting only the same or less mpg than some fully petrol or diesel ones and were also costing more to lease.

If we used it just as a normal car and didn’t do huge mileage each day then I can understand ot could be cheaper but for us it didn’t add up

EVs are about £60k+ unless you just want a small runaround so hardly affordable to buy in the first place, however cheap they are to run. We looked at them for towing and there are very few suitable.

Going to have to deal with my useless power company in the morning as I have been told I have an amount still outstanding of £175. I had paid what I thought was the bill this month which was £334. Either they have royally screwed up or this bill is a scam or I am freezing to death and paying a over £500 per month for the privilege.

I have started to charge the company £20 per month as they still can’t get my account sorted so I can set an actual account up (so far I have spent over 5 hours on the phone trying to sort it)
I suspect they will start to owe me money very soon.

The scary thing is that we’ve had a mild winter