Stop telling us what your energy DD is!

[anon2022anon]

Let's see how many don't read the post but just the title and react to that.

Stop telling us what your energy DD is or is going to be. It's just a made up number that your energy provider is using to get your money in the bank as a buffer for themselves.

If you're worried about energy (as we all are), why aren't you learning about it?
How much do you pay per unit for electric/ gas?
How much is your standing charge?
Are you on a fixed tariff or variable?
Do you give actual meter readings?
Have you got an idea of your usage? Check your bills, get a smart meter,

It's driving me a little mad, the amount of threads saying they're paying £500 a month, I can't afford it, with no actual relevant information that people can use to say- your usage is unusually high, they're putting your DD up too much you should ask for a reduction, your meter could be faulty. If you struggle with understanding it, just copy out your latest bill and someone will guide you.

The energy companies often seem to pluck figures out of the air and get it wrong so often. It should not be up to individual customers to check they have got this right, they should just actually get it right. Everything is made the customer's responsibility these days. Providing energy is a public service. There should be a proper regulator with teeth.

Have you read about Avro? Set up with no clue what they were doing and trousered lots of cash. I don't trust ANY energy supplier now, there are too many "mistakes".

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/26/how-ex-footballers-energy-gamble-ended-up-costing-bill-payers-700m-avro

@SweetcornFritter those were just random example amounts, not my actual usage, but thank you. But again, see how much easier it was to have a physical amout there that you could compare to your usage? That's my point!

Op what would you say is a good unit rate kWh for gas?

I agree a lot of the info going around isn’t that useful

@Qik i t may be different for business Vs residential, but this council now has a 17 year backdated bill 😱
www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-01-12/council-that-hasnt-paid-for-gas-for-17-years-now-faces-huge-bill

anon2022anon Thank you .you have helped me for one! I was getting worried, as each day it seems more and more doom laden news about Energy bills.Feel a bit better now ,and will show DH this thread too as you have explained it well.(Came on as I thought it was a comparison site as to how much energy our DDs have though)!

@MarshaBradyo there isn't a good rate for gas, it's all terrible! But the variable rate is set at about 7.5p per kWh at the minute, which varies a little by region. I haven't seen a fix lately for less that about 17p, so I personally have stayed on the variable as that's more than the expected price cap raise in October (and possibly January too)

Well I don’t know if this helps anyone but I have a 3 bedroom detached house with an outhouse (office) with electrical heating.

We use max 4.5 kWh a day. Xbox, tv, WFH, cooking etc

On days I do the washing and need a tumble dryer - I opt to use the oven less so it all evens out as we’re on prepayment meter.

In the mid Winter our historic Smart Reader says we use about 5.12kWh (again TV, Xbox, WFH, electric office heating, cooking, washing and drying, extra lighting etc!)

No idea if this helps anyone compare but just thought I’d share it anyway. :)

@anon2022anon I think it may be. The owner I know took legal advice. They were told that Council Tax could be collected as far back as it is owed, but they seemed to think some utilities could not. Either way, seems a bit of a risk. Having read about those water leaks in London this week, I think I might not be bothered if I were not charged for water.

My past two annual statements (gas and electricity, same provider) have been spot on. I give monthly readings, I've looked around and I'm getting the best prices I can (based on standing charge / unit price). We conserve energy as much as we can.

I use what the energy company say I do and charge me for. Ergo I'm going to be fucked with a much higher monthly DD.

@Rosehugger I agree with everything you're saying (except that I'm a patronising numpty 😁) I'm just trying to say that we want things to be different, we can try and campaign for things to be different, but not knowing the basics of something you are using and paying an extortionate amount for doesn't helpyou, it hinders you.

If a handful of people read this and think that they might go give an actusl reading, or I might ring my energy company and ask them my actual usage, and why its so different from my direct debit amount, then they feel a bit more knowledgeable about the situation, I'll count that as a win.

@Crunchymum I'm sorry to hear that. This thread wasn't to say theres a magic way to fix things- there isn't. Wish there was!

