Power companies.

[emmerson]

Totally non-caravan, but something that I've had a problem with for years. (no, not that one!).
We live in a tiny two bedroom cottage in the bottom of a Welsh valley.We do not have a TV, dish washer, tumble dryer, nor many other elecrical devices deemed neccesary for modern living.Our heating and hot water is by gas, fired by elecricity. The thermostat is kept around 19/20 degrees, and if required the central heating is supplemented by an open fire or a wood burning stove. In other words we live very simply, and as regular readers will know, we are away from home for around five to six months every year. Can someone therefore please explain to me why we've yet again had a letter from our power company saying that they need to increase our direct debit, as we are using above average power?
Last time this happened, I called in an electrician, at my expense and had the house and all its appliances checked. All was OK, with the possibilty that our ten-year old freezer may have been consuming slightly more than a new one would. We plan to replace this freezer this year.We also requested a new meter, in case the original was faulty. This was changed, reluctantly, as they (a power company: I can't remember which one.) said that the meter was OK.
Our monthly payment is higher than a neighbour who has three children, and all the equipment that they appear to need these days.
Any suggestions as to what to do next?

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

It sounds like sombody else is 'sharing' your meter. Is your cottage standalone or joined to someone else? If joined to someone else have you checked in your loft to see if there is an extension lead going to the neighbours? As you are away quite a bit there is ample chance for a bit of rewiring to occur.
Pull your mains fuse out and see if there are complaints from next door.

 

[Surfer]

Totally non-caravan, but something that I've had a problem with for years. (no, not that one!).
We live in a tiny two bedroom cottage in the bottom of a Welsh valley.We do not have a TV, dish washer, tumble dryer, nor many other elecrical devices deemed neccesary for modern living.Our heating and hot water is by gas, fired by elecricity. The thermostat is kept around 19/20 degrees, and if required the central heating is supplemented by an open fire or a wood burning stove. In other words we live very simply, and as regular readers will know, we are away from home for around five to six months every year. Can someone therefore please explain to me why we've yet again had a letter from our power company saying that they need to increase our direct debit, as we are using above average power?
Last time this happened, I called in an electrician, at my expense and had the house and all its appliances checked. All was OK, with the possibilty that our ten-year old freezer may have been consuming slightly more than a new one would. We plan to replace this freezer this year.We also requested a new meter, in case the original was faulty. This was changed, reluctantly, as they (a power company: I can't remember which one.) said that the meter was OK.
Our monthly payment is higher than a neighbour who has three children, and all the equipment that they appear to need these days.
Any suggestions as to what to do next?

You don't actually mention if you are having isues with the gas or electric supply or both. However I am assuming your issue is with electric consumption. Is your supplier MANW?
Firstly check the meter serial numbers they have on the bill with the actual meter serial number on the metering itself and make sure they correspond. Take a reading at a specific time i.e. 0900 hours and then again the next day. Do this for several days to work out the average daily consumption of electric and gas. Work out the cost per day and then times it by 30 to get an average monthly cost. Bear in mind that in winter consumption increases.
We are on electric only and heating is electric. Our average bill is £85 per month for 2 of us in a similar home. BTW changing the freezer will not normally make a huge difference in your bill. There is the possibilty that the original meter was an analogue meter and now it is a digital meter. The calculations they are doing using current readings may still relate to the analogue meter which would then work out a lot more.

PS I spent many years working in the electric utility sector so hopefully I can advise you correctly.

 

[Mel]

Our energy supplier seems to pluck figures out of thin air when it comes to forecasting the next set of direct debit payments. Generally OH rings them up and says, "how have you come to this figure when the current payments are covering the bil; in fact we are in credit" They then immediatly revise the forecast monthly direct debit downwards. It is worth phoning them and asking them to explain it; our experience is that they can't!
mel

 

[emmerson]

Thanks for the replies, folks. WC, I've often thought that somone else is plugged in too!.Surfer, I should have said that it is both gas and electric that we have from the same company, but when Herself spoke to them about the proposed increase, they said that it is the electricity consumption whioch is causing the increase. The girl we spoke to even asked if we had under-floor heating, or a heated pool! I'm concerned about the fact that we get this problem now when we are away for half the year, what the hell is it going to be like in a couple of years time when we can no longer caravan as much as we do now? I think I'll just have to sell my body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Surfer]

