If this is correct, how can a family afford to pay then?

[InTheNameOfAllThatIsHonest]

This is my latest electricity bill. I live alone, in a big (five-bed) house. I am very careful with electricity and gas usage because that's how I was brought up. I don't leave lights on when I leave a room, I use the washing machine every other day and same with the tumble dryer. I use a hair dryer/styling tools once every couple of weeks. Heating is gas and so is cooking. I have checked the meter and it seems to be working just fine. Does this bill seem correct to you? If so, do you mind sharing how much you use/pay and how many people you live with? AIBU in saying that this is not normal for a person living alone? Thank you.

Four bed house, 3 of us, heating in evening only- 220 last month.

@cakeorwine

So naturally most people have quoted their current bills to simply give a current comparison. Which is what the OP asked for

That doesn't help much as really to make a comparison, it's the usage that counts as some people pay far less per unit than others do.

As I would have done had Pure Planet not gone under......

Neither does taking into consideration what the prices increases this year would be. Which is the point I was referring to.

[quote Silvers11]@browneyes77

^Because that wasn’t the question we were asked.

The OP showed us their current bill. And asked if it looked about right.

So naturally most people have quoted their current bills to simply give a current comparison. Which is what the OP asked for.^

She asked if it looked right. As I said, those comparing Kwh with the ones shown on her bill are those best placed for comparison. Lots of variations on what people are paying per unit.....[/quote]
Not the point I was making.

I was referring to the comment about people giving info on their bill being oblivious to the upcoming price increases.

They aren’t. They are answering the OP’s question about what their current usage/bill looks like.

Just recieved email my tariff ends in april, I thought I had another year. Stupid bag that I am. It's going to be more than double what I'm paying now and I dont even put the heating on that much, thermostat it is set at 14, feel so stupid, my brother told me to get my tariff sorted ages ago because he knew this was happening (inside info).

25-30 kwh per day.
Any electric heaters left on constantly? Someone taking very long electric showers?

@Ddot

Sorry but why do you use washer ever other day if your alone. Wait till you have a full load, use after 10. It does seem alot to me, could you close the bedrooms and turn the radiators in those rooms off. Get some heavy curtains and draft excluders for the doors. Just to let you know it's going up in april then again in October

Well being MN it might be someone who washes bra, jeans, pjs and towels after a single use.........

Our electricity consumption is definitely above-average despite my best efforts to keep it down. Some of the figures here seem crazy low though! Can’t understand how people can be using so much less than we do.

I’m also confused about the laundry comments. On other threads we have people saying you need to change your bed linen and towels twice a week but then people are horrified at the amount of laundry OP does? A wash for clothing, a wash for towels and a wash for bedding sounds pretty normal to me. And said you can get sheets and towels in the same wash with room to spare? No way is that the case here although we do have jumbo bath towels, to be fair.

I'm confused by all these bedding sets that fill the washing machine.

We have MN approved high thread count cotton bedding and an Ikea king sized bed and there's quite a bit of room for other stuff once the duvet cover, pillow cases and bottom sheet go in. Although I saw someone saying they wash their mattress protectors every week, surely that's not necessary?

But the fact is that the OP uses way more than average, despite being one person, so doesn't have multiple showers or cooking for a family to contend with and is not electrically heating the house, so what she's saying about her behaviour and how it translates into usage doesn't really make sense.

Forgot to say that, on the matter of how much washing to put into a machine, for a full load the washing can go all the way up to the top and you just need to be able to get your fist in between the washing and the drum for it to be not too full.

Some years ago, to check, I weighed the amount of washing I was putting in that I thought was a full load and it was less than the maximum weight capacity, so I suspect that a lot of people could get more washing in their machine before it is too full.

It's also good to know that a lot of the quick washes can't take a full load and counterintuitively use more energy not less because they work on agitation not soaking.

We have MN approved high thread count cotton bedding and an Ikea king sized bed and there's quite a bit of room for other stuff once the duvet cover, pillow cases and bottom sheet go in.

@BarbaraofSeville that’s so strange! King size sheet and duvet cover plus four pillowcases definitely fill my washing machine. No way could I get our towels in too. I don’t think I have an especially small washing machine but maybe I do!

It's also good to know that a lot of the quick washes can't take a full load and counterintuitively use more energy not less because they work on agitation not soaking.

Since learning this on Mumsnet last year I have been telling everyone! Just the other day my mum proudly told me that she ‘always does the quick wash to save energy’ and I told her exactly this!

