Help me understand the energy prices/energy cap and bills

[bellac11]

Im a bit ignorant about this and have been trying to work out what will happen to us come October

We are on the Eon flex rate which for electric is about 29p per thing and then gas is about 6p I think

At the moment we pay 175 per month, all year on DD, this apparently is to even it out, obviously we dont use that amount per month in the summer. We have some debit with them but that should be wiped out by this 400 that is being given by the government (aka taxpayer, aka me)

But, come October, if I read that the energy cap is removed, then what is the likely amount I will be paying? Is there a way to work it out? There doesnt seem to be any clear indication of what the prices will be given that its only about 6 weeks away.

Any ideas?

The lights that OH leaves on are usually 'salt lamps' with funny little bulbs, I wonder if they are expensive

Lights are pennies if modern energy saver bulbs, if multiple actual old 60w type then they would add up quickly.

Are you gamers? Are you running gaming laptops for hours?

I dont play games on computers, wouldnt know a computer game if it hit me in the face

He might do, he plays some wargame with tanks, they last 5 mins a time but thats evening and weekends if we're not out

Lightbulbs I need to check.

Why don't you want a smart meter? It'll help you work out your use that can be cut down

Best of luck with your consumption hunt.

I dont want the faff of it, how will it tell me exactly what equipment is using what?

He says he has a gaming computer, now as I type this he says it isnt gaming per se
Its desk top computer he says

And our shower isnt electric he just reminded me!!!! Honestly there is no hope for me on this matter

I don't have one so cannot personally recommend this one in particular, but you can get energy monitored like this that could help you pinpoint your energy heavy appliances?

www.amazon.co.uk/Electricity-Monitor-Consumption-Analyzer-Display/dp/B09CGP3M7C/ref=asc_df_B09CGP3M7C/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=535047026873&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17283470400943942203&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007119&hvtargid=pla-1433304097913&psc=1

www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/how-much-electricity-does-a-home-use

According to this we might not be hugely more than the average for a semi detached

Although I would have thought that we would have been lower, given that there are only 2 of us, Imout of the house 5 days a week and we dont have particularly power hungry items (I thought)

Lightbulbs are all energy saver ones.

Its 29p for electricity and 7 for gas, I just checked - currently

You need to look at the fixed rate and work out the % difference from the above to see if its worth fixing

I will check in a minute, I closed the pages down

But the monthly cost it says I am on now is 158 (even though we pay more than this)

The monthly cost on the fixed rate is 306 so I presume it must be exactly double, so around 60p for electric and then 14 for gas

Not sure if this will help you but this is from the Facebook group I linked to upthread. I know you said you aren’t on Facebook but I would seriously consider creating an account just to join the group as you will get a much better understanding of things and the coming price increases by doing so. Anyway - these are the predicted unit prices for comparison with fixed rates.

I plugged your figures into my own calculator.

Oct 22 - Dec 22: predicted approx. £315pm (NOTE this derived taking your yearly total and dividing by 12, but does not take into account that you tend to use more energy in winter than summer)

Jan 23 - Mar 23: predicted at least £376pm - but recent reports suggest proces may go considerably higher than this. Maybe as high as £424

Apr 23 onwards: If recent reports are correct, they may go up to £536pm

We're all in a whole heap of trouble, unless something dramatic changes...

I tell a lie, just checked Eon again, I could get a fixed rate from them at 306 per month but I think you have to agree to a smart meter

Just saw this. Assuming the penalty for coming out of the fix early (if you ever wanted to) is not too terrible, I'd fix at this in a heartbeat.

Things are only going to get worse (my own personal opinion).

God this is impossible

That facebook table (thank you) predicts I will be better off not fixing

That is the case for most people at the moment.

I am on variable with octopus and won’t be fixing. I am waiting to see what happens when the government comes back to sit in September and if they agree anything then. Probably not but you never know…!

Well OH is now roaming the house checking wattages

Our kettle is 1400 to 1700kw

Not sure why its a range

There's got to be something pushing usage up. I know the average is quite a bit higher, but we use 1100kw a year electric for two people. Semi detached, gas heating, shower/hot water, stovetop.

We have an electric oven. That is usually used for about 40 mins a day, sometimes more. I wonder if that is it

Heavy usage of an electric oven is likely to be expensive.

It could be worth using an air fryer and/or slow cooker instead.

I got a very cheap (£7!) slow cooker from Asda's 'new student' promotion a few years ago so something like that could be worth looking out for if you don't already have one.

But also look at the wattage of all these lights that are on for extended periods. Pennies of usage might be with the assumption that you don't use them at night or during the daytime so only a few hours in the evening.

Perhaps try to wean him down to fewer lower wattage lights, on timers so they go off after he's fallen asleep? Or look for medical advice or therapy as it's quite unusual to sleep with the light on.

Yes in the winter he tends to like the slow cooker so that might help,, but he does like a cooked dinner in the oven so he does this a lot. We dont have room for more stuff on the work top so Im not getting a different cooker type thing

He cant sleep with the lights out, he suffers from night terrors sometimes. I doubt he would get therapy for it. Its just something he accepts.