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Original poster

December Bill - GULP

130 replies

MrsDoyle351 · 27/12/2022 08:34

Yeah - I knew it was going to be high... 4 bedroom semi detached stone house.

£314 for gas and electricity. No doubt January will be similar - unless it warms up a bit?

Been putting on the heating from 16.30 til 20.00 most days - obviously more over past weekend...

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsDoyle351 · 27/12/2022 08:36

Oh and I've joined the no spend January thread as have spent plenty on Christmas too

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 27/12/2022 08:41

I know OP, our bill was higher than yours, £380 combined, 3 bed bungalow, but all of us do wfh. We did have the heating on a lot during the cold snap though, we are going to cut back now the weather is milder. Just so relieved we downsized in 2021, I dread to think what ours bills would have been in our previous home (very large 5 bed detached)

Original poster
MrsDoyle351 · 27/12/2022 08:46

TBF it was extremely cold here in December - going down to -10 degrees at night! I'm hoping that it's unlikely to happen again in January but who knows?

Lets hope the conditions in the USA don't migrate over the Atlantic!

OP posts:
Inkpotlover · 27/12/2022 08:50

We're in a 3-bed Victorian terrace, semi detached, and our combined bill for Dec was £332. But we had the heating on so much more because of the cold snap, especially the underfloor heating in the kitchen which is eye-wateringly expensive. So I'm not expecting Jan's bill to be anything like it.

MyBooksAndMyCats · 27/12/2022 08:54

Prices are going up again on. 1st of January so very likely to have a similar priced bill. It's insanity, we spent £270 in last 30 days!

fingfong · 27/12/2022 08:59

4 bedroom drafty Victorian detached, next to a river at the bottom of a valley so gets the vicious winds that are funnelled through ...£440 so far for December combined 😱. We're going to have to sell up I think, if these prices continue, cos we don't earn enough to maintain this. We're still freezing, and generally only have the heating on for 3 hours a day, has been on all day Christmas Day and Boxing Day as our seasonal treat!

Original poster
MrsDoyle351 · 27/12/2022 09:03

@fingfong I hear you! I feel like despite having the frickin' heating on it still isn't that 'warm'. We are extremely fortunate to have a log burner as well. And that has been on A LOT.

OP posts:
fingfong · 27/12/2022 09:05

@MrsDoyle351 yes we have been huddling round the logburner too! Kids got heated throws for Christmas so hopefully they can avoid being frozen into blocks while they're doing their homework! It just isn't fun at all.

Brogues · 28/12/2022 08:20

We also had a big bill but still in credit so about where we’d be in a normal winter I think. Nervous about Jan (weather and price changes) but then it should be plainer sailing into spring so trying to think of the bigger picture or maybe burying my head in the sand - time will tell.

northernlola · 28/12/2022 17:04

We're on £447 combined so far this month, with a few days to go! Old house, poorly kids.

Pelo22 · 28/12/2022 17:35

Not too bad for me
Averaging £3 for electric a day and £8 for gas and that was the coldest days
My £45 DD is covering it (plus the £66 credit)

Remainiac · 28/12/2022 17:37

We’re on electric only, no gas in the building, two bedroom duplex apartment. Our bill for December will be £500.

Decafflatteplease · 28/12/2022 19:05

Just waiting on our official bill but if my maths is correct I think it's around £370 of usage but that's not including standing charge or vat so I'm thinking just over £400 all in? But we pay the same each month (£300) so will start using our credit this month

MagentaRocks · 28/12/2022 19:12

Ours was getting high as we have been having the heating on all day almost due to DH WFH. I bought us both amazon oodies. No need to have the heating on much now. They make such a difference. We only put the heating on now if we have been out with the dogs and they are particularly cold and wet. We have gone from being up to £60 at this point of the week to about £20. Obviously if it gets really cold we will put the heating on more to avoid frozen pipes.

roselune · 29/12/2022 11:13

Just got mine for December (based on actual readings) and it's £205. 😩I live alone so that's a huge chunk of money to come out of one income. (Small Victorian terrace, double glazing but not great insulation otherwise.)

Most of it is gas, and will be due to needing to have heating on more during the cold snap. Even setting the thermostat at 15C overnight meant the boiler was constantly working. My house is never more than 18C, usually around 16C-17C with heating on so feels awful having to pay this much and probably much more next year?

