Energy Bills - Usage very high and I'm very stressed

[TurtleBeach]

I’ve just given my first meter reading since the 1 April rise.

The Scottish Power website shows a graph of energy usage compared with last year and with the last three years.

I’m really shocked that our usage is higher at this current point than at any point in the last three years and don’t understand how this has happened.

Since the April rise, I’ve been so conscious of reducing energy consumption and have taken the following steps:

• Heating went off on 31st March.
• Showering less often, at a lower temperature and as quickly as possible.
Turning off the shower when soaping/shampooing.
• Working in the office 4 days per week – i.e. not charging laptop at home, nor using excess energy elsewhere – making hot drinks, lunches etc.
• Fanatical about lights only being used when necessary.
• Oven used maximum twice per week.
Filling it with “get ahead stuff” as much as possible – i.e. loads of roasted veg which can be kept in fridge chucked into pasta, fritattas etc.
Turning off electric hob before end of cooking time and relying on residual heat.
Having at least one cooker-free meal per week.
• Keeping appliances, cooker, microwave, hi-fi etc unplugged.
These were previously always kept on.
• Not keeping phones plugged in on charge overnight.
• Kettle used max twice per day.
• Also, in general we are out and about more so not using tv and other devices as much as we were during lockdowns/restriction periods.
• Being more discerning about airing/refreshing clothes rather than chucking everything in the wash.
Using washing machine 3 x per week max.

I know there is more we could do but these are changes which I felt could be incorporated comfortably and we would hopefully see a difference which would spur us on to more change.

I’m the first to admit that I used to leave lights on in empty rooms, or insist on having both the overhead light and natural light from window when doing hair/make-up in the morning.

I also used to be the queen of standing under a hot and steamy shower for 20-30 mins.

The washing machine would be on every day, I’d use the oven every evening – often having one small thing in there. I can’t understand why we are using more energy now and just feel so depressed about the level of change now needed.

I know that nobody can tell me why or what is causing this.

I know the answer is a smart meter but I’ve been really resistant to this.
Rising bills cause me so much anxiety, I feel I’d be watching it like a hawk and getting stressed every time I see a rise. I feel it would give me more stress than control.

The only change I can think of is that DH now has a smart watch which needs daily charging. Could this alone we sapping more energy than all these other things combined?

I’m worried because my parents are about to stay with us for two weeks.
They’ve never really had to worry about bills and are very unlikely to ever help us out. But they will use excess energy while here. They will have 20+ cups of tea per day. My mum will run the washing machine at least once per day – sometimes for 1 or 2 items. They will have the TV on all day – more than once on previous visits, I’ve had a panicked call at work because it has put itself into energy saving mode and shut down because it has been on for so long. They will also want the heating on, although I’m standing firm on this.

I had hoped that our changes would offset the excess consumption for their visit but we’re now starting from an even worse place.

I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of the rise we’ll be faced with in October if it is based on current consumption levels.

Take a deep breath It sounds like you're not using very much gas or electricity and have made good changes to cut down and be less wasteful.

Is the latest bill based on actual readings or estimates? How many units did you use?
Are you on the standard tariff or a fix? How much is the bill?

The only change I can think of is that DH now has a smart watch which needs daily charging. Could this alone we sapping more energy than all these other things combined

No, of course not, the watch will cost pennies a week to charge. It's heating things that cost money, plus some older energy intensive light bulbs or more powerful fans, eg on gaming computers.

Plus talk to your parents. You'd have to be exceptionally tone deaf to not be concerned about the price increases which, by October will have more or less tripled in little over a year.

It's the middle of summer, no-one needs the heating on. If they're cold, they can put a jumper on.

Ask them not to use the washing machine so much. Daily washing of 1-2 items is ridiculous. Do they not care about the environment, even if they can afford to live so wastefully?

Is someone else siphoning off electricity while you're at work?

My mum had a neighbour who used to let himself into his other neighbour's shed, which was beside the garden fence, and plug in his electric lawnmower and hedge trimmer when nobody was home.

Sadly my parents are exceptionally tone deaf. They also don't give two figs about the environment. They live abroad so have no interest in UK news and any time I've tried to talk to them about the cost of living issues here, they just bat it off saying, "but your wages should cover it" or "I'm sure employers will give rises in line with inflation". I'd like to say that it will hit home when they see the disruption caused by strikes but they rarely leave the house when they are.
here so that won't affect them. They find the UK freezing, even in the height of summer, hence always wanting the heating on and my mum's use of the washing machine is another thread in itself (in fact, I have had a thread about this in the past) - she is obsessed and never happy unless she is washing something. She also throws everything in together and I've had clothes shrunk and discoloured. I've taken to hiding all our stuff in a bag under our bed when she visits so at least she only sees their things in the laundry basket - I'll throw in a token pair of knickers so she doesn't catch on.

Energy is on a standard tariff, based on actual usage from meter readings. The cost right now is not too much of an issue. We had a £60 increase in April which was difficult but do-able and there's no price increase right now - we're actually still in credit by £50. Normally, we'd build up loads of credit over the summer. My point is to reduce usage to ensure that build up remains, even with the increase and knowing we'd have a spike next month with my parents' visit, and also to insulate ourselves against a truly massive October rise.

Unplug your washing machine when your parents visit.

Be upfront with them about why. A daily wash of one or two items is ridiculous even without rising costs.

Thank you all for your kind messages. Barbara ofSeville You are right, I needed to take a breath. I've looked at the website again and realise that I was reading it wrongly. I was reading the usage in £, rather than units and of course it's higher now, because the charges have gone up. Looking at the correct view, Our usage is still a bit higher than the same point in 2020, which I do still find a bit mad considering that we were home all the time and using lots of energy, but is actually hugely lower than 2019 and 2021. So the changes are making a difference.

I'm not very good at understanding these things generally, plus English isn't my first langauge (it's been over 30 years so it doesn't often trip me up but technical things like this are difficult). I'm just trying to do what I can to protect us from further rises and I've always suffered from stress and anxiety around money.

I'd love to unplug the machine - and this was suggested on the previous thread about my mum's laundry obsession (that one was more about the damage to items rather than the energy usage) but the socket is behind the machine so the whole unit would have to be pulled out - the last time we did that, the kitchen floor got damaged so not something to do easily or frequently.

Could you reach the socket and switch off without having to move the machine?

Otherwise I think you are going to have to tell them not to use it or put the heating on, make a payment to you to cover costs (£50?) Or don't come if they are not prepared to comply.......

There's absolutely no way of reaching the socket. This probably won't comply with current regulations but until we get a new kitchen (that's my dream, which keeps fading into the distance) we're in this situation.

I'm almost tempted to work from home more so that I can supervise and barricade various appliances.

A few years ago, during one of their typical visits, I got annoyed about the spiraling costs - at that point DH had been made redundant so we were trying to be very careful and, on their last day, my mum threw £20 at my and told me I was an ungrateful brat, after all they did for me as a child, it's now my turn to make sacrifices for them. We then didn't speak for about 3 months. I don't really want to repeat this but I am pretty stressed about it. I also can't help thinking that a monetary donation might cover what they use now but our future bills will be calculated on typical usage and this will skew things and add to any forthcoming increase. I spoke to an aunt about this who said I have to change my mindset to accept that a once per year spike is typical usage for our household so whatever the next increase will be, it's probably reflective on our situation and I just have to suck it up.

Their visits cost me so much money anyway - feeding an extra two people for a start, and they do insist on having meat with every meal, otherwise it isn't really a meal. We eat a lot of pulse-based stews, salads etc but they won't touch any of that.