Thanks for the replies, folks. WC, I've often thought that somone else is plugged in too!.Surfer, I should have said that it is both gas and electric that we have from the same company, but when Herself spoke to them about the proposed increase, they said that it is the electricity consumption whioch is causing the increase. The girl we spoke to even asked if we had under-floor heating, or a heated pool! I'm concerned about the fact that we get this problem now when we are away for half the year, what the hell is it going to be like in a couple of years time when we can no longer caravan as much as we do now? I think I'll just have to sell my body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Start doing the electric readings every day for a week at the same time. You should only be using about 10 units per day at this time of the year.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Emmerson,

You obviously need to check your actual consumption as others have suggested. That will then determine if the actual power usage the company estimates is correct or not.
However could I suggest an alternative strategy. It is of course a matter of personal preference, and there could be other considerations such as fixed price offers, but I prefer to have quarterly bills and pay them off. That way you are only paying for what you actually use.
Now that does mean that you have variable bills which will rise during cooler/darker months, which can compromise budgeting, but take a leaf out of the suppliers book, pay the estimated monthly amounts into a separate bank/building society savings account rather than to the supplier. Then as the quarterly bills come in, pay them off from the separate account. That leaves any excess available to you. Equally if there is a shortfall it will only be a small amount. Also you wont be paying for the companies credit scheme, and you may actually gain some interest from the account.

 

[emmerson]

Hello Emmerson,

You obviously need to check your actual consumption as others have suggested. That will then determine if the actual power usage the company estimates is correct or not.
However could I suggest an alternative strategy. It is of course a matter of personal preference, and there could be other considerations such as fixed price offers, but I prefer to have quarterly bills and pay them off. That way you are only paying for what you actually use.
Now that does mean that you have variable bills which will rise during cooler/darker months, which can compromise budgeting, but take a leaf out of the suppliers book, pay the estimated monthly amounts into a separate bank/building society savings account rather than to the supplier. Then as the quarterly bills come in, pay them off from the separate account. That leaves any excess available to you. Equally if there is a shortfall it will only be a small amount. Also you wont be paying for the companies credit scheme, and you may actually gain some interest from the account.

we are looking at various options, and quarterly is one of them. We switched to this scheme about twenty years ago. It was then £48 per month, which was a big saving. However it's now up to £130 per month, but that is not the main concern, as everything has gone up in the last twenty years. (except my income!) No, I'm bothered about this "above average consumption".
We're away again next week for ten days (again!), and home for three weeks after that, so I'll do the recordings then.

 

[Sproket]

Before you set off next week ....
Take a photo of each meter reading preferably with time & date stamp on the photo

That way you will be able to see at a glance if anything is wrong when you get back.....

 

[DeliDave_]

Have you thought of getting an energy monitor to see when and what is using power.My son has one and nearly cries when the immersion heater is on.This one is recomended by the Money Saving expert site http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/free-cheap-energy-monitors#cheapest

 

[joeby]

your bills keep rising to pay for wind farms , plus they like to over estimate your payments so there is millions laying in there accounts earning interest ,
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies. He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology.
Born12 February 1946
Residence: Australia
Nationality: Australian
Fields: Earth Science, Geology, Mining Engineering
Institutions: University of New England,University of Newcastle,University of Melbourne,University of Adelaide
Alma mater: University of New South Wales,Macquarie University
Thesis: The pipe deposits of tungsten-molybdenum-bismuth in eastern Australia (1976)
Notable awards: Eureka Prize (1995, 2002),Centenary Medal (2003), Clarke Medal (2004)

DISCUSSION:

Where Does Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?

Professor Ian Plimer explains...

If you've read his book you will agree, this is a good summary.

PLIMER:
"Okay, here's the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland . Since
its first spewing of volcanic ash it has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED
EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2
emissions on our planet - all of you.

Of
course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to
suppress - it’s that vital chemical compound that every plant requires
to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all
animal life.

I
know....it's very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon
emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience
and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags,
sitting up till midnight to finish your kids "The Green Revolution"
science project, throwing out all of
your
non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper,
putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and
speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad...

Nearly
getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent
light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs....well, all of those things you
have done have all been rendered totally useless in just four days...

