High electricity bills and high meter reading...

...friend gets a bill of about €200+ every two months. She has a few kids, but says she has nothing on, there is no tumble dryer going full time, the heating is oil, dishwasher is not used, lights are turned off, and all appliances are turned off at the switch, computers are turned off. She has a deep freeze alright, but that shouldn't be too much. She has had the meter read, so it's not an estimate issue.

Is it possible that there can be some drain or some faulty equipment which would drive a reading/bill up?

jhegarty

Unplug everything in house and see if the meter stops spinning.

jaybee747

Yes faulty equipment can run up your bill, my parents received a 600euro bill last month because of a faulty kettle. They unpluged everything and went through each thing 1 by 1, plugged in the kettle and the meter starting spinning like crazy. Would suggest you try unplug everything and go through them 1 by 1.

Davy

Loads of things are possible, most of which are extremely rare but to be exact best to get an engery meter that you can walk around the house, using an item at a time it will tell exactly what its using. If its using more than it should then you will know something is up.

Sometimes people don't realise how much they use, its the same when you ask is everything plugged out, normally something is overlooked.

Bob Z

Its worth querying. I know someone this happened to. The meter was broke and they were getting charged day rates for night and vice versa

Fnergg

Bob Z wrote: »

Its worth querying. I know someone this happened to. The meter was broke and they were getting charged day rates for night and vice versa

That was a problem with the time-switch, not the meter, and of course could only happen to someone with a meter that records day and night usage separately. The OP didn't mention such a meter and so I assume it is an ordinary single-tariff meter that is recording the usage.

The meter is never the problem. Meters are highly accurate instruments with a worldwide reputation for accuracy. Over time (20+ years), the old analogue meters slow down slightly (in the customer's favour) and most utilities have a meter replacement programme for that reason.

Any high usage is invariably down to increased use of electricity, wasteful usage (e.g. leaving an Immersion tank on all the time, using plug-in heaters, etc), or, rarely, a problem with a faulty appliance or with the wiring.

My advice would be to take a meter reading every day around the same time and thus establish what the daily usage is for a week or so. Knowing what has been in use you should be able to determine if the recorded usage is in line with it or not. The appliance calculator on the ESB's website is very useful in that regard: https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/energy_efficiency/appliance_calculator.jsp

If the recorded usage seems to be well above the actual usage it might be worthwhile getting an electrician to check the installation for faulty appliances.

Mu hunch though is that there is nothing amiss and that the bills are just down to actual usage. €200 per bill for a family is €25 per week or €3.50 per day. Seems about right to me. There's always room for savings though and, again, the Energy Efficient House page on the ESB website has some very useful hints.

Regards,

Fnergg

foggy_lad

Conor74 wrote: »

...friend gets a bill of about €200+ every two months. She has a few kids, but says she has nothing on, there is no tumble dryer going full time, the heating is oil, dishwasher is not used, lights are turned off, and all appliances are turned off at the switch, computers are turned off. She has a deep freeze alright, but that shouldn't be too much. She has had the meter read, so it's not an estimate issue.

Is it possible that there can be some drain or some faulty equipment which would drive a reading/bill up?

laundry alone with a few kids can cost upwards of €60 over 2 months and a fridge freezer costs around €20 just three appliances we think may not use much as we take them for granted.

also i know from friends and family's children that they always leave the fridge door open and the tv on in bedroom as well as the living room, lights are always left on and things like hairdryers and straighteners use a lot more than you might think!

even considering that most modern homes are heated by gas instead of electricity €200+ for two months usage still sounds about right for a family with 3-4children as Fnergg said.

Wilde86

Hello. I'm just looking for a bit of feedback and to see if anyone else has experienced the same problem. I live in a studio flat and my esb bills are averaging at €60+ every two months. I use communal washers and dryers. I don't use my immersion. My boyfriend has more or less the same set up as me but his bill only came to under €30 when he last got his bill. When I plugged all of the appliances out the meter was running very slowly and then eventually stopped. I think that there may be a faulty appliance in the room. My landlord is apprehensive about bringing in an electrician for some reason. It's very frustrating. Any ideas? Help!

tommy21

Wilde86 wrote: »

Hello. I'm just looking for a bit of feedback and to see if anyone else has experienced the same problem. I live in a studio flat and my esb bills are averaging at €60+ every two months. I use communal washers and dryers. I don't use my immersion. My boyfriend has more or less the same set up as me but his bill only came to under €30 when he last got his bill. When I plugged all of the appliances out the meter was running very slowly and then eventually stopped. I think that there may be a faulty appliance in the room. My landlord is apprehensive about bringing in an electrician for some reason. It's very frustrating. Any ideas? Help!

