Surely they can’t expect us to pay 240 per month for power!

[Ellie198712]

Just read Martin Lewis’s latest email and it’s predicting average bills of £2900 per year!! Surely the government will need to step in and subsidise this cost. Our current bill is about 100 per month, and this just seems untenable for the vast majority

Also many bills here are direct debit over the year, so bills may well be 200+ in winter but we pay say 120 every month as it evens out.

Our bill is already 105 pcm, and we have nothing left at the end of the month. No luxuries as they were cut back already. Heating only on at bath time for a few hours a night to 17°. Quite simply this is going to wipe us out. Already sitting cold under blankets etc. Boiler off all day aside from the bath times. All electric off aside from small fridge and freezer, slow cooker, and TV plus 2 lights few hours at night. One full wash load a day. I dunno what else I can do...

Dreading this.. I have to use the heating (or some form of external heat) to get warm, due to my various disabilities I frequently cannot regulate my own temperature and particular if I am tired or I've got cold.. I cannot warm up again, no matter how many blankets im under or pairs of socks I put on - have to have the heating on, hot water bottles, electric foot waters etc.

Cold = cramping = muscle spasms = major pain = pain meds that mean i am unable to work = less money to pay for anything...

But wait.. I have disability benefits ... surely... um. No. I really don't think the disabled are going to see any sort of benefits increase in line with the cost of living increase (I mean.. we never have so far...).

On the plus side for the cripple hating Torys, this will wipe out a lot of the disabledz for them, more effectively than the horrific PIP/DLA system has or covid probably! Someone always wins.

Incidentally, I don't really understand my tariff which was apparently fixed in October but my bill has still increased by £200+ pcm. Prices are fixed till Dec 2023 though so I assume without that it would be much higher, and it's just my usage has increased? I genuinely don't see how but I spose that must be it

You need to look at your actual annual cost based on your unit rates and usage and see how this compares with your direct debit.

You're not with Scottish Power are you?

Last autumn they were offering a 2 year fix that sounded good but they didn't ask anything about your usage when signing up, saying they would review your account and may adjust the direct debit later.

My suspicion is that they under quoted to trap people into what were high rates at the time, but may actually now be not too bad compared with prices available now.

Many people are finding their bill will have nearly tripled compared with what they were paying a year ago and it's truly awful and prices just can't keep going up like this.

I’d definitely recommend heated throws. It’s “easy” for me to suggest as I live on my own. But, maybe agree with other family members that, rather than buying birthday/Xmas presents this year, you all buy enough throws to suit your household. It’s made a big difference for me, keeps me comfortably warm in the evenings.

I’ve also got a few battery-powered large candles, means I don’t put lamps on in the living room in the evening - plus the light from the TV.

It’s crazy that we’re all having to think like this. But, as others have said, subsidies end up being paid by us anyway.

@HoneyItIsntGoodLuck

£100 per month…..?!

I’m in NZ and can only dream of bills as low as $200 per month. Especially in winter.

We pay around $600 p/m in winter, so about £300.

Yet I am in Australia and pay considerably less. I have a direct set up for $30 a week and I currently have $300 credit That's for a four bedroomed house with a pool, I do have solar though thank god. Petrol prices went up here overnight from about $1.75 to over $2 so looks like rises are on their way here too.

As for the poster saying we use heating more efficiently here, no, we just don't need as much. UK winters are cold and damp, I used the heating heaps more there than I do here (although the houses here are hardly insulated). And I only need aircon on if its over 35, and with the solar its usually pretty much free. Think I will start saving for a battery though!

Anyone on Shell Energy, Flexible 6 tariff? If so, has anyone been told yet what their monthly DDebits are going up to? All I've got is a message on my front screen saying that I will be affected by the price cap increase and that I should amend my monthly payment to X amount based on usage predictions (I give monthly meter reads) but the suggested amount is LESS then my current payment....!! Any ideas??

@HappyWinter could I ask which dehumidifier have you got? I’ve been meaning to get one for a while.

StupidUsernameUnavailable I'm on Shell Flexible 6 and being moved onto 7. My estimate is changing from £1250 to £2000.

@ArmWrestlingWithChasNDave

Please tell me that's a year and not a month?!!!

NZ homes are notoriously cold.

Most people don’t have central heating.

I have an Irish DH and we both lived in London too long not to have it, so we did get it installed when we moved into our home.

We bought a house with zero heating and spent one winter with the worst of both worlds - plug-in heaters (seeing our own breath when we woke in the morning, or came home from work during winter) - and astronomical heating bills.

Our bills have gone ‘down’ since putting in gas central heating, but we still spend $50-$60 (£25-£30) a week on electricity throughout the year, plus about $300-$400 (£150-£200) a month on gas, in the depths of winter.

