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Original poster

To be on the verge of tears at our monster electricity bill

111 replies

pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 14:17

I was only saying to DH last night, "I expect that we'll get an electricity bill soon as we've been paying estimated bills since we moved into new house with new provider"

It just arrived.

  • We provided a reading when we moved in in May 2012
  • The reading that this new bill was based on was taken at the very end of Nov 2012, so this is for 7 months of electricity mostly over the summer
  • The house is heated by gas, and we don't have any pricey electric heaters or anything

I think we've been paying around £80 a month estimated and I expected an outstanding bill to reach £300ish, maybe a little more.

The bill is £1000 - £1200 with VAT. For 7 mths. Not including the estimated bills already paid.

I want to cry. I'm on maternity leave and not due back at work until May (not that I'll earn anything at all as I'll be paying entire salary into childcare)

Can this be right??? I have a horrible feeling it must be, as they don't often get it wrong, do they?

Is this really how much it costs to run 1 x TV, 1 x dishwasher, 1 x washing machine, charging phones & laptops and light for 8 hours a day in a 4-bed house? (but the bedroom lights must only be on for about 3 hours a day!?!)

OP posts:
JustFabulous · 07/01/2013 14:50

Have you unplugged everything and then loked at the meter? That seems the obvious place to start.

TameGaloot · 07/01/2013 14:52

As a comparison we pay 177 a month for gas and electric, 4 bed house that's badly insulated and with 6 of us, 4 who seem to be incapable of turning anything off

So if it was that figure and you had t paid anything it would be ok but as you've already been paying it seems like a huge amount

Twinklestarstwinklestars · 07/01/2013 14:53

That us a ridiculous amount, we're in a 3 bed but with stuff on constantly and I work from home and I only pay £50 a month and end up in credit! I'm with British gas.

Hope you get it sorted.

valiumredhead · 07/01/2013 14:58

We're in a 3 bed - dishwasher, lights on most of the time,tumble drier on most days, electric cooker, tons of gadgets plugged in, electric heaters in two rooms and we barely pay £40 a month.

Hope you get it sorted

cathyandclaire · 07/01/2013 15:08

I feel sure you can't have used 3000 units in 6 weeks... We live in a big old, hopelessly un-Eco house, constant tumble drier/ dehumidifier/ kids who leave the lights on/ a load of people staying over Xmas so power blazing everywhere and still only got through half of what you did.
You don't have an electric aga or something do you?

pregnantpause · 07/01/2013 15:11

I work for a utility company and the national average ele consumption is 3600kwh per annum. obviously appliances and individuals vary hugely within that figure but you are still using a lot of energy.

the first question the company will ask is are the any heated tanks? fish reptiles etc. is there an ele heated pool? underfloor heating? electronic gates? And is your fridge freezer faulty ( when the gas is low they start to eat ele)

as someone else suggested try a test and burn-turn everything off and check the meter.

utility warehouse is usually one of the cheapest depending on what tariff you're on.

VeganCow · 07/01/2013 15:12

i think the average is around 12 units a day. We use around 16-18 which is high. Your use is about 30 a day! cant be right?

OldMacEIEIO · 07/01/2013 15:15

The last time I checked
average UK electricity consumption for houses with gas for heating was 3,300 kWh(units) a year. Approx 9 units a day.

So at 70 units a day you need your very own power station.

the numbers just cant be right. good luck

Original poster
pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 15:17

OK so I spoke to a nice girl on the phone and here is what she said:

31 May, opening reading of 56081, we didn't supply the reading (will throttle DH later) so they used an industry recommended reading (I'm guessing this is based on info from the last service provider?)

14 Aug engineer reading of 60107

28 Nov engineer reading of 65528 (and the bill is based on this)

7 Jan my reading of 68568

I've just remembered a small electric radiator in our conservatory (which we use every day as kids playroom) which in October my DH decided to leave on at the lowest heat rather than blast it on high heat for 8 hours a day. Could THIS HAVE COST US £1200?!?!?!

Or could the original reading be wrong? but based on the later readings, it may not be wrong....

the only other explanation would be that our electricity is tapped....

OP posts:
CloudsAndTrees · 07/01/2013 15:18

Could it be that you underpaid on the estimated bills and the fuel they are charging you for now dates back to 2007?

That happened to me when I was living in my old house, three years on, I have only just finished paying it back.