The
volcanic ash emitted into the Earth's atmosphere in just four days -
yes, FOUR DAYS - by that volcano in Iceland has totally erased every
single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon dioxide.

And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time - EVERY DAY.

I
don't really want to rain on your parade too much, but I should mention
that when the volcano Mt Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991,
it spewed out more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire
human race had emitted in all its years on earth.

Yes, folks, Mt Pinatubo was active for over one year -- think about it.

Of
course, I shouldn't spoil this 'touchy-feely tree-hugging' moment being
encouraged and mention the effect of solar and cosmic activity and the
well-recognized 800-year global heating and cooling cycle, which
keeps happening despite our completely insignificant efforts to affect climate change.

And
I do wish I had a silver lining to this volcanic ash cloud, but the
fact of the matter is that the bush fire season across the western USA
and Australia this year alone will negate your efforts to reduce carbon
in our world for the next two to three years.

And it happens every year.

Just
remember that the Australian government just tried to impose a whopping
carbon tax on you, on the basis of the bogus 'human-caused' climate
change scenario.

Hey, isn’t it interesting how they don’t mention 'Global Warming' anymore but just 'Climate Change' -- do you know why?

It’s
because the planet has COOLED by 0.7 degrees in the past century and
these global warming bull artists got caught with their pants down.

And
just keep in mind that you might yet have an Emissions Trading Scheme -
that whopping new tax - imposed on you that will achieve absolutely
nothing except make you poorer.

It won’t stop any volcanoes from erupting, that’s for sure.

But, hey, relax......give the world a hug and have a nice day!"

 

[Mel]

Prof, we are looking at various options, and quarterly is one of them. We switched to this scheme about twenty years ago. It was then £48 per month, which was a big saving. However it's now up to £130 per month, but that is not the main concern, as everything has gone up in the last twenty years. (except my income!) No, I'm bothered about this "above average consumption".
We're away again next week for ten days (again!), and home for three weeks after that, so I'll do the recordings then.

£130 a month!

There must be something wrong somewhere. I live in a 5 bedroomed house. OK there are only me, OH and foster son at home now; but the lad has every electronic gadget known to man constantly plugged in. The washer and dishwasher are always on and I must confess that with working full time I tumble dry first and hang the washing out second.
Our direct debit is £115 a month. You are being robbed emmerson.
mel

 

[Gafferbill]

......and my Gas and Electric bill is £63/month....3 bedroomed detached house.... 2 at home and away 4-5 months a year.

There is something wrong Emmerson.

 

[Surfer]

A realistic post by Joeby and agreeing with every thing I have been arguing about for years! It has been a BIG con from day one. Pity Plimer is another bullsh*tting Aussie!

 

[HenryB1]

emmerson. Buy an Owl. Not the harry Potter type, but the OWL electric consumption meter that can monitor and record your electric usage. They cost around £25 to £30 from Amazon or other sellers depending on model. They have a sender unit that clips around your supply cable near your meter and a monitor that you programme with unit cost, that then shows current usage and total used for your electricity. We are an all electric bungalow and I have used one for a number of years. You can see what is using your electricity by turning off and on various appliances and have a running account of usage and cost. We had familly stay one winter and next summer I noticed OWL showing a consumption of over 3KW when I thought we should be only using power for standby items and fridge. Did a sweep of the house to find that a fan heater had been left connected in a bedroom and had cut in as temperature had dropped. The meter can also record Economy 7 usage if you use this as we do for storage heaters, and water heating. The OWL will also tell you what has been used while you have been away.

 

[joeby]

http://rogerhelmermep.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/the-great-energy-swindle-tax-payers-alliance-hits-the-target-again/ , click on the link to read about the energy swindle , brought about by the EU , who make over 70 % of our laws , we have lost control of our own destiny

 

[emmitdb]

Greetings Emmerson,

Sorry I'm a bit late on this one but, having read every message on this thread, I'm amazed that no one on here has mentioned the obvious.
Simply put, you are paying too much for your Electricity!!!

Could I suggest that you arm yourself with your last two years worth of electricity and gas consumption. I say two years because by doing that YOU will be able to see what the average (if there is such a thing) consumption is at Chez Emmerson.