Too many people live in homes here that are not only not well heated (and even for that, they pay an absolute premium), but they’re not well insulated, either.

OK - our winters in much (certainly not all) of the country are not as harsh as some countries, but it still gets damn cold.

Mines just increased to £440 a month 🙄

StupidUsernameUnavailble Yes a year!

@ArmWrestlingWithChasNDave

Thank for that! 🥵🤣

I'm hoping the type of property we are in is going to be our saving grace. It's a 60's concrete, ex council block and we are 2nd floor. Despite it being quite cold recently we have still only been putting the heating on once in morning and in the evening to take the edge off because its so warm from the other flats. 🤞

If the Government help out, that means the UK Taxpayer, pays. Who actually pays for that?

The rich? Who exactly are they?

People that can, will move money out of the clutches of HMRC, then they will go after the people who can’t move their money out of UK 😳

This is not just a UK problem, but worldwide

Europe is more dependent on Russian gas / oil than we are 😳

Cheap petrol, oil, gas would not sit easy with me, if I knew it was paid for with Ukrainian blood

There is no easy solution unless the Government put the Green Agenda Taxes on hold

Freedom as we know it, comes at a price and yes it is going to be be painful

We are all in for a rough ride 😔

Is it this bad in Europe, Australia, USA or are we facing higher rises than the rest of the world? It is very scary that prices for food, petrol, bills etc just seem to be rising week after week... I dread to think what they'll be by December...

In Australia energy prices are bad but not as bad as the UK or Europe. I have a large house and only electricity, no gas. Last year we invested in 16 solar panels and have made a huge difference in the bill. We also installed a wood fireplace, we are lucky we live in an area where we can get firewood for free if you have a chainsaw to cut and collect.

My last bill was $A140 for 3 months. In winter it goes up as I have ducted heating upstairs but my biggest winter bill last year was $A410 for 3 months.

So my supplier (shell) has a hub for those struggling to pay, there’s a link to telephone numbers to call. Don’t forget the government will be giving £200 credit in the Autumn for every household, to be paid back at £50 per year for 5yrs.

I think the only answer is to bring in more income (not possible for many, but overtime, a 2nd job etc) or use less. I imagine most will go with the latter and be very cold next winter.

There’s a lot of info available on how to save electricity - I’ve started switching things off when not using.

ours is currently £243, going up to £350 from April.
Already have no luxeries, never eat out (well did once last year for ds graduation) no takeaway, no holidays - maybe have a few days camping in summer, no fancy cars etc...
Shop at aldi for food, cook from scratch and batch cook
and both me and dh earn good salaries in professional jobs.
I really honestly dont see how many people will manage

If anyone is really struggling and is with Octopus, they have a fund to help.

octopus.energy/blog/struggling-to-pay/

@Troublesometooth

The cost of heating oil today is £980 for 500L. We use that amount over 8 weeks in winter. Then another £240 for electric would bankrupt us.

I don't know who quoted you that. Cost today is about 104p/l, so more like £550 for 500l (but this is still about 2.5x as much as the last time we bought oil a few months ago 😞)

@StupidUsernameUnavailable - yes also with Shell and I haven’t had a letter or email to tell me what my increased bill will be like many seem to have had. Just that page that you’re describing on your post, general info about costs increasing

@Alondra

Is it this bad in Europe, Australia, USA or are we facing higher rises than the rest of the world? It is very scary that prices for food, petrol, bills etc just seem to be rising week after week... I dread to think what they'll be by December...

In Australia energy prices are bad but not as bad as the UK or Europe. I have a large house and only electricity, no gas. Last year we invested in 16 solar panels and have made a huge difference in the bill. We also installed a wood fireplace, we are lucky we live in an area where we can get firewood for free if you have a chainsaw to cut and collect.

My last bill was $A140 for 3 months. In winter it goes up as I have ducted heating upstairs but my biggest winter bill last year was $A410 for 3 months.

But you need sun for solar panels.... (hence why this is not such a beneficial option for many of us in the UK!!) There is also lots of talk of banning wood burners altogether over here.....

Also, after months of lobbying looks like Brussels has finally agreed to let member states redistribute revenue from high energy sector profits and emissions trading to consumers. Which means countries like Spain, France, Portugal, Italy to mention the ones that have been pushing hard for this, will be able to intervene in their countries' energy markets.

I wouldn't be surprised if after the EU, Johnson decides to do the same.

I guess we'll just get used to it. Be less keen on hybrid office/working from home arrangement (although no doubt businesses will be keener!), spend more time out and about. Wearing more practical clothing?

It's grim though :-(.