It’s embarrassing to admit but my new-ish washing machine has a button that says ‘speed/eco’ and for months I thought they were the same thing, that you just pressed that button once and you got a quick wash that was more eco-friendly.

Then thanks to Mumsnet I realised that you press it once for speed and TWICE for eco and that the eco setting takes much longer! Oops

@CornishTiger

My unit price is 19.76p/kWh

Standing charge @ 24.44p/day

Some peoples will be less than that like yours is. People telling you the cost doesn’t help at all. It’s about usage.

Totally this.

It is confusing when people tell you what home they live in, how many people and how much they pay per month.

That is not how it is calculated.

You need to look at the wh per day and usage. Then you need to find a supplier with a cheaper wh. Sometimes this is better on variable than fixed rate.

All our bills will be going up soon because of the energy capping etc.

When we moved into this home three years ago, I had never lived in such a modern house. I didn't know not to leave immersion switch on all day! We never had one in our last two homes.

I kept saying to the utility board my electric is way too high for consumption. They just told me to get an electrician out. It was only when I had an issue with the heating and hot water, somebody told me I had my immersion on and to switch it off!!

16.21p kwh mine going to

You need to look at the wh per day and usage. Then you need to find a supplier with a cheaper wh. Sometimes this is better on variable than fixed rate

Absolutely this.

You need to look at the wh per day and usage. Then you need to find a supplier with a cheaper wh. Sometimes this is better on variable than fixed rate.
No, mathematically incorrect. She could halve her usage and still live comfortably because her usage is so extreme, or she could try to shave 5% off by getting a better deal. The most cost effective approach is that she needs to be less wasteful with electricity if she wants to pay less on the electricity bill.

I live in a 4 bed house and I pay almost £300 monthly.

@MRex

You need to look at the wh per day and usage. Then you need to find a supplier with a cheaper wh. Sometimes this is better on variable than fixed rate. No, mathematically incorrect. She could halve her usage and still live comfortably because her usage is so extreme, or she could try to shave 5% off by getting a better deal. The most cost effective approach is that she needs to be less wasteful with electricity if she wants to pay less on the electricity bill.

It's not mathematically incorrect to have to know your actual usage and the price you pay per KWH.

You can then do both - look at what is using power and make sensible adjustments and also see if you can find a better deal that is more suitable.

If you don't know your KWH and the rate you pay, then you are lacking the basic information to inform your decision making.

It seems a lot of people know what they pay per month - and think they are helping when they post that- but that's not helpful as people pay different amounts per unit. Knowing your usage and your KWH charge should be the starting point.

It's pointless changing supplier now, all putting up the cost

@Ddot

16.21p kwh mine going to

I'm surprised if your electricity is going up to only 16.21p/kWh? That's below what anybody's been able to get for the last 8 months or so. 26.21p is more like it - and that'll ne on the low side when you start paying it in April.

@Ddot

It's pointless changing supplier now, all putting up the cost

Not necessarily. Because costs may go up even more, especially with today's news, so fixing now could help - but there is massive uncertainty about the future of gas and electricity prices

We're just kitting out our new home and are obviously buying the lowest consumption equipment that we can find. It's usually a little more expensive, but given that my equipment usually lasts 12 years, it will more than pay for itself if the power costs continue at their expected level. The new, efficient machines aren't always more expensive either, some big brands still make older models which are not efficient, I think people buy them because they're what they're used to.
I appreciate that you can't just replace machines unless you need to though.
Our old house had cheap power at night and we used timers to make the most of it, but it really is a fallacy to think you will save much, even if you run all the high consumption machines overnight.
Apparently some energy companies are going to offer cheap off-peak rates through smart meters but I gather that it won't be regular times or for long periods.

3 of us in a 5 bed house (one rooms tiny and one is an annex we use for an office) and currently paying £120 for both gas & electricity. It was double that in the summer due to an inflatable hot tub (won’t be on this year). I work at home apart from 1 day (soon to be 2) and we are more careful recently but don’t leave lights on etc. Gas I have it set to come on under 20 between 5-8am and 4-9pm and in the day if it dips below 19.

@Ddot

16.21p kwh mine going to

Is that night rate as I think our night rate will be about that, it's very cheap for day or normal rate

Ps my unit rate is 17.82 and standing charge per day 20.33. This was fixed but it’s coming to an end soon and says £180 estimated per month

I have a clothes horse which I try to leave the clothes on overnight so I don't have to use the tumble drier for so long. BUT every morning there is condensation on my windows. I wipe it off with a tea towel every day but is this the best way to use a clothes horse? I put it outside every day I can but not a chance during the winter. Any ideas - I don't want a damp problem.