You then go onto Uswitch.com and put in the average of twelve months consumption. I note that you have both Gas and Electricity. The Leccy is easy because every unit is a Kw. The gas is a little harder because the meter is in Cubic Metres but if you make a Google search along the lines of "converting Cubic metres of gas to Kw's" you will find a site that will give you your accurate gas usage in Kw's
After filling in the boxes Uswitch will provide you with a list of Utility Suppliers that are cheaper, (and dearer if there are any) than your present supplier. If you find that you can save money, and I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a supplier out there that couldn't save you Hundreds of £'s per year then it's simply a matter of clicking through a couple of boxes and USwitch will organise everything. I started the process last week and my proposed switch day is October 16th when I supply my meter readings for the changeover.
Look at it this way. I'm a Yorkshireman who had, (God bless her soul) a Scottish mother. In other words, I've had all the generosity in me squeezed out. EVERY YEAR I do what I've just described. At the moment I'm going through the above process and in doing so I hope to save £50plus a year. Remember I do that EVERY YEAR. If you haven't done it for several years, if at all, then I've no doubt your supplier is taking you to the cleaners.
I forgot to add that just by changing via USwitch they (USwitch) are going to pay me £20 so I'm about £70 up on my present supplier who is crying into his hankie right now. (I know this because I've already had them ring me up twice to change my mind and incidently, made overtures of the financial kind to do so). I'm remembering the last sentence for future years.

Just to finish off I will add that I have no connection with uswitch, (other supply assisters are available) but I hate waste, whether it be from my pocket or anybody else who is being robbed blind by any supplier of any service.

If you read this and I know you are a regular contributor on this forum and you have a look at what you find, let us know on here. I'd be interested to know the outcome.

Regards

 

[emmerson]

Just before we went away, we had a call from British Gas, offering us a Smart meter for our electricity. BG say that our bill is made up of £72 electric and £58 gas, which is "ridiculous" (their word). This change over takes place in about three weeks time, so watch this space.
Btw, included in the heap of post we came back to is a letter from our current (sorry!) supplier, Eon, offering us £135 discount next year if we stay with them!
( We have a freind who now has a Smart meter in her hairdressing shop. Her electricity bill is now £23 per month)

 

[Surfer]

Just before we went away, we had a call from British Gas, offering us a Smart meter for our electricity. BG say that our bill is made up of £72 electric and £58 gas, which is "ridiculous" (their word). This change over takes place in about three weeks time, so watch this space.
Btw, included in the heap of post we came back to is a letter from our current (sorry!) supplier, Eon, offering us £135 discount next year if we stay with them!
( We have a freind who now has a Smart meter in her hairdressing shop. Her electricity bill is now £23 per month)

Haven't BGAS recently increased their price by over 8%? If you are retired you should get the same discount from all of the Big Six so make sure that BGAS also offer it. Eon could have also installed a SMART meter but they don't like doing it as they cannot hold millions of pounds for over payment and earn massive amounts of interest. Think about it, one million customers who are all in credit by £45 and Eon have a lot more than 1 million customers. That is a lot of interest!

 

[emmitdb]

Hi Again,

Talking of interest, I have a theory (being a cynical old sod) that they also have it so that certain customers, instead of overpaying are underpaying so that they, (the customers) feel disinclined to change.
After all, when changing the customer has to clear his or her sheet of debt and the poorer customers are not in a position to do this. The Utility suppliers up the price and effectively lock in the customer for another round

 

[Surfer]

Hi Again,

Talking of interest, I have a theory (being a cynical old sod) that they also have it so that certain customers, instead of overpaying are underpaying so that they, (the customers) feel disinclined to change.
After all, when changing the customer has to clear his or her sheet of debt and the poorer customers are not in a position to do this. The Utility suppliers up the price and effectively lock in the customer for another round

The above is quite correct!

 

[Dustydog]

I have no wish top breach our Forum rules and thus suggest all you watch The Energy and Climate Change Committee interviewing four senior executives from our power companies.This is taking place this afternoon in Westminster.
I can only say Grrrrrrrr, do I look like I came down the river without a paddle

 

[ProfJohnL]

I can only say Grrrrrrrr, do I look like I came down the river without a paddle

Judging by your wet shinny coat and the muddy footpring on the kitchen floor - yes