Bills

[h4rm0ny]

So this morning I got an electricity bill for a shade over £2000. This was to cover the period of April last year up until this past July. According to the bill, I've used 12,650kWh at 15.20p/kWh. There's an £80 standing charge on top of that.

Because I know someone will ask, I did get a bill during the past year but it was based on estimated charges and far, far lower. So that was deducted from the final cost. The £2000 is the total figure.

So according to them my usage is 10,640kWh per year. I've just been doing some back of the envelope number crunching and can't see how it got anywhere near that high. What do other people use and pay, here? My place is a house of me plus a partner who comes and goes. Did energy costs just shoot up massively whilst I wasn't looking or is something wrong here?

 

[h4rm0ny]

Have you got an electric boiler?

****!

Yes. We have an electric boiler / emersion heater. The thermostat on it has been a bit dodgy and I've been meaning to get someone to look at it because the water is always too hot. I am sure it must be that not turning off, properly.

Hell.

 

[h4rm0ny]

We're currently paying ~£50 a month. 3 bed house, 2 people, 1 person working from home 2 days a week.

Mine now works out at about £160-170 per month. And no cannabis in the basement.

When was the last time your metre was read? I'd expect that figure to rise sharply if it hasn't been read in a while

According to the bill the last reading was in April 2015. I dispute that as I am certain people have been round to read it in the interim so why it was never updated, I do not know.

 

[h4rm0ny]

Paying by monthly direct debit would have allowed this to be picked up much earlier. Why doesn't everyone pay monthly DD, much better than getting a yearly bill?

If I paid by direct debit I would now be faced with suddenly finding £1,600 vanished immediately from my bank account. Those are the sorts of sums that can cause some significant issues (e.g. missed mortgage payment, fines, et al.). Remember that I already paid bills on this earlier in the year so monthly payments wouldn't have revealed anything. This is a £1600 adjustment.

 

[h4rm0ny]

Damn, emersion heaters will literally suck leccy like its no tomorrow, if its constantly boiling the water, think of it like a giant kettle!

I'm pretty certain that's what's happened. All I noticed was the water being too hot. I figured it just needed some adjustment, not that I had Hinkley B in my cupboard.

 

[h4rm0ny]

It baffles me when people are shocked by their utility bills. You literally have a reading on the wall telling you how much you're using. Leaving it for a year without thinking about it is just irresponsible.

You pay electric bills for decades and it's never been more than around £600-800 pounds per annum which is below your threshold of something you get concerned about, then you get one for £2,000 having received an estimate of £400 a few months earlier. Being surprised is pretty understandable and not grounds for your disdain, I feel.

Most people, contrary to your post, do not check their electric metre every month, jot it down and do the sums - they being people with personalities and such.

EDIT: Same goes for you, Dynix. I got a bill that was way higher than expected and I posted asking what other people paid / used. Not everything is a reason to look down on other people who have busy lives and get through them by abstracting based on previous experience. Unless, I suppose, you are especially looking for reasons to leap on a thread and exclaim how you can't believe people don't check their metre every month. Which is pretty sad.

EDIT: EDIT:

Edit: to be helpful, my electricity bill is roughly £30pcm so £360/year. That's me and my girlfriend in a large flat - two working adults with gadgets, laptops and tv on all evening. Our heating, hob and hot water is gas, for which we pay £35pcm on average (more in winter, less in summer)

Thanks - just seen what you added to your post. Appreciate the helpful response.