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Original poster

Shit just got my electric bill!!

587 replies

2anddone · 09/02/2022 21:57

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)

OP posts:
PizzaCrust · 10/02/2022 01:23

@StarCat2020

I will definitely be heavily topping up next summer before prices inevitably increase again for the following winter Does it not take the credit as you use it though?
Yes but over the summer we barely use our gas. We don’t need the heating on & it would only get used for hot water (ie showers and washing dishes). So if we topped up regularly we’d have a lot of credit remaining to use in the winter at a “cheaper” price, if you get me.
Dibbydoos · 10/02/2022 01:36

I'm grizzly cos I got caught up in the demise of planet energy and was shifted to Shell ffs. It took so long that octopus, who I wanted to move to, are advising me not to move. All badly timed, I had solar PV and a battery installed cos we got an eV. (I mean not badly timed cos it's reduced my cost risk but badly timed cos it took so long). Shell wants to put my direct debit up by £20 pcm even though I'm £350 in credit. Not as bad as your stories, but it's still £590 extra pa.

I hate Shell, like Exon; it's a monstrously polluting company with dodgy ethics.

I might get some electric infra red heaters and run them off my battery versus using gas soon...

BTW my system cost £9k. It was originally estimated a 9yr payback, but who knows when it'll pay back if prices keep going up. Obvs it's fine in summer and should produce way more than we need, but it's low energy production in winter, so not helpful in reducing energy demand when we most need lights and heating! I considered air source but lots of examples of badly fitted systems, so I'm not going there yet....

EmmaH2022 · 10/02/2022 01:42

Similar here

I have electric heating and will be limiting the number of hours the boiler is on. I don't need it to be heated up 24/7. I did at the start of winter and I know there's a cold spell coming but jesz, that bill!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cost of living
FreyaMaya · 10/02/2022 01:43

@Babadook76

My gas and electric has gone up from £116 to £239 a month. Most of my money goes into taking care of exotic animals, some I’ve had for many years. I’ve already had to start compiling a list of who will have to go first if I can’t afford to take care of them anymore :(
That's really sad :(
FreyaMaya · 10/02/2022 01:46

Mine was £36 a month gone up to £80 a month. I really don't know how I'm going to afford this. Causing sleepless nights already

AutomaticMoon · 10/02/2022 02:04

@Ridiculousradish

Is that right? I've got an electric key meter, and I probably spend approx £50 a month in the winter, and about £40 a month on gas. Me and a 12 year old. Heating is on for 3ish hours in the evening, washing machine on most days,
You must have good insulation/not a damp rotting rental flat?
SquirrelG · 10/02/2022 02:18

I keep reading these threads, it sounds awful!. I am not in the UK and I pay $26.6 cents per Kw, which is 14.3p. What are you paying?

I've been wondering about this too - also not in the UK. I pay around the same as above. Has the UK had cheap electricity and is now catching up with the rest of us, or are your prices high and now are doubling?

TheTeenageYears · 10/02/2022 02:23

@SquirrelG

I keep reading these threads, it sounds awful!. I am not in the UK and I pay $26.6 cents per Kw, which is 14.3p. What are you paying?

I've been wondering about this too - also not in the UK. I pay around the same as above. Has the UK had cheap electricity and is now catching up with the rest of us, or are your prices high and now are doubling?

I'm also abroad but do own property in the UK for which I'm responsible for bills. I think the KWh price quoted is possibly half the price of the new UK cap.
iRun2eatCake · 10/02/2022 02:42

I was paying £77/mth. My fixed rate ended and I'm now being quoted £266/mth.

I have stayed on variable rate as that is working out cheaper for now.

I have re-set the boiler timings so the hot water is on for a minimum each day. Have also cut down on the heating timings.

It's so worrying. I get the Warm Home discount too as my son is disabled.

Nancydrawn · 10/02/2022 03:49

Right now, before the cap raise, the average UK kWh is just about 19p.

In the States, the average is about 7.5p. (Hawaii is very high. Some states it's as low as 5.3p per kWh).

The reaction to the raises is very interesting. Here's what most countries in Europe have decided: www.irishtimes.com/business/energy-and-resources/electricity-charges-what-are-other-countries-doing-to-ease-the-pain-1.4792963

Britain's plan is...not the best.

SquirrelG · 10/02/2022 04:46

I'm also abroad but do own property in the UK for which I'm responsible for bills. I think the KWh price quoted is possibly half the price of the new UK cap.

Wow - that's awful Shock Shock

blyn72 · 10/02/2022 04:56

£400 is for how long a period, eg quarterly? Presumably not monthly.

Night storage heaters are notoriously expensive to run, people always complain about them. They aren't terribly efficient either. I'm afraid I don't know what 'log cabin' heating is.

I feel for you, it's quite a scary situation for so many.