@dottiedodah glad I could help a little! Do you have smart meters or give actual meter readings? If you're trying to reduce. As a first step i would try and monitor at the same time every day for a few days, so you can figure out what you actually use. Then you can look at what that might cost overall, and see if you can cut down. If you have an annual statement, that's a great tool too.

Thank you! Yes this is better than headlines with overall cost

The unit rate has gone up from 7.919p per kWh to 15.752p per kWh

32.032p per day old standing charge. New SC of 29.292p per day

Fix to Nov 2023. This is just for gas (rather than electric too) - Exit fees of £100.00

Can I be presumptuous and ask would you fix? 😀

It is a stressful time.

I’m currently on a variable tariff which is 7.28 per kWh for gas and 27.358 per kWh for electricity. I’ve just been on BG change tariff and they are quoting a fix of 16.156 per kWh for gas and 56.670 per kWh for electricity. Do you think I should fix?

British Gas just tried to put my monthly payments up to £218 despite the fact that my latest bill was for £380.59 for 6 months! I just called them up and asked them to reduce my direct debit back down to £90 and will make sure I keep on top of my usage and increase my payments if and when necessary.

@MarshaBradyo I have seen similar figures and haven't fixed. Assuming a 50% increase in October takes it to approx 12p per kWh, and then expected 20% rise in spring takes it to 14/15p, we're not expcting to hit 17p anyway. But even if we do, say in the April rise, you'll have had the most expensive time of the year paying a higher rate. There would need to be a 100% rise expected in October to make it worth it for me personally.

Please bear in mind I am not an advisor in this field by any stretch! That's just the logic I used for myself to calculate if I think it's worth it.

I agree op, we have ours fixed until October 23, but I chose that deal based not on the projected DD but on the standing charge and calculations costs based on my average usage.

interestingly at the time the cheapest DDs actually has the highest rates. I went with best price and then negotiated the DD down as I was able to prove low usage

I'm not trying to advise people whether they should or shouldn't fix. Just to look at the information breakdown, not just how much a direct debit is, so you have an idea what they are asking.

You’re an angel! My mind was going a bit crazy with all the info

Logic makes sense, really useful thanks

@Scepticalwotsits thats exactly what I'm trying to say. I don't know about everyone else, but for years I'd fix, and at that point they would say 'your direct debit is £60! Look how much you save a month with us!'. 3 months later, they would write to me and say ' we underestimated your usage, we need to increase your direct debit'. We can't rely on direct debit amount as an indicator of price.

@PigglePuggle I've cancelled my direct debit, and am paying an actual amount each month based on meter readings now- bulb tried to raise it beyond a reasonable amount, even though I was in credit, so now they dont get to keep my money in their bank any more.

100% agree with you OP. I do understand my bill, SC, UP and usage and am very concerned for people who don't.

My bill has been around £90 to 96 per month since March. MY DD is £215 per month, I am happy to have a credit for winter though as I get very anxious over debt.

My unit price is 28.4ppu. My SC is 48p per day

My UP and SC costs are in line with country average and lower than a lot of people are paying so I am not overly concerned. I give a meter reading on 1st of each month.

I am worried about high usage for various reasons so am being more economical than I used to be with my energy and have probably reduced my usage by 30%.

I have just had a similar conversation with my parents. Like many, their direct debit was set at a level that builds up credit in the summer to use for winter heating However with the April price rise, they have zero credit building up for the winter. So come winter, they will have another price rise to deal with and nothing put away.

@anon2022anon I might do the same if they try it again as I’m sure they just pluck these figures out of thin air!

Oh you've been listening to my moans OP!

Of course it's worrying but I can't see how people are using £500 a month of energy in August!
My direct debit has gone from £90 a month to £135. But I'm actually using £80 a month and am now more than £100 in credit.

Unless you have specialised medical equipment or additional needs, I cannot fathom £500 now. In December, yet, but how in August??