Energy bill £339 per month 😭

[Peony94]

We have just had an email telling us our monthly cost for gas and electric will be £339 per month, that is more than I will be earning a month after I pay for nursery. We cannot afford that amount 😣

Is there anything we can do about this? Is it better to give them monthly meter readings and just pay for usage, is this even an option? We don't have a smart meter.

I'm also confused as I thought the price cap was £2500 a year but they're charging us over 4K, I must have misunderstood this.

The cap is based on average usage if you use more you pay more. Can you reduce your usage?

Is this how much you'll be using or how much the DD is? If it's how much the direct debit is you can probably negotiate it down a bit.

I think you've misunderstood the price cap. What it means is providers cannot charge higher than the cap per unit of energy (about 35p). The "average" household will pay about £2500, but it's not that that's the most you can be charged - it's not pay up to £2500 and everything after that is free.

I'd look at old bills and see if you can find your average usage (both summer and winter). Then consider if this is actually a reasonable figure. Lots of people are being sent these emails and they are ridiculously high.

If the figure does match up with your usage, then I'd suggest looking critically at ways you can cut down - unless you are a large family in a large house, that's very high.

Ahh okay! We don't even use much 😣 We literally never put the heating on unless it's in our babies room and we have smart radiator valves so it only heats to 17 degrees in her room. We've also bought a dehumidifier to dry our clothes to stop using the tumble drier.

I'll be going back to work 3 days a week so that will drop our usage but I'm really mindful about what I use already. I hope this makes a difference!

If you use less then it won’t be that much. We are using, actually using not estimated, about £150pm at the mo for 4 people in a 3 bed semi. I’m guessing that will double once the heating goes on.

You don’t say how many or how big your house is but I’m assuming it’s just you and DC seeing as the nursery fees are only coming out of your salary. Or perhaps that’s just a turn of phrase as kids are the woman’s responsibility? So you may be able to cut that if you use as little as possible.

You can renegotiate your dd or agree to be be billed for actual usage, but do check what you have used previously. Are you already in debit?

Look at your usage in kwh(should be on a bill) and then use your price per kwh and standing charge to work out whether its a reasonable monthly amount to be paying. Are you in credit or debit right now?

Some companies are trying to charge amounts that are totally exorbitant compared to what is actually used.

P.s. the price guarantee fixes the price per kwh and standing charge not the total amount you pay. If you use more you pay more.

I'm not sure, it says estimated annual usage? I'm really useless at this as you can probably tell!

Right, I've definitely misunderstood it then. That makes sense, thank you for explaining!

You need to read your meters OP and submit the reading.

This.

Don't let them use estimated readings!!

Do you submit meter reading monthly or do you have a smart meter?
You should be able to see your annual usage on a bill.

Sorry, should have given that information! There is me, my husband and DD in a 3 bed semi.

Nursery will be coming out of my wages as my husband pays into joint account for bills as my maternity payments have ended now. We used to pay 50/50 for bills and savings.

We really need your annual usage and your tariff and whether you are in credit/debit to see whether it's a reasonable amount to pay

@Peony94 In which case definitely give meter readings and keep track of what you are paying. My provider wanted to put our DD up to £400 and I refused as I knew we weren’t using that much. I set it at £200 and keep a close eye on the start meter. Have you got a smart meter, I would get one if you don’t.

Sorry, I just hate the concept that women are working to pay for nursery and men are working to pay the mortgage and bills! I get what your saying tho!

We've also bought a dehumidifier to dry our clothes to stop using the tumble drier.

whilst a tumble dryer is expensive I believe a dehumidifier us not a cheap appliance to run.😫

The estimated annual usage on my bills is based on pre-energy guarantee rates for October - on my actual bill breakdown, it's the same for unit pricing.
So electric is billed at eg 48p/kwh, they then deduct the price guarantee difference to bring it down to 33p/kwh.

I'm not sure if I'm explaining thats very well - I'll see if i can get screenshots.

This.

Whilst they’re great at helping to prevent mould it may be cheaper to bung your heating on for an hour or so or finish off your washing in the dryer for 10 mins.

Mine costs 2.5p an hour to run (72kw one)

We don't have a smart meter, it got taken out when we had a new boiler fitted a couple years ago. Can't remember why now, should we ask to have one fitted again? Or is it better to submit meter readings monthly?

We normally use around £70 a month electric and less than £10 a month for gas but we are currently both home quite a lot. My husband is due to go to sea soon and I will be going back to work (hopefully) 3 days a week so our usage will drop. We are currently in credit by £125 and I think this will double before our tariff changes next month because of the £67 discount

I mean 72w! Not kw! A tumble drier is much more than that.

Regarding the dehumidifier Vs tumble dryer, our tumble dryer is very old and I think D rated so costs quite a lot to run!

Are you able to give any of the info asked for?
Without it we can't really advise

Our DD has been that much all year as we were in debit with them last year. We just got some of it back so I would try to negotiate down.

Echoing other posters saying you need to say what your annual usage is for gas and electricity in kwh.

What is your yearly estimated usage in kwh? It doesn't matter if this is at old pricing.