to think people who don't have Smart Meters and who pay monthly or quarterly are going to be in for a shock at their next bill?

[cakeorwine]

Gas has gone up from 4p a kWH this time last year to 10p a kWH this year.
Obviously people with Smart Meters can see this on their display.

But if you still give readings and wait till the bill arrives, I think there are going to be some real surprises. Gas use is at its highest over the next few months.

I know people will have the £66 off their bill - but it's going to be high.

At least with Smart Meters, you can see daily use. Submitting a reading and then getting a statement and bill is going to be a shock for some people.

So the price cap went from £1277 to £2500

If gas did that, it would be 8p per kWh

But it didn't. Gas is 10p per kWh.
The price of gas increased disproportionally to the price cap.

Luckily there are various support mechanisms in place.

*Purely because people who do have a smart meter do know what they are spending.

So this thread rules them out*

I know what I'm spending because I submit monthyly readings and get a bill back - or more frequently in this weather, so I can keep on top of what having the heating on all day is costing me. And I don't have and have no intention of having a smart meter. I know that if something is on and using power, it costs me money, and if I switch it off, it doesn't.

I don't have a smart meter and put readings in as and when I remember, so every few days - my bill is updated almost immediately - no surprises here!

Don't have a smart meter. Have a monthly bill. It was exactly what I expected.

OP isn't even arguing or engaging. She's just coming out with the same old statements over and over as if no-one has responded to her.

Why start a thread though?

You're resolute that people are going to get a shock, so what are you doing this for, smuggy entertainment? Stating the bleedin' obvious seems crass.

That's so sad 😞. Midwinter is horrendous for bills, which a smart meter would highlight in a way that a monthly dd wouldnt, though of course these have more than doubled too. The elderly should be able to use what they need with just a few pointers like turning down the thermostat a bit and using an electric throw or hot water bottle. They shouldn't be made to be scared.

We were told for months and months this was going to happen, and the energy companies have prepared us. I am 700 quid in credit and they have still pushed my direct debit up by 50 quid a month to 190. I could sit around naked in tropical level heat 10 hours a day and still have not spent the money I have given them so far.

I have a SMETS1 meter and it's not very good, it is supposedly connected to the DCC but I can't see any evidence of that on British Gas website so it's not acting too smart or maybe its British Gas that's not too smart, I suspect the latter. Anyway certainly not getting a gas one after my electric smart meter experience.

And thanks for your concern OP, so heart-warming.

we were contacted last week by our energy provider to recommend we reduce our monthly dd amount by £5 - we've been really careful and using the log burner a lot more.

Cheers 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍

Some of the replies on here a really condescending.

Not everyone understands meters or bills and they will be in for a shock, it's not that difficult to comprehend.

Unless your electric to gas ratio differs a lot from the average then bills will still roughly double.

Same! And despite that, British Gas have just doubled my DD.

My energy bill from 1st Dec - 1st June last year was £400. British Gas seem to think it will be over £2k this year (£900 credit plus £200 per month direct debit). I admit I will be quite surprised if my bill is 5x what it was last year. Prices have gone up, but they haven’t gone up that much.

So this thread is just to establish that yes, some people will be shocked?

Why start a thread to raise concerns over people, their bills, ability to pay them

Maybe we should all just stay in our bubble and not think about others?

There are lots of things I am concerned about.
People getting misinformation about energy saving tips.
People who think they have to turn off their lights on the landing when they go to the toilet to save money and who fall down the stairs.
People who aren't aware of exactly how much their gas has gone up and who will be contacting us saying they can't afford this bill and why is it so expensive

This thread might encourage someone to submit a reading. To double check what they are using. To check on a relative who may be unsure.

Who knows.

Over the year I mean. I guess some people are not on dd but how many is it seeing as it costs more not to be.

This.

I hope OP is being paid for her SM efforts.

In all honesty does putting the light on to go to the toilet use that much electricity?

Well you have the answer , looks like most people on here know exactly what they're doing with energy bills / readings . 🙂

This thread might encourage someone to submit a reading. To double check what they are using. To check on a relative who may be unsure.

I doubt it. Maybe, if you had worded it completely differently to indicate this is what you were getting at I suppose they might have.

I think many of you are overestimating the financial literacy of many people in this country. I'm part of an energy group on FB and there are dozens and dozens of posts from people who don't understand their energy bills, who have cancelled their direct debits months ago and are now facing £400+ bills for a month, people on prepayment meters who literally don't have the money to put on their meter. It's only just dawning on a lot of people the extent prices have gone up.

We are spending about £6.50 a day on gas just now. We have built up the credit to absorb that over the winter but if we were paying on receipt of bill, we would be facing a huge bill the month of Christmas, unless we had put some aside separately

And there was a lot of terrible advice floating around when the price rises came in earlier this year, people being told to cancel direct debits and pay variable, and are now finding they are massively in debt because they didn't grasp that their usage in winter could be 3/4 times that of summer. It's very sad.

We don’t have a smart meter but upload monthly readings on our app so can track costs. We’re still in credit currently.

Oh and also I'd say a lot of people don't know that gas meters record in m3 so gas units have to be converted to KWh to get usage. I've seen plenty of posts from people pleased their gas usage on meter is so low until it's pointed out they need to multiple that by 11 to get their actual usage.

who have cancelled their direct debits months ago and are now facing £400+ bills for a month

Wasn't that the campaign to get people to cancel DDs and give the energy companies what for over high prices? that worked well.