Gas and electric

[dazzlerdo]

Those who live in a 3 bedroom house on dual fuel what's your monthly direct debit and who are you with?

I was with avro paying £80 a month for both, they've now gone into administration and put me with octupuss energy.
Not had a bill from them yet it's still all being finalised. Been looking at my account and it says I will be on flexi rate which averages at £1324 a year.
If I want to change to fixed rate then it will be around £1859 a year. Does this seem a lot? £145 a month!

I know that. I pay £100 per month at the moment as I'm in credit so lowered the payment. I use about £110 combined per month just now but the gas element will increase as it get colder (£80 electric £30 gas currently).

Having more bedrooms can have higher costs as you have more rooms to heat.

@TinyDancer91

Moved in to our new home on 1st oct, 3 bed semi detached. Was quoted £120 per month dual fuel with Scottish Power. They asked for meter readings last week, which we provided. My direct debit has since been increased to £196!! Even though according to the bill I am using approx £97 a month? Can't understand why they are charging me over double

Can you ask for a lower dd amount? Are you in credit? I can switch my payment up and down myself with Octopus

I'm in a 3 bed terrace and have prepay meters. I spend about £50/month on each.

we were 100 a month
they wanted to increase to 130 but i asked for 112 per month and intend to buy blankets!

£100, 3 bed semi. We fixed it weeks before the increases. Last month we used £80.

With eon!

I just submitted readings today
Have used £86 electric and £38 gas over the last month

Does anyone know of you can still apply for the warm home discount even if you don't have a prepayment metre? I always thought you had to have a prepayment to be able to get the warm home discount

Warm home discount has nothing to do with prepayment meters. You apply directly to your energy company (if they offer it) or are entitled if you get Pension Credit

octopus.energy/blog/warm-home-discount/

@dementedpixie does it come straight off your bill then? I got it when on prepayment but never applied when I started doing DD. I receive child tax credits and have 2 children under 5 that's how I got it last time

Yes its taken off your bill directly. You don't get the money yourself. Think ex Avro customer's have to wait before applying. I'll see if I can find the link I read

@dementedpixie thank you I've just gone on the link and applied so just wait now to see what happens. Thanks for that

Just had an email from OVO to say my dd is going up to £207 a month even though I submitted meter readings today which prove I am £ 171 in credit,
Apparently you have to suck it up the first month and then get them to reduce the dd after the next meter reading,
Pisses me off.
Don't get me wrong if we were in debt or close to actually using the amount we are paying for I wouldn't mind.
They shouldn't be allowed to take your money just in case.

This is from the avro info page

octopus.energy/avro/#avrofaqs

At least you've applied. The worst they can do is say no

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

I hope everyone is aware that your monthly DD is not how much energy you use and is meaningless as a comparison figure

The current energy crisis has really highlighted how little understanding there is in general about how energy costs work. It concerns me that so many households could be getting into financial difficulties

The amount of energy you use isn't connected to how many bedrooms you have, that's simplistic in the extreme. Can I suggest that everyone takes some time to read up and fully understand this

Hear hear.

I spent a long time comparing fixed deals back in march from our actual usage and the standing charge per day + unit charge to decipher which was the best value for money fix.

We set up our new fix and are using similar amounts of energy as last year but we are £500 in credit which should even itself out by the end of the winter.

Another question does anyone have a smart meter, are they any good? Heard mixed reviews

i changed from eon to eon next, i am not sure why, but i needed a smart meter,
so that is being fitted next week.
i gave in to the pressure

@dazzlerdo

Another question does anyone have a smart meter, are they any good? Heard mixed reviews

It's good if (1) you're the kind of person who forgets to send meter readings and/or (2) you're the kind of person who forgets to switch things off, and needs to be 'shocked' by a bright red light or display to remember to switch things off. I'll even add: or (3) your actual meter is in an awkward place to read.

We haven't bothered, we're adults and perfectly aware of what gas and electric we are using at any moment. They sill haven't perfected the tech so if you get a smart meter from your current provider, there's a good chance that it won't work when you change to a new provider in two years' time. We had a new gas meter fitted last week (old meter tripped off) and Cadent fitted an old-fashioned dial meter, not even a digital display.

I have no idea if ny smart metre works properly. I resent paying for something that tells them how much to charge me.

Not sure what difference it made eiryer because my energy company ( was green) still kept emailing for monthly metre readings. There is no way the cost per day on the smart metre hub in the house added up to what I was paying each month ( was 70 quid a month. Small 2 bed terrace. 1 adult 2 kids ) and apparently I was still in credit so it deffo was weird.

I got moved to Shell. As per pp I have a breakdown of unit costs but but nothing else . Green still taking payment I checked it was legit ajd they said they were still transferring and shell has yet to take a payment. I really wanna know roughly what I'm.gonna be paying

I haven't got a smart meter. I'm perfectly capable of providing monthly readings and know how much gas/electric I am using from those readings.
They only save money if you change how you use your gas/electricity.

I suppose smart meters attract the same sort of people who think those 'save the change' accounts are useful and somehow magic money out of thin air, because 'you don't notice you are saving' and 'it all builds up in no time'

I just think that if the account wasn't saving the change, it would just build up in your current account.

I had my smart meter fitted years ago and it managed the swap to a new provider absolutely fine last year. I can see the usage data online for our house and our bill is always accurate.

Three bed 50's semi, two people. No heating on in day, no tumble dryer or freezer. Just fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, shower, small appliances. £166 per month for both gas and electricity with E.on Next. That's variable rate, with electricity on Economy 7. Washing machine and dishwasher on alternate nights.

Account has shot into deficit in the last three months by another £120 pm -so I owe them nearly £400, despite the £166 payments. I'm expecting them to up my direct debit to £280 pm very soon. I think £300 per month for fuel over autumn and winter would be a good benchmark to budget for.