Jins · 07/01/2013 15:19

I've just checked my last bill Nov-Dec and we used just under 700 units which was £110ish

This was our worst month so far due to Christmas baking and the constant running of several heat pads as we were babysitting lizards

I really think 3000 units is unlikely, especially if you were away. Please ask for your meter to be checked and definitely switch everything off and see if it still goes round

Jins · 07/01/2013 15:22

Switch the radiator off now. Ours is 1kw. That's a unit per hour or 24 units per day

Original poster
pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 15:27

Just found a reading for April, a week before we moved in - 55789

OP posts:
Jins · 07/01/2013 15:29

In fact at 20p per unit the radiator has cost you over £200 just this last 6 weeks assuming the low setting is the same as ours Shock

Original poster
pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 15:29

It's a new supplier and we moved in about 8.5 months ago, so we can't be paying a bill from years ago or anything. Radiator turned off. If it's that, I will actually kill my DH

OP posts:
cathpip · 07/01/2013 15:29

Query the meter reading, our electricity provider cocked this up and we recieved a bill for £1200 for the last quarter. Needless to say its all been rectified now, and by the way we pay £70 a month for electric and have a five bed house, hope this helps.

OldMacEIEIO · 07/01/2013 15:35

if that 14 aug reading is accurate, you are using 60 units a day

even in a large house with a conservatory, that seems unbelieveable.

your neighbours dont grow ganja by any chance do they ?

Original poster
pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 15:40

DH says heater was set to come on 6 hours a day so he doesn't think it would be that.

Can somebody explain immersion heaters to me? I don't know how our water is heated
(I'm rubbish, honestly, I don't know how anything here works - I moved in, had a baby and never really had a chance to catch my breath and settle in. DH works overseas a lot so we often go 4-5 weeks without him here and I leave the bills for him when he comes home)

OP posts:
cantspel · 07/01/2013 15:43

Electric radiators eat money and if you have it on 24 hours a day then yes your readings could be correct. You can work out how much electricity it uses and the cost by looking to see why kw it is and then x that by the number of hours it has been on. This will tell you how many kw you have used and then x that by the tarif you are charged by your supplier.

Then kill your husband slowly.

Jins · 07/01/2013 15:45

If it's a 1kw heater at 6 hours a day then you are looking at £1.20 a day so £50 for the 6 week period so no it won't be that

Immersion heaters are thermostatically controlled but can be the same power as a kettle. If you leave it on it will click on and off to maintain the temperature but will use up to 40p per hour. We don't have an electric immersion heater any more and we've just ditched the electric showers which I worked out were costing us a fortune!

OldMacEIEIO · 07/01/2013 15:45

An immersion heater is often known as 'the tank'
It is usually powered by electricity and sits in its own cupboard, usually known as the airing cupboard. Its a big copper thing about 4 feet high.
The element is immersed in the top, hence the name - 'immersion heater'

There is usually a timer and it provides hot water. Many people leave it on 24 hours and it can get quite expensive. If you have a dripping hot tap, or use a lot of hot water for other things, it can build up.(but not a thousand quids worth.)

do you have constant hot water ?

Original poster
pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 15:50

Yep, we have an immersion heater. Sigh. I have no idea how the timer thing works either. I want to cry. Better wait for DH to come home but I don't think he knows either. I remember asking the removal men if they knew how it worked, they all took a look and said no. So it was messed around with until we found that it wasn't a problem anymore. i guess we found the option to have it on all the time. So with an electric heater on 6 hours a day and an immersion heater, do you think we do in fact owe £1200?

OP posts:
realcoalfire · 07/01/2013 15:53

Polly- Have you done the 'switch everything off and look at the meter' thing yet. Also make sure you do it again in the evening when your neighbours are at home.

OldMacEIEIO · 07/01/2013 15:55

to use 60 unts a day ?

the heater would have to be a 2.5 kw fan blower, on permenantly
the immersion would have to be on 24 hours
the immersion heater is not lagged
you have dripping hot water taps
and you take three showers a day
you use an electric clothes dryer once a day

now you might be getting close

Original poster
pollyspantry · 07/01/2013 16:00

I haven't turned everything off yet as I'm at home with all the kids. I will def do it when they're in bed and DH home later. We are semi-detached and neighbours were away for around 2 months from mid-oct-Christmas.....

OldMac, that's not what we do....!

OP posts:
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