FourTeaFallOut · 10/02/2022 05:07

Last month I came to the end of my cheap fixed cap were I had been paying 2.2p/kWh gas and 16p/kWh and moved on to a 2 year fix of 6.4p/26p. That's above the current standard variable cap of 4p/20p and below the April cap of 7.4p/28p (and in this month the stranding charge on electricity almost doubles on this tariff) and in October this capped variable rate cap is rumoured to increase by a further 20%.

My dd, which at least won't rise any further for a while, has jumped from about £150/month to £270.

CobraChicken · 10/02/2022 05:17

@SquirrelG

I keep reading these threads, it sounds awful!. I am not in the UK and I pay $26.6 cents per Kw, which is 14.3p. What are you paying?

I've been wondering about this too - also not in the UK. I pay around the same as above. Has the UK had cheap electricity and is now catching up with the rest of us, or are your prices high and now are doubling?

I know when we moved from the UK to BC, Canada, waaay back in the early 2000s, electricity was a bit cheaper in BC, but obviously you needed to use more of electricity per month if you were using it for heating in a Canadian winter. Now the difference is crazy.

We have a stepped rate, where about half of the month (at our level of usage) is charged at the equivalent of 5p/kWh, and then the second half is at 8p/kWh.

Turangawaewae · 10/02/2022 05:49

NZer here. We pay 16.3p per kwh. But probably use less due to our warmer climate on sub tropical North Island.

Our houses are generally shite and drafty though so winter can uncomfortable.

twosticksandanapple · 10/02/2022 06:14

It is not just households either. The knock on effect on UK businesseses and the economy will be huge. How will UK exporters afford to export if their costs of production are so much higher than elsewhere. Prices will rise significantly in all industries and people will not be able to afford to pay them so businesses will close and jobs will be lost.

Vanillabourbon · 10/02/2022 06:46

@StarCat2020

I have turned my combi boiler off altogether.

I cannot risk it using gas at all.

How do you have a hot shower?
Cappio · 10/02/2022 06:47

We can’t do anything about the price of electricity, the only thing we can affect is how much we use.

We’ve made brutal cuts here.

Dishwasher is gone. Washing up by hand is back.

Look at your laundry. Ask yourself, would I wash this now if I had to do it by hand? If the answer is no then it’s not that dirty. Underwear is washed after one use, everything else is washed when it is dirty not just because it has been worn

Showers, 5 min max

Deep freeze defrosted, seal checked, make sure it isn’t leaking cold air

Heating on between 6-7am for everyone to get changed. Comes back on 3-8. 18 degrees max. At 8 it drops to 16 degrees. At 10 it drops to 14. If you’re cold put on a jumper

PickledOnionSandwich · 10/02/2022 06:58

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) 😂

Puffincrossing · 10/02/2022 07:02

cappio generally dishwashers use less energy than hand washing apparently.

Without turning off the tv permanently, which I doubt would make must difference, I don't think we can make further cuts here. Going to be tough for a lot of people

whatwasIgoingtosay · 10/02/2022 07:03

It infuriates me that the media is constantly claiming that bills could rise by 'as much as 50%', e.g.. www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/23/energy-bills-could-rise-by-50-amid-national-crisis-of-soaring-uk-prices
These are NOT 50% rises that everyone is describing , these are rises of 100% and more. 100 PER CENT!! It is beyond shocking and the government's pathetic offer of a loan of £200 doesn't even scratch the surface of most people's misery, while the oil and gas companies are making billions in profit. Angry

PuzzledObserver · 10/02/2022 07:05

Anyone who has a modern condensing boiler, have a look at the flow temperature. They are typically set at 70-80 degrees, which means radiators get nice and warm so rooms heat up quickly, but the return temperature is too high for the condensing bit to happen. This is inefficient.

Turn the flow temp down to 55 degrees. Radiators will not get as hot so will need to be on for longer, but overall the system uses less gas. I reckon we have cut usage 5-10% by doing this. If your rads are on the small side your house may not get warm enough, so try 60 or 65 degrees instead, you should still get some saving.

On electric: if you have any filament or compact fluorescent bulbs left, switch them for LED, starting with the ones in the rooms you use most. Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need. Work out meals that can be done in the slow cooker and/or microwave and limit use of oven and hob. I also have a Remoska (from Lakeland), which is a sort of mini oven. Not suitable for everything, but I use it where I can and it uses less than the proper oven.

If you have a smart meter, start watching the instaneous load and work out which of your devices are energy-hungry. Target those for reduced usage.

FourTeaFallOut · 10/02/2022 07:05

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?

SantaMonicaPier · 10/02/2022 07:06

It is very concerning and I worry especially for those on low incomes. Our DD was £136 pm and our fix ends mid April. Having looked back at our annual use in relation to the new cap I've increased the DD to £200 from March and am preparing to increase to £240 from April/May.

SantaMonicaPier · 10/02/2022 07:07

Also, we got some Oodie style hoodies from Amazon for £25 each. They are amazing. When we are wearing them I have to put the thermostat down one or two degrees or it's too warm. I highly recommend them for colder months.