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Original poster

Is £16 a month for electricity even possible?

31 replies

MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 14:48

I have a prepayment electricity meter, it was already installed when I moved in.
It’s never really bothered me, I usually top it up with £150-£200 a time and that lasts for 5-6ish months.

I worked out a couple of years ago that we were using around £35 a month electricity, (and this was with me working from home full time).

With the rising costs the new prepayment rate is significantly higher than normal meters and I decided try to get the meter changed, but had no luck.
I then saw the Martin Lewis hack, where if you top up as much as possible you will stay on the current rate until you top up again, so I went and topped up £500.
I went to put it onto the meter this morning and was shocked to find it still had £102 credit still on it,
The last time I topped up was £150 at the start of January.

That means over the last three months we have used less than £16 per month electricity.
I don’t understand how this is possible.
I work from home and my laptop and pc are on most of the day, my teenage DS has a pc he plays games on as well as a tv he watches most evenings.

The only difference we’ve made is I bought an airfryer in the Black Friday sales, so we barely use the oven at all anymore.

But it just doesn’t seem possible to use so little electricity.
We do try to be energy efficient, we have led bulbs and switch plugs off when not in use, but £16 just seems like an impossible amount.

Should I be contacting my supplier to get the meter checked in case something is wrong with it?
Or should I just leave it and hope it’s correct?

OP posts:
Readyforspring · 31/03/2022 15:15

I thought the whole topping up prior to 1st was irrelevant, as the price per kwh changes on 1st And meters will automatically update. I may be wrong tho

Tlollj · 31/03/2022 15:20

Didn’t realise you could too Uk that much all at once. I tried to do £50 once and could only do £49.

Tlollj · 31/03/2022 15:21

*do that much

Interested in this thread?

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Cost of living
Kezzie200 · 31/03/2022 15:21

Maybe you had credit left when you topped up by 150. Rather than let it get down to pennies, if you still had say 60 on it and added 150 then you have used more in the past few months

TodayWeShark · 31/03/2022 15:23

That's about what we spend for a three bedroom house so yes, it's possible.

Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 16:38

@Tlollj

Didn’t realise you could too Uk that much all at once. I tried to do £50 once and could only do £49.
In shops like co-op or our nearby Londis the max for 1 transaction is £50, but you can do more than one transaction as they stack.

At the post office you can top up as much as you want, I think the limit is £999.

OP posts:
Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 16:40

@Kezzie200

Maybe you had credit left when you topped up by 150. Rather than let it get down to pennies, if you still had say 60 on it and added 150 then you have used more in the past few months
Definitely didn’t have credit, we were actually on the emergency credit as we had been away over Christmas and new year and came back to the power having run out, I put the emergency credit on and then went to the post office the next day to top it up.
OP posts:
stairgates · 31/03/2022 16:41

How many of you are at home and how big is your house? This does sound pretty low.

Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 16:43

@Readyforspring

I thought the whole topping up prior to 1st was irrelevant, as the price per kwh changes on 1st And meters will automatically update. I may be wrong tho
All the big firms bar eon and Scottish power have confirmed top ups will honour the rate they topped up on, so if you top up today you will stay on the current rate until you top up again.

here is the MSE article about it

OP posts:
Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 16:44

@TodayWeShark

That's about what we spend for a three bedroom house so yes, it's possible.
That’s good to know, I was panicking thinking it was impossible and something must be wrong. Thank you.
OP posts:
rachelohrachel · 31/03/2022 16:45

Martin Lewis was on This Morning today (don't judge me, at home with COVID!) saying that the advice to load up pre-payment meters by today had changed over the last few days.

Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 16:46

@stairgates

How many of you are at home and how big is your house? This does sound pretty low.
Three bed house, one adult and one teenager. I do have a SO who stays over often though, but we also stay at his house on the weekends sometimes.
OP posts:
Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 16:48

@rachelohrachel

Martin Lewis was on This Morning today (don't judge me, at home with COVID!) saying that the advice to load up pre-payment meters by today had changed over the last few days.
Yes it doesn’t work for gas or customers of eon or Scottish power.

But my supplier has confirmed it will work with them according to Martin Lewis.

OP posts:
rachelohrachel · 31/03/2022 17:02

Ah OK, apologies! My COVID brain is very foggy!

Floralnomad · 31/03/2022 17:07

Nothing to do with the question but how does it work that someone on a prepayment meter can get their electricity at the old rate because they’ve topped up , if I put £700 into my electricity account today to I get electric at the old rate until my £700 runs out .

Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 18:10

@Floralnomad

Nothing to do with the question but how does it work that someone on a prepayment meter can get their electricity at the old rate because they’ve topped up , if I put £700 into my electricity account today to I get electric at the old rate until my £700 runs out .
The way I understand it to work it information is not sent to the prepayment meter, the way the meter gets information is by messages being sent and picked up when you top up the card at a paypoint machine, you then transfer the message to the meter when you inset the key to top it up.

it does meter reading the opposite way.

So if you top up today or before today the rate set on the meter is the current rate, and it won't change until it is updated when you next top up, technically it is a 'hack', but the big firms have confirmed that they will honour it and not charge you for the difference at a later date.

OP posts:
Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 18:12

Scottish power and eon have said they will charge the difference, so if you do the 'hack' when you next top up the difference will be added as a debt to be paid back I think.

OP posts:
Tulipvase · 31/03/2022 18:14

Isn’t the standing charge alone more than 16 pounds a month?

Original poster
MagneticRubberDucks · 31/03/2022 18:36

@Tulipvase

Isn’t the standing charge alone more than 16 pounds a month?
My standing charge is currently £2.18 per week according to the meter.
OP posts:
Calmdown14 · 31/03/2022 18:48

It does sound on the low side but I certainly wouldn't flag it. Isn't the whole point of a pre payment metre that you can't run up debt and therefore it costs more? Therefore it can't be your fault if it doesn't charge you correctly

Tulipvase · 31/03/2022 18:57

@MagneticRubberDucks

Ours Is going from 24p a day to 45p a day on the 1at April.

Yours seems very cheap if half your bill is standing charge (unless it’s not included). Lucky you!

Tulipvase · 31/03/2022 18:58

Sorry, not half!

Wouldntitbenicetobeinyourshoes · 31/03/2022 18:59

The only difference we’ve made is I bought an airfryer in the Black Friday sales, so we barely use the oven at all anymore.

Our oven makes the smart meter go red for energy use, the air fryer makes it stay on green. Ovens do use a lot of electricity it seems.

MrsDThomas · 31/03/2022 18:59

My standing charge is 1.95. Just taken photos of all the codes.

Yours sound really low but there is no way id say anything, but you may find a difference tomorrow

LaurieFairyCake · 31/03/2022 19:00

DONT CHANGE IT

It will be a mistake with 3 people in the house