Do the times you use the appliances at differ to your boyfriend? Off and on peak have different rates. Also 60 euro is very little to be honest, at least from my standpoint.

dudara

I agree with the above poster, E60 seems OK for two months usage. In fact, your boyfriend's bill of E30 seems suspiciously low - are you sure that he is submitted meter readings, and not just going with estimated bills.

Wilde86

Well I only really use my cooker and tv in the evening and the shower. I was also going on my parents bill from our house at home. They use far more appliances than me throughout the day and their bill comes in at about E130 for two months. My mate in work also lives in a house with her husband who is there all day and they have a washer, dryer, dishwasher etc and her bill only comes in at just above E80 for the two months.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

tommy21 wrote: »

Do the times you use the appliances at differ to your boyfriend? Off and on peak have different rates. Also 60 euro is very little to be honest, at least from my standpoint.

Firstly this is misleading. Most premises do not have day and night meters but are on a flat rate. The time of day does not matter to 80% of people.

I have to agree however that €60 for a studio flat every 2 months is not high.

tommy21

Abril Savory Poison wrote: »

Firstly this is misleading. Most premises do not have day and night meters but are on a flat rate. The time of day does not matter to 80% of people.

I have to agree however that €60 for a studio flat every 2 months is not high.

Back up 'most' please. While flat rates exist it is generally for business. From my experience most residential customers (rightly or wrongly) are on the default day/night rate.

seamus

It's a studio flat - how is it heated?

Wilde86

It's heated by a small oil heater. Not one of those blow heaters that eat up energy and I only turn it on for half an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening at most.

draward

Conor74 wrote: »

...friend gets a bill of about €200+ every two months. She has a few kids, but says she has nothing on, there is no tumble dryer going full time, the heating is oil, dishwasher is not used, lights are turned off, and all appliances are turned off at the switch, computers are turned off. She has a deep freeze alright, but that shouldn't be too much. She has had the meter read, so it's not an estimate issue.

Is it possible that there can be some drain or some faulty equipment which would drive a reading/bill up?

shower are heavy if you have five people having five showers a day or a week

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

tommy21 wrote: »

Back up 'most' please. While flat rates exist it is generally for business. From my experience most residential customers (rightly or wrongly) are on the default day/night rate.

Not at all. Day & Night rate generally only applies where there is Night Storage Heating. General Domestic Accounts are a Flat rate. Fact. There is most certainly no "default" to day/night rate. Indeed businesses have a range of tariffs from flat rate to Max Demand. It's Domestic that are predominately Flat Rate. I can back this up from close contact with someone with 35 years involvement in the electricity business. What do you base your erroneous assertions on?

MOH

tommy21 wrote: »

Back up 'most' please. While flat rates exist it is generally for business. From my experience most residential customers (rightly or wrongly) are on the default day/night rate.

I'm pretty sure if you're on a day/night rate you'll hate a split meter showing the usage for both. If you don't, you're on a flat rate. I've always been on flat rate, most houses I know are

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Wilde86 wrote: »

It's heated by a small oil heater. Not one of those blow heaters that eat up energy and I only turn it on for half an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening at most.

It will add up. Oil filled radiators still have a rating of 1 to 3 KW. At 2KW for and hour and a half each day would be close to €27 every 2 months.

LaLucy

Ok we moved in 29th aug and took meter reading ourselves as landlady never did. It was day 40130 and night was 31375. Two weeks after moving in we got a bill for 14euro. Now today got a bill for almost 250euro! What in the name of.. So I've looked at bill the last estimated reading is 39869 for day and 31292 for night. Now their present reading says 40951 for day and 31680 for night. I have to check my present readings here but is there bill we got right? Before we moved in the place was used as a holiday place with different people in and out all the time so is it just an estimate based on past bills? We can't afford to pay this it's about 3 times the amount we expected it to be. Out last apartment had the same storage heaters and electric cooker and was never over 100 so what is going on here? Please help thanks a lot

gamgsam

don't worry about it, add the bill up yourself and give the esb a shout after and give them your new reading. You can round it down a good bit and they wont notice

I had a shocker of a bill too, but it turned out to be nothing like what they were asking for, its no big deal

Sleipnir

Your bill tells you whether or not your bill is estimated. Have you looked at the back of it? It explains all.

dudara

Is the E250 bill estimated or not?

