Electric Bill

[jennyjoan]

I pay £50 dd a month for my electric - just received bill online and I am £2.92 credit but I don't understand they say my next bill is October.

Does that mean I am only paying every 3 months and do you think £50 is expensive as friends of mine only pay around £30-£40 a month.

I just use the basic electric.

[Tuvok]

The bill should say what period it covers.

[Tuvok]

Pressed submit too soon!

There should be a bit where it tells you meter reading, how much you’ve used etc.

[calmck]

Your bill will be issued every 3 months when you will see if you are in credit or not. The DD will be taken monthly

[bobbinwales]

No your paying every month if your on a monthly DD. Most suppliers only send quartlerly bills (one supplier just sent a bill to me every 6 months) but some will produce more frequent ones if you send readings online and ask for one

[calmck]

Once a year the electricity company will reassess how much you need to pay monthly for the coming year depending on the status of your bill. If you are in credit they reduce the amount but will increase it if you owe money

[Gromit]

You must be paying £150 Quarterly (£600 annually). But we are in low usage months, your bill will be higher in winter. Might be £600-£800 annually.

[jennyjoan]

so £50 is good enough - must be when I am £2.92 credit LOL.

[Tuvok]

You must be one of the fortunate ones on a fixed tarrif!

[Buenchico]

My electricity direct debit is £180 per month but that's largely because I use electricity to heat my home. If I recall correctly, Jennyjoan, you use oil for heating. £50 per month is equal to about £1.67 per day. At the moment nearly all electricity companies will be charging the maximum daily standing charge, which is 45p. If your supplier is doing so, that means that you're actually using about £1.22 per day for your electricity. [NB: That 45p daily figure is the maximum that can be charged in England, Scotland and Wales. It doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, so you might actually be paying quite a bit more]. That suggests that you might be using about four and a third kilowatt-hours of electricity each day at 28p per kWh. [However, because the Energy Price Cap doesn't apply in NI, your supplier could be charging a much higher rate per kWh, meaning that you're using less energy than my estimate].

Over 4 kWh daily use (without any heating) does seem to be rather high but
(a) it's better to overpay than to underpay, in order to avoid any nasty shocks at the end of the accounting period ; and
(b) because the Energy Price Cap doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, it's hard to do any calculations because you might be paying far more for your energy costs than the rest of the UK does.

[jennyjoan]

thanks Chris for that explanation - rather pay the £50 a month rather than a nasty shock at the end of the year. And it could be nasty with this rise of cost of living scenario,

[barry1010]

if you are only £2.92 in credit you should think about increasing your DD now in preparation for the winter

[davebro]

But you will be getting £400 credited to your account by the gov later in the year so I don't think you need to worry at this stage.

[barry1010]

Good point, dave

[youngmafbog]

Often bills are estimated so check to ensure the readings are correct, are you able to put in the figures yourself?

£50 a month is cheap. My DD is £400 a month for gas/electric combined.

[davebro]

yes - castles are notoriously difficult to heat! LOL

[youngmafbog]

It's not a castle.

[aelmpvw]

yes, i'd think £400 a quarter a bit on the dear side :-)

[Buenchico]

>>> £50 a month is cheap

You need to note, Youngmafbog, that Jennyjoan has oil-fired heating. So that £50 is only paying for the electricity for her room lighting, fridge, washing machine, microwave oven, etc. In that context it's far more reasonable.

[Redhelen72]

And oil is sooooo expensive

[William51]

Do not ask me as my energy company bills are so complicated i cannot make them out either. But last month they wanted to double my monthly payments so i rang them and they said it was generated by a computer, after negotiating with them i am now paying only 50% more.