Gas/electricity bill help please

[SamBeckettslastleap]

Can you help an idiot.

Since March I've really tried to cut down on our usage. Our DD has gone from £88, to £117 and since September £240 per month.

I don't understand why my usage 'this period last year' is greater than my 'estimated annual usage.' Have they worked out my estimate usage on my new habits since March? In which case I have no chance of paying under £240 per month (which makes us above average usage according to the price cap)

Will the £240, which when our fixed mortgage runs out will be be tough to pay, cover our expected usage?

We've hardly had the gas on (hot summer meant cold showers were ok) and being so careful but have no summer credit and worrying about heating

(Nb says estimates but the amounts are correct)

Bill.

I don't know if it's just me, but the bill you posted is really blurry. Can you post a clearer shot?

Unfortunately the first and last screenshots are too blurry because of the way MN compress images I think. I would first of all ignore the monetary values as they don't allow any comparison.

Do you have an online account, can you log in and get your actual usage for 2021 to compare it with your usage to date in 2022? You need the number of kWh to have any chance of working out what your actual costs are likely to be this winter. Are any of your bills based on estimates? If your usage is dramatically different this year than last, this won't have been reflected in your bills unless they have actual readings.

I can read the current tariff information but it's the amount of usage that is the key number now. You can then work it out, or you call the energy company and they could be able to forecast it, but if any of the bills are based on estimates it's really just guesswork.

Oh and by the way, I agree 'this period last year' looks bonkers in the middle screenshot. If your bill was for a quarter, that SHOULD be the same quarter last year, but based on the number it looks as if it's the total for the whole of last year?

The important thing is your actual usage, calculated from actual meter readings. If you don't have a smart meter then you need to send regular readings to your supplier. If your supplier is estimating your usage they could be wildly out.
I can't read the bill clearly either, sorry.

Crappy photos. Thanks for trying to read them.

I don't know why they say estimate, I've been reporting monthly since March, EDF say it might because they estimated for some months in 2021 but they were checked by the meter man twice in 2021.

The bit I'm most concerned about it

Electricity

Annual consumption estimate 3974
Usage this bill 894
This period last year 4388

Gas

Annual consumption estimate 12,765
Usage this bill 12,670
This period last year 16,072

Bill says it is my Annual statement covering 365 days.

And I know I've been strict but only since April - how can my yearly usage now be 894, when last year I used 4388?

Do any of the meter readings on the bill say 'estimated' on them? Actually I think you answered this in your first post. Although it says estimated, you've checked the meters and the readings are very similar. Is this a statement covering the whole of 2022 (so the last 3 months are an estimate) or is the bill for (say) 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022?

For the electricity to be so much lower than expected, was last year's bill an over-estimate and so now it's correcting itself because the meter has been read? Do you know what your actual meter reading was at the end of the last billing period?

Thanks for your help.

It is my Yearly bill Sept 2021-22

This is my previous bill

Yearly bill 2020-2021 (when gas was 2.4p!)
Electricity
Annual consumption usage estimate 4388
Usage this bill 4528
Same period last year 4469

Gas
Annual consumption estimate 16040
Usage this year 16229
Same period last year 14,000

So I make it I used

Electricity 3917
Gas 405 (how do I work this bit out?)

So on last year I've reduced electricity by 611 but that is with no children off school for lockdown (Jan Feb 2021) so that doesn't seem very good.

If someone can help to see how much I've reduced using gas.

Just worried I'm not in any credit despite being quiet miserable with the gas/electricity

Right so in 2020-21 you used 4528 kWh of electricity and 16229 of gas. In 2021-22 it looks as if you've used 894 kWh of electricity (as per the screenshot in your first post), which is a huge drop, and 12,670 kWh of gas, again as per your screenshot.

Where are you getting your figures of 3917 and 405 from? Is that from meter readings rather than the totals given on your bill?

Assuming my understanding of your bill is right, you are seeing a huge drop in electricity and a smaller, but significant drop in gas.

There's a group on Facebook I'd strongly recommend you join called Energy Advice and Support UK Community. They have industry experts and people who can help work out bills, usage and ideas on how to reduce consumption.

Your gas consumption seems about right for average consumption but energy a bit high I think.

We (family of 5) have reduced our usage by 1/3 by doing the following:

• Hanging washing and doing an extra spin sometimes instead of using tumble dryer
• washing on 20 or zero with fabulousa laundry cleanser to get rid of germs
• using our instant pot and air fryer more than the oven
• reducing our number of baths
• setting water tank on 60 with water heating once a day for an hour
• got cheap but good oodie type hoodies to avoid using heating so much We do other things too but these things have made the most difference for us.

I'd suggest you go through your bills for the last year and look at your actual usage and write it down. Submit readings monthly if you're not already.

Thanks tri I think the 894 on the actual bill is a mistake. I've got the 3917 and 405 by taking away the meter readings on 30.09.22 from the confirmed meter readings on 22.09.21

Thanks Maverick I will have a look at that group.

Interesting that electricity is high as we don't have a tumble dryer and have always been more careful with electricity than gas. I will look into why this is.

Shameless Sunday Bump to see if anyone else has this anomaly.

Looking at the first picture although it’s very blurry it doesn’t look as though it’s Sept 21-22 , it looks like Jan 2022 although they may just be the blurred image. Did you change tariff at some point in the year?

Thanks Nearly, pictures are crap I didn't know they would be so blurry.

Above is what the bill says.

I've been on SVT, so changed with that but no supplier change or tariff change. Thanks for looking

On closer inspection it looks like June - Sept for electric so therefore their annual estimate of 3974 seems about right if you’ve cut down since March.
At the top it says your gas charges were cancelled from Sept 21 - June 22 and there’s a credit, showing the refund. Did you have an issue / problem. As it then makes sense that the gas part is showing the correct/ adjusted readings for Sept 21-Sept 22 and electric is just showing quarter 2.
Your annual estimate then looks about right for both.