How the f*** are you all managing your electric bills?

[cofingalthetime]

I don't have gas...
Electric has gone up from 139 per month, to 225, and now the latest is 450...

I don't know how I'm supposed to manage.

Do you all pay by DD. I don't want a meter, I had one before, and it was a nightmare, so expensive.

If 450 goes out of my account next month I won't be able to buy food or petrol or clothes

I got the 150 from the council, and paid it immediately into my electric ,b ut that's a drop in the ocean. How are you all managing.

I'm really really scared.

Is that based on an accurate reading? In an all electricity property your usage should be lower over the summer, not higher! I would check your meter to ensure accuracy. If not, has anything been changed (other than the bloody awful price) within the home that could be using a lot? Immersion heater, hot tub etc?

What do you mean by not wanting a meter? A pre payment meter?

Ironically by giving up work 🤦‍♀️

im significantly better off (enough to pay my increase in utility bills) by giving up and going onto UC as they also pay all the rent

Did you give a reading?

I have a budget account. I pay the same amount every month, even though winter bills are much higher than summer (these are tiny with the solar panels). IT's much easier that way

Btw I’m managing only because mine hasn’t gone up that much. If it did we wouldn’t cope for long.

Yeah I've been on some kind of standard rate apparently so the price rises haven't affected me until now. And yeah I have a smart thingy so it must be right...

I pay the same direct debit each month, summer i'll end up in credit due to very little gas usage as not using heating, and winter always use that credit and end up in a bit of debit.

We have started getting better at using less electric, turning lights off etc, to try and keep close to our dirwct debit amount over the year

Is thatyour actual bill based on actual usage? Or Is that what the company want as a direct debit per month, what’s your actual usage?

Our dual fuel is estimated at 122 without fixing when our deal ends. ( we pay £80 now with a lot of credit in the account too) They wanted £179 to fix. Nope.

We are quite low users, our bill was £600 for the last year. I know it’s gone up since our fix but even if it doubles that’s only £100 a month for £1200 a year so £122 should be ok. We cut back on heating this year and it’s not been on for most of the last two months nearly.

My DD is set at £191, we’re nearly at the end of our billing month (25th) and our smart meter says we’ve used less than £100 combined this month.

it is higher than last year, but it’s not as crazy as I thought it would be.

Think you need to get that checked OP-yes bills are going up for heating and electricity but that genuinely doesn't sound right

By being stupidly economical.
Heat costs money. So no more tumble drying, hair dryer, boiling the kettle and forgetting and then reboiling, washing everything at 30degrees.

But I thought from posts on mumsnet that everyone on Universal Credit is living in poverty and needing to go to the food bank!

Yeah I have this too. Apparently I've come to the end of a supposed tariff, and have to sign up for another one for a year or 2 years. But they reserve the right to put the price up again in September....

Get a meter. Not a prepayment meter, an actual live time smart meter. Don't agree to the DD

Its us people who are working who are going to the food banks!!!
Or at least I will be at this rate.

Im much better off as on the old system plus working part time I couldn’t get HB or c tax benefit now on full UC as a carer I am better off plus rent paid and enough to pay the increase in utility bill

I cancelled my direct debit and give monthly meter readings and pay in full. That week I don't do a Tesco shop.

I've bought a new washing line so we don't need to use the tumble dryer any more, I'm training everyone to unplug stuff that's not in use and I've won the battle of the heating with my husband and it now only goes on for a few hours overnight.
And we cut back everywhere we can. I've cancelled some subscriptions for example.

Last month's bill was around 300.

Yeah I have a smart meter? It just records how much we're using though.

I don't want a meter where you put money in it. They are so expensive. You end up paying so much more for your electric.

Your DD is controlled by you, they can say they want you to pay £450, but if you choose to pay £100 you can.

Ours was £80 a month, they tried to increase it to £120 per month even though we are still £200 in credit form last winter. We refused, and have kept it at £80 a month knowing we will barely use the heating over the next few months.

What kind of house do you live in that's it's costing £450 per month?

The only thing about that is, won't it be a lot higher in the winter months? I'm on this equaliser thing, where it calculates your average and charges you over 12 months. I could do that. At least I'd have control then. The thoughts of them just taking 450 from my account is just shocking. But I heard on the radio that if you do get into arrears, they can cut you off, and then insist you get a pre payment meter, and they factor in the arrears, so like for every tenner you put in, £2 goes towards arrears. And then you pay for the meter, and so even if you put in a tenner, you might only be getting a few pounds of actual electric.

My dd was £102 and they upped it to £134 which i thought was OKish.

My bill was generated today (meter readings given when asked) for the past month......£98. More than this time last year, by about £20 but so much better than what I thought it would be. We are now £155 in credit and despite using £30 odd less than they assumed we would, I'm keeping it going so I have a cushion for when it goes up again in October, because I know that's when it's really going to hit us.

I'm more worried about my food bill and petrol at the moment 😒

That's on a variable with Shell Energy.

Apparently I've come to the end of a supposed tariff, and have to sign up for another one for a year or 2 years. But they reserve the right to put the price up again in September

You dont need to sign up to any new deal, the standard tarrif is the cheapest right now - is it your energy company that has told you this?.
Have a read up on Martin Lewis's website, I think you need to research this a bit so your aware of whats going on and yes the price cap will go up in October.

How is your water heated OP? Do you have an immersion tank and if you do is it on a timer?