Electric bill since working from home

UTmaniac · 28 Jun 2020 at 16:16

Guest2 said:
Apartment block, we have no access to the meters. A consierge provides readings - same as all other shared apartment blocks.
Smart meter cannot be fitted.
2 showers a day of upto 5 mins max each

Is that even legal?

Surely you should have access to your own meters.

bakes0310 · 28 Jun 2020 at 16:36

My electric bill hasn't changed much but work paid me to go to all my site visits which I've practically stopped doing. This month I think I've only been to about 10 sites when I should have gone to about 55.

Guest2 · 28 Jun 2020 at 16:56

UTmaniac said:
Is that even legal?

Surely you should have access to your own meters.

Must be
Nope, been the same in every shared complex (flat /apartment) I have lived in. Same for the communal sky dish. No idea where it is

VincentHanna · 28 Jun 2020 at 17:23

Guest2 said:
Must be
Nope, been the same in every shared complex (flat /apartment) I have lived in. Same for the communal sky dish. No idea where it is

I had a key to the meter cupboard on my floor, when I rented a flat in a large block.

Bounce · 28 Jun 2020 at 17:28

Sounds like the landlord is making the figures up, so he can make money from you

VincentHanna · 28 Jun 2020 at 17:38

I think he pays for his own electricity, right?

Rare that bills would be included in the rent.

Guest2 · 28 Jun 2020 at 17:45

Bounce said:
Sounds like the landlord is making the figures up, so he can make money from you

lol. It's the building consierge of around 100 apartments. I'm the owner

chaparral · 28 Jun 2020 at 18:06

Guest2 said:
To anyone who has been working at home full time since lockdown, have you noticed an increase in your electric usage? Is your company compensating / providing a WFH electric allowance

I have just received this months bill from Bulb and its £154.01
865 [email protected] (day rate) - £130.61
[email protected] (night rate) - £9.82
standing charge £6.25
5% VAT £7.33

34 kWh/day (£5.31) last year it was 11kWh/day which is about right as it was ~£50 a month last. So it's 3 times higher than usual

Electric only 2 bed flat with 2 people sharing, no heating on at the moment other than hot water/showers

But a computer + monitor + LED light bulb only going draw around 150watts (So around 20p for 8 hours use)
What else do you need that draws electric to work from home ? :confused:

VincentHanna · 28 Jun 2020 at 18:14

Guest2 said:
lol. It's the building consierge of around 100 apartments. I'm the owner

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.co...have-the-right-to-access-my-electricity-meter

Guest2 · 28 Jun 2020 at 18:23

VincentHanna said:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.co...have-the-right-to-access-my-electricity-meter

OK, so it seems like I do (or should) have access based on the following post

A customer has the right to read their own meter, well that's the view of the DNO. I'd have to dig but it might be in The Electricity Act

Whould this over rule anything else in my leasehold agreement?

Edit. I cannot specifically find anything regading access to electric meter but something does exist for access to gas (we dont have gas, electric only)

https://forums.landlordzone.co.uk/f...ions/317-access-to-gas-and-electricity-meters

fobose · 29 Jun 2020 at 08:26

I received my bill this morning. I've been trying to keep up to date with meter readings as I had AC installed and was keen to keep an eye on usage. My wife is WFH all the time since lock down and I have been working every other day so I am home a lot more too which means I am gaming more or using extra power in decorating in some form

Looking at my last bill the new one below is about £20 more (although 1 less actual meter read on the previous bill). Considering we are saving about £50 on diesel every 2 weeks for my wife alone I don't think I can complain.

GNE 18 Month Winter Warmer V2 (26 Mar 2020 - 22 Jun 2020)
Energy Charges for Meter
26 Mar 2020 15156.2 Estimate
03 May 2020 15390.0 Customer Read
03 Jun 2020 15630.0 Customer Read
23 Jun 2020 15793.0 Customer Read
Energy Used (Day) 636.8 kWh @ 14.720 p/kWh £93.74

26 Mar 2020 3250.0 Estimate
03 May 2020 3320.0 Customer Read
03 Jun 2020 3387.0 Customer Read
23 Jun 2020 3438.0 Customer Read
Energy Used (Night) 188.0 kWh @ 9.650 p/kWh £18.14
Standing Charge (89 days @ 18.470 p/day) £16.44
Dual Fuel Discount (89 days @ £7.14/year) CR £1.74
Total Electricity Charges £126.58

swillsy · 29 Jun 2020 at 09:43

**facepalm**

People will literally moan about anything

Seriously what about all the time you save not commuting? Sitting in unnecessary meetings? Lunch etc? WFH is a benefit that literally 90% of people are hoping will stick around afterwards rather than going back to sitting in the office all day.

