Utility Meter question and

[trevorbayliss]

Does anyone know if old electric meters can be faulty and so produce high bills ? A little more info is needed.

I have a house which i am renovating and have requested that the old meters - normal and economy 10 i think are replaced for just a single digital meter.

The house is being rewired at the moment and the utility company have told me it will be a 3 month wait to have the meters changed as it is a "special" meter change.

I have received my first bill which is from June (8 weeks worth of lecy). The normal meter is billing out at £60 which is very high considering i am using a radio and drill in the day there only - no nighttime use.

The economy 7 or 10 meter has billed me for £53 but is not being used. There are no storage units in the house so i dont understand why this meter is clocking up units.

Does anyone have any knowledge about this issue ?

 

[westie101]

First obvious question, "is it an actual bill based on units used or an estimated bill?"

 

[AndyPRK]

Hot water immersion maybe on ? Automatically at nite

 

[trevorbayliss]

All electrics have been ripped out of this house though, apart from a single socket next to the fuse board. All new cabling is in. We just need to put new board in and fix on the faceplates.

As to the bill. I see the economy 10 is estimated, but the normal meter was read this week and so that is correct.

So i think the economy 10 bill bit is hopefully going to be £0 when i check on tues, but i still dont understand why i am paying £60 for 8 weeks worth of lecy. That would be £7.50 in a prepayment meter which i am used to on renovation jobs and i normally spend £1.50 including the meter charge of £1.25

 

[JohnW2]

As to the bill. I see the economy 10 is estimated, but the normal meter was read this week and so that is correct. ...
So i think the economy 10 bill bit is hopefully going to be £0 when i check on tues, but i still dont understand why i am paying £60 for 8 weeks worth of lecy.

I suppose the next 'obvious question' is whether there were actual (and correct!) readings taken 8 weeks ago, which I assume is when you became responsible for the electricity?

Kind Regards, John

 

[trevorbayliss]

Yes the readings taken when i got the keys were correct.

 

[JohnW2]

Yes the readings taken when i got the keys were correct.

Fair enough. I obviously don't know how much (if any) of the £60 represents a 'standing charge', but, whatever, if it really is true that you have only used 'a radio and a drill' that charge would obviously be ridiculous for 8 weeks.

Kind Regards, John

 

[westie101]

Seems very odd that only one meter was read (unless it's a dual rate)

 

[JohnW2]

Seems very odd that only one meter was read (unless it's a dual rate)

Extremely odd - almost to the point of being difficult to believe!

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnD]

are you going to tell us how many kWh you have been charged for?

 

[JohnW2]

are you going to tell us how many kWh you have been charged for?

Very good question. Whilst awaiting the answer, we can guesstimate. If the OP has a dual tariff (E10), he's probably paying around 16p or so per kWh for 'peak' electricity. Hence if one ignores any standing charges, his £60 equates to about 360 kWh - about 6.4 kWh per day over 8 weeks (or about 9 kWh if one considers 5-day weeks). As I said, that would essentially be unattainable with just 'a radio and a drill', if that's really all the load there has been.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Gutterball]

time to look for a feed to the neighbours house?

 

[JohnD]

if he really has a peak and an off-peak tariff, I think there will be two standing charges (but am not familiar with it)

EDIT

nope, just 1 standing charge probably.

the sample I looked up says

Electricity Economy 7 rates
Daily Standing charge 18.90p per day
Day rate 19.20p per kWh
Night rate 6.99p per kWh

So 8 weeks (56 days) would have (56 x 18.9p) = £10.584 x 1.05 = £11.11 standing charge in my example

 

[JohnW2]

if he really has a peak and an off-peak tariff, I think there will be two standing charges (but am not familiar with it)

My E7 supply has only a single standing charge.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Spark123]

No kettle?
Take a reading, switch all power off overnight and then the next day take a reading and compare the two.