Pootle22 · 29/12/2022 11:26

Mines north of £450. 3 bed modern house with 4 of us!

In terms of kwh it's slightly lower than last year so we could cut back if we needed to but really that'd still be hugely ecornsive for lots of families, I don't know how people can be expected to cope.

Saucery · 29/12/2022 12:04

Ours (gas only) was £60 for Jul - mid Dec. They read the meter, so I know that’s correct. They had set our dd at £160 per month so we are £100s in credit. I’ve just phoned to reduce the dd by £40, it’s ridiculous.
Electric is double that, but electric is more expensive per unit. I pay that monthly by meter reading as I hate energy companies sitting on my money for their shareholders, as illustrated by British Gas in my first paragraph.

Anewuser · 29/12/2022 12:10

I don’t know how we’ll manage. Just had our bill - £390 for gas and electric. Have no choice but to heat the house as adult son is severely disabled so have to keep constant temperature. He’s home all day and despite covering his wheelchair in blankets still had cold hands. His oxygen concentrator, hoists, bed, feeding pumps and changing bench all use electricity. We can’t cut back.

Decafflatteplease · 29/12/2022 12:16

roselune · 29/12/2022 11:13

Just got mine for December (based on actual readings) and it's £205. 😩I live alone so that's a huge chunk of money to come out of one income. (Small Victorian terrace, double glazing but not great insulation otherwise.)

Most of it is gas, and will be due to needing to have heating on more during the cold snap. Even setting the thermostat at 15C overnight meant the boiler was constantly working. My house is never more than 18C, usually around 16C-17C with heating on so feels awful having to pay this much and probably much more next year?

It's awful isn't it @roselune we are also on one income (I'm a carer for our child) and there's 6 of us. Our usage I worked out around £370 for December so probably at least £400 once standing charge and vat added on! But we pay £300 each month so will use some credit this month

Decafflatteplease · 29/12/2022 12:17

Anewuser · 29/12/2022 12:10

I don’t know how we’ll manage. Just had our bill - £390 for gas and electric. Have no choice but to heat the house as adult son is severely disabled so have to keep constant temperature. He’s home all day and despite covering his wheelchair in blankets still had cold hands. His oxygen concentrator, hoists, bed, feeding pumps and changing bench all use electricity. We can’t cut back.

Similar here @Anewuser we also have a severely disabled child and cant cut back. Our DC can't regulate their temp so we need to keep the house warm, plus a tumble dryer is essential for the sheer amount of washing.

GasPanic · 29/12/2022 12:23

Just done a gas meter reading for October to December.

October 12m3.
November 34m3
December (td) 90m3

So a fair old increase for heating in December. Its going to be about £150 gas for the quarter plus about £25 standing charge. 3 bed new-ish build semi.

I am quite pleased with that, but could have done without the December cold snap which really pushed up the gas use (averaged 4.6m3 per day from 9/12 to 19/12 but about 1m3 per day in November).

Anewuser · 29/12/2022 12:34

@Decafflatteplease we had his laundry added into our carers assessment. I used to have 3 wash loads a day due to wet bedding etc. When he became an adult the cost was included within his direct payments. So much stress taken away with a laundry service. Still have our washing to do but can hang that on the dryer. It’s worth speaking to your social worker.

Notanotherone6 · 29/12/2022 14:01

£575 for a reasonably modern, well insulated 5 bed. Heating set to 18 during the day and off at night. I'm on carer's allowance with a disabled teenager. Fortunately, the government gave her the princely sum of £25 for the week it was below freezing. She doesn't even pay the bills!

cakeorwine · 29/12/2022 17:21

Saucery · 29/12/2022 12:04

Ours (gas only) was £60 for Jul - mid Dec. They read the meter, so I know that’s correct. They had set our dd at £160 per month so we are £100s in credit. I’ve just phoned to reduce the dd by £40, it’s ridiculous.
Electric is double that, but electric is more expensive per unit. I pay that monthly by meter reading as I hate energy companies sitting on my money for their shareholders, as illustrated by British Gas in my first paragraph.

Are you on a deal?

That sounds incredibly low.

How much gas did you use in kWh?

RachelSq · 29/12/2022 17:28

£530 for us (4 bed detached 60s house in the North).

We had the heating on 3 hours a day and maybe a little more when it was in the cold snap. It was still very chilly in the house throughout.

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