[SaraR]

Hi I wonder if anyone has any ideas why our electricity bill is so high. We ,live in a 1 bedroom house which has ceiling heating and is all electric. We only have the heating on low , we turn it up to medium once a week to dry our clothes. My husband works from home so has a couple of computer screens going. I have the washing machine going 2 to 3 times a week. I put the oven on probably 3 t0 4 times a week for no longer than an hour and on the other days I have the hob on in the evening for around half an hour. We watch tv in the evening and it can be on in the daytime as well. We sit with one lamp on in the evening. We pay £131.00 a month and we are in debt by £192.00. We had a bill for £152.00 for a period of 26 days. I am so concerned as these high bills are before the increase in April and everyone I speak to says they don’t pay as,icj and they are in bigger homes. Any advice would be wonderful. Thank you.

[theunknowntech]

Hi there @SaraR.

I think I can help with this, but I'll need to sleep on it so I can think about the possible culprits. I have a few theories already but I need time to go through the options I can recommend.

I'll get back to you within 24 hours or so, hopefully.

[SaraR]

@theunknowntech Thank you very much .

[theunknowntech]

No worries. I've had a night to sleep on this now and I'm ready to try my first diagnosis. Creep Tests are one of the early stage diagnostics for meter faults and are pretty reliable. If you'd rather not do this though, please let me know and I'll skip this test. I don't like to copy/paste, but it's a lot to type out otherwise (and I've finally fixed that prepayment reference!). Here's what to do.

Before you get started, I strongly recommend only doing this test during daylight hours for your own safety and you may want to have a torch handy just in case. Please also make sure to safely shut down and turn off any sensitive electronics and gadgets like your computers, TVs, games consoles, Wi-Fi Router, Smart Home gadgets and anything else that might be affected by having the power suddenly go off. You can leave the fridge/freezer on though and keeping a couple of lights on is helpful so that you know when you're done.

If you're happy to go ahead, here's what to do. These steps might sound a bit tricky as I generally copy/paste them directly from what Blastoise186 gave me, but they should work.

1. Locate the electric meter and fuse box/consumer unit
2. Take a quick meter reading and note it down - you'll need it later
3. If you're on Prepayment, please make sure you've got some credit and you're not in Emergency Credit - otherwise it can disrupt the test. If you don't have much left, now is a good time to top-up!
4. Turn off the power to the entire house using your consumer unit - it'll only be for a few minutes so don't worry about being off-supply for a long time
5. Observe your electric meter for about five minutes. the red metrology LED (or the spinning disc in older meters) should stop completely and the meter should not clock any usage after the first 30 seconds or so
6. After five minutes, take another meter reading and note it down
7. Turn the power back on
8. Compare the two readings you took at the start and finish of the test

If the meter is not faulty, the two readings should be about the same. However, if they're massively different and/or you noticed the metrology LED (or spinning disc) continue to run and/or the meter was still clocking usage despite the power being off, then there's almost certainly a fault with the meter itself. In this case, you'll want to request a Meter Accuracy Test. It'll cost around £160 upfront and you'll get this back if the meter is confirmed to be faulty, as well as having the meter replaced and a refund issued for the lost credit once E.On has managed to figure out how much it's thrown into a black hole. Please bear in mind that the test fee is not refunded if the meter is found to be working correctly. With that being said, if it failed the Creep Test then that's already a very good sign that the meter probably is faulty - the MAT is still required to make it official but doing the Creep Test first might save you wasting £160.

If you could let me know the results of this test as well, I can help to go through them with you.

[SHAMUS]

@SaraR im having the same problem but with Gas!?,mine has Tripled this month for some unknown reason,its as though the price cap has been charged even before its due to start! 🤔 .
Things are going to be impossible for Many people!?,while at the same time the energy companies brag about there profits,its madness!🙄

[SaraR]

@SHAMUS Hi , I know it’s all such a worry we can barely afford to pay now let alone when the prices go up. I am just hoping something is wrong with the meter. Hope you get yours sorted.

[SaraR]

Thank you for taking the time to try and help , we will try what you suggested at the weekend and let you know.

[SaraR]

Hi do you know what the average cost is for a 1 bedroom all electric house per month?

[theunknowntech]

No worries.

I'm afraid I can't run that kind of calculation as it varies based on too many factors. I'm with another supplier and pay £40 a month myself for my one bed flat, but I'm on a fixed rate deal that I locked in just before prices started shooting up.

[AndrewC]

Can I ask about “only having the heating on low”? Do you mean you actually have heating switched on 24/7 ? That’s quite surprising, if true. Admittedly I was brought up in a house with no central heating, and its personal, but I think you shouldn’t be heating the house at all when you are all in bed, and really not most days not between about 9 and 6 when you are moving around. You will get used to it in a couple of weeks, honest. If you have an elderly relative stationary in a chair, thats a different matter. An hour of heating to get you out of bed in the morning and then a couple of hours for relaxation in the evening is totally enough, really? £130/month is £4 a day is 20 kW/h. The only thing you list capable of getting that high is the heating. I haven’t run heating through the night ever, not with three kids, not now.