CircleFaust · 29 Jun 2020 at 10:08

electric bill yet to come in but it will be huge to what it normally is with 2 of us working from home full time
the benefits are great but employers have to consider peoples health and safety
they cannot just close an office i'd say (rumour mill) and force you to work from home even once this is over
doubt the law would allow that
personally i had a perfect mix, i would work from the office and then at home a day or two a week
would like to get back to that as i don't have a proper setup to be able to work from home full time

Guest2 · 29 Jun 2020 at 12:46

swillsy said:
**facepalm**

People will literally moan about anything Seriously what about all the time you save not commuting? Sitting in unnecessary meetings? Lunch etc? WFH is a benefit that literally 90% of people are hoping will stick around afterwards rather than going back to sitting in the office all day.

What about all the time people don't spend reading threads properly. I have said it multiple time - I do not commute to work. I have not commuted to work for almost 10 years

swillsy · 29 Jun 2020 at 15:51

What about the time element then.... surely you get more stuff done at home and aren't in pointless meetings??

Bluecube · 29 Jun 2020 at 16:12

Guest2 said:
To anyone who has been working at home full time since lockdown, have you noticed an increase in your electric usage? Is your company compensating / providing a WFH electric allowance

I have just received this months bill from Bulb and its £154.01
865 [email protected] (day rate) - £130.61
[email protected] (night rate) - £9.82
standing charge £6.25
5% VAT £7.33

34 kWh/day (£5.31) last year it was 11kWh/day which is about right as it was ~£50 a month last. So it's 3 times higher than usual

Electric only 2 bed flat with 2 people sharing, no heating on at the moment other than hot water/showers

That’s just for electricity? That’s ridiculous. For comparison, my combined electricity and gas bill was under £100 last month and I live in a five bedroom house.

Burnsy2023 · 29 Jun 2020 at 16:16

swillsy said:
**facepalm**

People will literally moan about anything Seriously what about all the time you save not commuting? Sitting in unnecessary meetings? Lunch etc? WFH is a benefit that literally 90% of people are hoping will stick around afterwards rather than going back to sitting in the office all day.

I miss my 25 minute walk to work, I had very few unnecessary meetings and liked meeting up with people for lunch. Not everyone wants to WFH.

Basher · 29 Jun 2020 at 16:20

swillsy said:
What about the time element then.... surely you get more stuff done at home and aren't in pointless meetings??

IME there have been more pointless meetings in Lockdown than before. Can't wait to get back to the office. A nation of WFH will be terrible.

nightwish · 29 Jun 2020 at 16:28

I'm saving £30 a week on fuel, to say nothing of the extra time. If I spend a few extra quid on heating/electric, so be it. A large proportion of the workforce WFH most or all the time is better for the environment as well. My company (US tech company) is saying WFH until 2021 at the moment and will re-evaluate later in the year. Good chance I'll never go back to working from the office 5 days a week TBH. Probably a hybrid, WFH couple days a week, something like that. Best of both worlds, in theory.

Guest2 · 29 Jun 2020 at 16:36

swillsy said:
What about the time element then.... surely you get more stuff done at home and aren't in pointless meetings??

I get more done work wise because I don't have people pestering me all day! Meetings, unfortunalty still have pointless meetings.
They are probably going to close the office in future and just have one, instead of two. This is a big chunk of money saved by people WFH

Edit. I emailed the Office for Product Safety and Standards RE access to electricity meters.

WHAT IF I CANNOT ACCESS MY ELECTRICITY METER?

Schedule 7 of the Electricity Act requires meters to be installed on consumers premises in a position determined by the electricity supplier unless it is more reasonable to place it outside those premises or in some other position. On multiple-occupancy sites it is common practice for meters to be placed in a central location to make it easier to obtain meter readings, etc.

Where access is not readily available (e.g. because the meter location is locked), we suggest consumers contact the landlord or property management company and request reasonable access, so you can take your own meter readings.

Seems fair enough. I have contacted property management to see what they say. Get a weekly reading on Wednesday then go from there with daily ones until I work out whats hooving up electric