When you moved in, you should have contacted the ESB with the new readings, and you would only have been billed from that point onwards.

Max Power1

As dudara says, check if the reading is estimated on the bill, if it is you can provide the accurate reading to your supplier (ESB CS in this case) and request a new bill be issued. I think this has to be done within 14 days of bill issue.

Fnergg

You need to contact ESB Customer Supply and discuss with them the start readings used on your account.

I'm surprised you didn't contact them when you moved in. You had the actual meter readings and so it was in your interest to ensure your account was set up from the proper readings. You then got your first (estimated) bill but again it would appear you took no action.

Talk to ESB Customer Supply (1850372372) and they may be able to re-bill you from the actual readings you took in August.

Moral of the story for anyone moving in and out of properties: the onus is on you to take the meter readings and to inform your supplier accordingly. Don't depend on the landlord to do it for you.

Regards,

Fnergg

LaLucy

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice. I checked the meter and their estimates are pretty close. So does that mean we actually used 250 euro worth of electricity in the past 61 days? The flat is always cold and the storage heaters don't seem to work. There is a portable gas heater here too but I'm cautious about the fumes. Aren't gas heaters illegal? Anyway could they have added more to our bill if they think they underestimated past bills before we were here?

dudara

If the estimated reading is close to the actual meter reading, then it means that someone at some stage used that electricity.

If you didn't baseline the account by giving them the meter readings when you moved in, then you are now liable.

For reference, our bill climbs over E150 for a one-bedroomed flat in an old redbrick house in the middle of winter. It's high-ceilinged and impossible to heat, but that's what it costs. In summer, our bill drops to about E60.

jor el

LaLucy wrote: »

It was day 40130 and night was 31375. Two weeks after moving in we got a bill for 14euro. Now today got a bill for almost 250euro! What in the name of.. So I've looked at bill the last estimated reading is 39869 for day and 31292 for night.

Your day reading, when you moved in, is 291 units higher than what the bill thinks, which means someone hasn't paid for those 260 units. These are now added to your bill, and since you didn't correct the reading when you moved in, you're liable for them. That accounts for about €52. The night bill is 83 units off, which is also added to your bill, and adds about another €8.

If the current estimate is higher than the actual reading, then that will also add to the total.

starbelgrade

On top of that advice, I'd also urge you to consider changing electricity suppliers - Bord Gas are definitely cheaper & I believe Eirtrcity are too.

Max Power1

starbelgrade wrote: »

On top of that advice, I'd also urge you to consider changing electricity suppliers - Bord Gas are definitely cheaper & I believe Eirtrcity are too.

+1

IMO no-one who is still with ESB can rightly give out about prices! They are losing 12-13% by staying put!!

Contact Airtricity or Bord Gais (which I would do with the greatest caution) and change supplier. AFAIK if you pay by DD they both give 12% discount.

mcaul

LaLucy wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice. I checked the meter and their estimates are pretty close. So does that mean we actually used 250 euro worth of electricity in the past 61 days? The flat is always cold and the storage heaters don't seem to work. There is a portable gas heater here too but I'm cautious about the fumes. Aren't gas heaters illegal? Anyway could they have added more to our bill if they think they underestimated past bills before we were here?

Check that the timer switches for both meters are correct. - Also check the storage heaters. - No use having heat on when you're not there.

You can also have a free survey done on usage- details...

You don’t much for free these days – but ESB are offering Irish homeowners a free energy efficiency survey (even if you are not an ESB customer).

The survey will assess the energy efficiency of all of your current insulation, heating and lighting systems inside and outside of your home.

Afterwards, the surveyor will supply you with a comprehensive report with specific recommendations on making your home more energy-efficient along with relevant cost estimates.
With proper BER surveys costing as much as €200 – this is a cheaper way of getting energy saving tips and advice if you are not selling your house.

If you are a homeowner and your house was built before 1980, you may well benefit from getting this survey done. You can call ESB Customer Care team at 1850 372 333. ( have your MPRN Number to hand when making the call. The MPRN number is the 11 digit number displayed on the top right side of you electricity bill.)

You can apply online here

You can Apply by post to :

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ESB Energy Services
South City Delivery Office
PO Box 804
Freepost
Togher, Cork