What do you pay for your gas/electric?

[tigwig]

Hope you don't mind me asking but I need to moan about this! There is only 2 adults and a 4yr old in our house. We are out alot of the time and I have always thought we used electricity fairly sparingly.
We already pay �33 a month and now they want it to go up to �50 a month as we are �140 in debit! Does this sound right? Am I moaning about nothing? Would anyone like to tell me what they pay so I can compare?
Thank you to those who do!

[loonytunes]

I use gas and electricity for my 2 bed bungalow. Two of us here, both working part time. It costs me �108 per month averaged over the year. At the moment, the gas heating and electricity cost about �20 per week each

[CarlSagan]

It is hard to compare your bill unless you know all the facts. In a house of three adults, on a prepayment meter we pay �22 a month and prepayment meters are more expensive. 1st off, try and save on everything, like turning your tv etc off instead of standby. Turn your central heating down if you have it as the more it runs the more electric it needs, don't fill the kettle, change the bulbs for low energy etc. You know all these things, if i doesn't help, ask to have the meter checked and ask your supplier to tell you how to cut down.

[CarlSagan]

Oh and my gas costs �34 a month in the winter and virtually nothing in the summer. Also find a cheaper supplier.

[bigmamma]

Hi tigwig , I consider I pay way too much , but they charge too much so I have a stupid monthly amount on each :-(

[Ethel]

I live in a three bed semi and pay �50 per month for combined gas/electric. I'm away for at least 2 months a year, but when I'm home I rarely go out.

[Eve]

I've paid �50 on a direct debit they finally set up in December (moved in October) and just got a bill about �190.00 in debit for my electric (don't have gas).

Just me, cat and the hamster.

[Drisgirl]

I have had a Quantum and a pre pay leccy for years -I have now seen the light but cant get them changed to DD until 6 Feb.Have to say they cost much more plus you get a 6% discount for paying by DD -hence the changeover.
We are currently not too bad for Elec -about a �12 a week but Gas is monumental -�40 per week.I live in the main on my own so dont have central heating on so its just the gas fire.

I am now changing as I said to a DD of �80 per month for both -that will balance out as I dont use gas from May until September.

[Ethel]

Dris - you pay more in a week than I do in a month. That is quite shocking

[Drisgirl]

Tell me about it Ethel -its the pre payment meters.Thankfully my daughter works for Doutheren Electric and she was able to tell me how much i would save.

I only had those meters when I was hard-up and never got round to changing them -damn tooting now tho 38% hike with British Gas althought yesterday they did reduce it by 10% -but that is still a 28% hike.

We are seriously checking the meters everyday and you wouldnt believe how much Gas in particular we go through and we only live in a cottage and the radiators are turned off in the rooms we wouldnt use -although I tend not to use the central heating unless H is home.

Its shocking.

[Drisgirl]

*Southern Electric*

[Ethel]

I read my meters once a month and keep a spreadsheet, so I can keep an eye on my usage. It only takes a few minutes but it is interesting to compare with previous years.

Is your cottage well insulated? I use very little hot water so only have the immersion on for half an hour a day during the summer,in the winter the central heating heats it up. I have the heating on for one hour in the morning, and then just put the gas fire on when necessary.
All my laundry is dried in the tumble drier, on cheap rate electricity, and my dishwasher is put on during the night too.

I've just looked at my bill online and I am �80 in credit, so should be okay for the rest of the winter. I'm off to Tenerife for a month soon, so everything except the freezer will be turned off.

The cavity wall insulation made a big difference, I think

[elcee45]

I pay � 61.50 per month for gas/electricity, I am in a 2 bedroom semi on my own.
Like Ethel I take my readings (once a week) and have an on line account so I know exactly from week to week my useage and my balance.

[Drisgirl]

Thanks for that advice -its just slowly crept up on us and now we are never away from the meter.

I do take the cold air off the house for about an hour each night but by and large I only use the the gas fire.

It will be interesting to see the benfefits of those meters being removed -they were useful as I said when i was hard-up but I daresay I became complacent keeping them.

I have had a major wake-up call!!

[cazzz1975]

pre payment meters are a bad lot, I had my meter removed a couple of years ago and I have gone from paying 15-20 per week to 50 pounds a month

[KARL]

When it comes to paying, the only thing that counts is your actual consumption (not your house or who lives in it) and you can see this from actual readings of your meters over a year. It is unlikely your consumption of either type of energy will differ from year to year by more than 10% unless there is a significant change in habits. Take the "Actual" readings at about the same time of year as these are reliable (hoping no meter has been changed in the interim) to arrive at annual consumption. Then work out how much that comes to on your present tariff, divide it by 12 for monthly average, by 52 for weekly average. If you are paying monthly by DD, then the monthly figure is what you should expect to pay. In my experience, the companies have very poor software driven forecasting abilities, one year overbilling, next year underbilling by silly amounts - I have this exercise almost every year and successfully persuade them along the correct lines. They are even unable to work things out for themselves if you point them to the evidence and give them the consumption figures - and simply ask me what I want to pay. I tell them what I have worked out as the monthly figure to come out neither in credit or debt 12 months later (no point in postponing things, better to pay up - but not overpay)..

[Jafi]

I have a pre payment electric meter and put in about �15 - �20 a week, less in the summer. I pay �10.50 a week for my gas. Though i'm expecting that to probably go up next time my meter is read.

[annie0000]

I pay �90 a month for gas and �30 a month for electricity which balanaces out about right over the year. That's for 2 adults and 2 kids - we rarely have baths (we have showers) and very rarely use the tumble drier. We have a new build 4 bed detached with extra public rooms, so I guess it takes extra to heat it - we are also in Scotland, so it is blinking freezing most of the time!!!

[Lakitu]

My DD was �50 per month, but it's gone up to �90 per month.

[Nannyjill]

My combined bill went up from �50 a month to �130 but I'm at home all day using computer tv cd player so I can't really complain.

In a few months they will probably decrease the payments which drives me mad - I thought the idea of paying by direct debit was to spread the cost. Mine seem to change every few months and I'm sure I'm not using any more gas/electric