To not understand how I'm "using" so much electricity?

[QuestionableMouse]

One bed flat. Gas heating. Live alone.

I wash clothing maybe twice a week. Have a small dishwasher that gets used once a day. Don't watch TV, do a couple of hours of Xbox or tablet time daily.

Only thing that runs constantly is my fridge and it's A rated.

I'm being charged more than my sister and she lives in a three bedroom house with two kids. I genuinely don't understand how it can be so high.

Unfortunately your images are too blurry to read. But mine is similar with about £30 a month gas. In a two bed bungalow

Who is taking the meter readings? I would get someone to fit a smart meter.

That bill is for a quarter isn't it, sorry I thought it was for a month. Yours is in fact much cheaper than mine !!

Three of those readings are based on estimated readings and one data collector reading. Do you take readings and send them off?

Either get a smart meter or do manual readings every week/month. I’m on the same tariff as you and my bill comes in at about £107 a month for electricity in a 3 bed house with 2 teens who think light switches only work one way.

Part of the issue is that you've more electricity than the estimate and that was noticed when it was read in October. You've been charged extra on this bill to include the unbilled units. You need to go back through your bills to find the meter reading before the October one and then work out how many units you're actually using a day. Difficult to know whether your usage is excessive or not without this, but things like electric showers or electric immersion heaters for hot water will make your bill relatively high for the number of people in the property.

Is it a purpose made flat or a converted house? If it's a conversion I'd be concerned you are paying for someone else's electricity. There was a poster who had moved onto a new build estate and the street lamp outside her house had been erroneously linked to her electricity supply and she was paying for it.

British gas 2 bed flat - I pay £80 electricity and £20 gas a month, my electricity use is normally around the £60 mark if I'm not using the tumble drier and that includes all cooking and at least 2 showers.

Edit eagle eyes @Reallybadidea has it, you've been charged more for electricity you've used previously as the estimates were off.

Am I reading it rightthat they say you use approx 24kwh a day? Because that is ridiculous number if yes

I would start by sending in at least monthly maybe weekly meter readings for both meters so you don't get surprised by adjustments after lots of estimated readings.

Is the bill for 2 months or for a quarter? 20th Aug to 22nd Oct is an odd range. Or have you only been with them for that period of time?

I moved to Octopus at the end of April and from then until now I've used £152.80 of electricity (smart meter so it's exact usage). That's one person in a 4 bedroom house, also with gas central heating.

I would ask them to investigate as I don't see how you could use that much in a one bedroom flat.

Octopus won't supply a smart meter. I've tried and a just get told no.

It's purpose built flats. No immersion heater, no electric shower (combi boiler) and my usage hasn't changed. I'm not doing anything differently now than I have in the rest of the year. Lived here since 2022 and it's been pretty consistent.

It's because the previous readings were estimated so they've basically guessed what you owed and they've guessed wrong. Now you have had had a meterman reading i would start sending your own every month to get a more accurate bill in future. It's only then you will find out if there are any shenanigans going on.

EDIT - remember that bill is quarterly so divide it by 3 which is roughly £130 per month.

Sorry, cannot read your photo.
Do you understand about Standing Charges? This has nothing to do with how much power you use, but is added to every bill. It covers things like delivery to premises, etc…., is a standard fee and everyone has it added regardless of property size, location, usage, etc……

Keeping electrical (and Gas) bills as low as possible is mainly about checking your usage, minimising power hungry appliances (anything that heats up in the main, kettle, shower, washer, DW, hairdryer, electric heaters, tumble dryers, electric hobs/ovens, etc…) make sure you choose the best tariff for you, make sure you insulate and draught proof as much as you can (but you still need ventilation to prevent condensation). Check your central heating settings, at the boiler, can any radiators in unused rooms be valued off, check your thermostat, is it on too long, set too high. Everything all contributes. Wearing warmer clothes does help as well.

I had this exact problem with octopus at the start of this year. Problem started on January 1 for exactly three months, and they were insanely unhelpful. Have been with them for years but over those three months our usage was showing as over three times the usual amount even though nothing had changed in our living situation. They made us do a bunch of ridiculous tests even though we knew they wouldn't show anything (tested every single appliance in our house multiple times). Then said they couldn't do something until they sent someone round to check the smart meter - months and months later no one turned up. They said they didn't have any availability. In the end they offered us a £70 gesture of good will which we declined as we were paying hundreds of pounds a month more than usual for electricity and it made no sense at all. The issue has still never been resolved despite several people agreeing at every contact that the numbers were pretty much impossible.

We have a smart meter. The issue just resolved itself miraculously one day. So they said it would be hard to prove what the problem was now.

Eventually gave up fighting it cos cba but reading your post just annoyed me again 🤣

It's the estimated readings. The previous estimates were clearly too low and have been updated by a recent actual reading, which has corrected upwards.

I would start giving regular meter readings to prevent this, and check that you agree with the recent "data collector" reading.

@QuestionableMouse that’s for 42 days not a month. Your annual Usage is estimated at 2100 kwh approx. That’s less than half what we use (house, 2 people in it a lot of the time).

I hate how Octopus do these stupid 42 day bills.

What matters ultimately is the kwh usage and what you pay per kwh and of course the daily standing charge.

as others have said - estimated readings are unhelpful. Check the current reading and let us know …and then submit manual readings yourself on the same day of each month

I already do all of that. My electric use is really very minimal. Boil the kettle maybe twice a day, cooker is gas, no unused rooms (again - it's a small one bed flat), heating is gas. I genuinely can't think of anything in the flat that would be consuming as much electricity as they say!

You could also start doing 24 hour readings of the meter to check your daily usage and see if it seems high or normal for your usage.

No one has been to read the meter. It's inside the flat (and I've been trying to get someone out because I'm partially sighted and find the little screen really hard to read!)

But nothing has changed. I'm using the same things now as I was in April, or this time last year. I know the price changes but they're saying my usage has gone up and it hasn't.

This. I wish more people understood how to read their energy bills, and what the consumption means.

OP is effectively using a kilowatt (kW, 1000 watts) constantly, 24/7. (Or maybe 1.5kW for 16 hours and then nothing at night.) That's a huge current drain for a house heated by gas. Apart from anything else it ought to be showing up as something getting hot.

Basically any large appliance that doesn't have a heating element shouldn't be using much more than 100 watts, probably less. A dishwasher or washing machine will use up to 1kW when running (less with gas-fired hot water filling or a 30° cycle), but those don't run all day.

I would suggest getting a smart meter and learning how to use the app to watch the consumption in as near to real time as possible. Then experiment by unplugging stuff in various combinations for a few hours at a time and see where the hourly consumption is going down when things are unplugged.

You might also look in the meter cabinet to check that nobody has tapped into your circuit to grow weed with your electricity.

@QuestionableMouse take photo with phone camera and zoom in? First step is to get current reading and then you will be able to work out what’s owed … helpful neighbour?

Sorry, yes, having read your later post, can see what kind of property you are talking about. It does sound like it’s the billing, and estimates. All you can do is send Octopus monthly meter readings, so you can keep things as up to date as possible. We did this via either website or App (can’t recall which) until we had a Smart Meter fitted. In truth, we have found Octopus very good. Electricity charges generally did go up early October.

@QuestionableMouse

take a photo of it & enlarge it.

@QuestionableMouse are you on the Priority Services Register with Octopus?

I guess you've never given a meter reading if you can't read the display, so perhaps your bills have always been estimates?