Household Electricity

Just as a price comparison, we are now having to pay nearly £90 a month for the electricity used by two of us in a small, two-bedroom house. There's been a big rise in prices this year, and that's about the best I could get in our area.

We don't have an electric shower, but do have an air-source heat pump system that keeps our heating / hot water costs down.
We also have both a fridge-freezer and a chest freezer, and I use the oven several times a week normally.

We use approx 6000 kw/h a year.

Exactly what Teacheranne said!

Also, when did you last change supplier or energy contract - you haven't just let it ride and stayed with the same one over many years, have you, ending up on the most expensive tariff possible? (I doubt, it, but thought it was still worth asking.)

When I get my bill, there is quite a lot of information about my usage, eg how much I used during the same period last year, which I find very helpful. If you have used a similar amount of watts then it is unlikely to be a fault with the meter - unless you were also paying a lot last year. It could be an increase in overall unit price ( again, compare with last year) or maybe you have come to end of a fixed tariff and been put on a higher one.

Lots of things to look at before assuming that it is a faulty meter, which is quite rare ( I used to work for British Gas and deal with high level complaints).. Hopefully you will have some old bills to compare with or if you have an online account, you can search back for several years.

If you have consumed a lot more energy than in the same period last year then it could be a faulty meter or a faulty appliance.

I must have an old meter as I can still see the dial going very fast when I use electricity!

Our gas bills were so high that the supplier contacted us.
We did get a refund but I still think it wasn't enough.

I read the meter this morning at 10.30 and I'll read it again tomorrow at the same time.
I've also googled how to get a meter check and see if it's not faulty I'll be charged for the service, but no indication as to the cost which is a bit worrying.
It's a pity there isn't a little wheel like there used to be so you could watch it going round.

I’m with octopus energy and they seem pretty fair with their prices… I did leave them and went to another company for about a year but have just come back to octopus again..

There is a big increase in electricity prices this year, our has gone up from 13p to 18p per kWh. Very high gas prices plus much higher demand this year

Yes, I'll see about getting the meter checked - how do I go about doing this? Do I contact my supplier? I do feel it may be the chest freezer which is quite old.

Another thought is your fridge or freezer elderly? They can really eat electricity.

Excuse typos

Blossoming

Maybe you should get your meter tested. We once received gas bills for 4 times the expected amount, and it turned out the meter was faulty and we were being overcharged. That sounds too high to me, ours is around £60 per month with higher usage than you.

The same happened to us with the gas meter, Blossoming. When the meter was rem8ved, the engineer showed it to us and it was still whizzing round even though it was disconnected!

ExDancer do check his out, it could be any number of reasons, either an over-estimated bill, a faulty meter or someone else connected to your supply- are there any new properties near you?

I’m now with Octopus and my electricity is £30 a month in a 2 bed and it’s only me your bill is way high as others suggest get your meter checked something is wrong somewhere.

I don't think the problem is the unit price, it is more likely an issue with your meter as this does seem excessive. You can ask for it to be checked. By your description of your usage, i would expect to pay around £60-80 ish per month.

Years ago we were told that it was cheaper to have the immersion heater on all the time. It runs on a thermostat, so stops heating when the set temperature is reached. If you turn it off it has to heat again from cold which uses more electricity.

I’d get the meter checked as suggested, maybe get a smart meter too where you can see what’s using the most electricity.

Also check that no one has fixed things so you are paying their bill as well. Happened to someone I used to know.

Have you had fans running? They apparently use a similar amount of electricity as heaters.

Has a special scheme come to an end?

Are you using the same amount in units as shown on previous bills?

Wow ExDancer that does seem excessively high for just one month's usage. My combined gas and electricity bill, for the same period, was £40.63 and that was an actual reading. Definitely get it checked.

It does seem on the high side. We’ve just paid £113 for a quarter! (April to July). We’re with Eon.
We use the oven 3/4 times per week but don’t have an immersion heater. Has the bill been read or estimated?

Maybe you should get your meter tested. We once received gas bills for 4 times the expected amount, and it turned out the meter was faulty and we were being overcharged. That sounds too high to me, ours is around £60 per month with higher usage than you.

are they estimated bills or are they actual readings?

What is heating your water?