Estimated Electricity/Gas/Energy Bills Due To Bad Weather

Fnergg

Due to the Arctic like conditions of the past few weeks most of us have been using far more electricity than normal.

The weather has also however impacted on the ability of many meter readers to visit premises. The result will be far more estimated bills than usual for this time of year.

My advice is to check your next bill and if it is estimated contact your supplier with your reading and request an amended bill. Otherwise, you will get a very nasty surprise in a few months time when your meter is eventually read as you will be billed for a very large accumulated usage.

Regards,

Fnergg

dudara

Very helpful post there Fnergg.

dudara

Edit: thread added as sticky and I've also added Gas to title following jor_el's suggestion

jor el

Good idea. It could also go the other way. The ESB knows that people are using more, so they may increase their estimates, which means your next bill could be over the amount you actually used. Compare to the actual reading, and correct the ESB if there is a significant difference.

Same advice applies to gas too.

Welease

Good advice.. One question though...

I lived in the UK for years and years, and with all our estimated bills, we rang the supplier, they amended the records and send out the new bill within a week... Great

Since moving back to Ireland, we were on ESB and the moved across to Bord Gais. Our first bill couple of bills were low estimates, and for precisely the reasons you mentioned above I contacted them with the correct meter reading (which upped the bill from estimated 200 Euro to 350 Euro). However, they stated they could not, and would not send out an amended bill, i would just have to pay this bill and then the next bill would contain the correct reading. In essence, they wouldn't allow me to rectify the mistake as per your suggestions..

Do only certain companies offer this service.. Seems daft not to..

jor el

Could it be related to you just moving into the house? I've corrected readings on both ESB and gas bills here, without any problem. They just re-issue the bill about a week later.

Welease

jor el wrote: »

Could it be related to you just moving into the house? I've corrected readings on both ESB and gas bills here, without any problem. They just re-issue the bill about a week later.

I was just thinking the same... maybe it was the move across to Bord Gais that caused the issue.. they wont let us do any of the usual payment scheme's for a year (afaik)..
Unfortunately Bord Gais were not very helpful, we just got the "No".. and "Cannot Do That" lines rather than an explanation..

Just FYI for those who may have recently moved across (if indeed that is the problem)

Edit - Just to clarify, we were in the house for about 18 months.. so it wasn't that I assume, but we had just just moved across from ESB to BG..

Fnergg

Welease wrote: »

Good advice.. One question though...



Since moving back to Ireland, we were on ESB and the moved across to Bord Gais. Our first bill couple of bills were low estimates, and for precisely the reasons you mentioned above I contacted them with the correct meter reading (which upped the bill from estimated 200 Euro to 350 Euro). However, they stated they could not, and would not send out an amended bill, i would just have to pay this bill and then the next bill would contain the correct reading. In essence, they wouldn't allow me to rectify the mistake as per your suggestions..

Do only certain companies offer this service.. Seems daft not to..

I'm very surprised at Bord Gais' response. As you say, it seems daft not to provide the service: it gives the customer an accurate bill and avoids possible payment problems that can result when an accumulated usage bill issues months later.

ESB Customer Supply certainly provides the amended bill facility. I'm not sure about Airtricity.

Regards,

Fnergg

Mucria

Hi there, talking about nast y bills...does anyone know what is the average electricity bill for a 1 bedroom appartment ?(no gas, all electricity, for heating, water etc) Wanna compare my bills with somone in a similar situation...my bills are an average of 90€ during spring,summer, fall and 150-180 in winter...

dudara

We average €60-80 during summer months. Just paid bill of €135 for Nov-Dec. I suspect that it's going to be much higher next time though as we have heating on nearly constantly.

Fnergg

Mucria wrote: »

Hi there, talking about nast y bills...does anyone know what is the average electricity bill for a 1 bedroom appartment ?(no gas, all electricity, for heating, water etc) Wanna compare my bills with somone in a similar situation...my bills are an average of 90€ during spring,summer, fall and 150-180 in winter...

It all depends on how much electricity you use...which is of course a statement of the bleeding obvious. The point though is that it is not uncommon for people with identical houses/apartments and identical appliances to have widely different bills due, obviously, to the different ways they use electricity.

One might be very careful of their usage and be conscientious in relation to energy conservation - turning off lights when not in use, using the heating for the bare minimum times, only using the washing machine/dryer for full loads, switching on the water for very short periods, etc., etc., - and another might be less concerned about their consumption.

It's all down to how you use electricity and the more careful you are the lower your bills will be. There is little point therefore comparing your bills with your neighbour as you almost certainly will be using electricity in different ways.

Regards,

Fnergg

ttm

Fnergg wrote: »

......

ESB Customer Supply certainly provides the amended bill facility. I'm not sure about Airtricity.

Regards,

Fnergg

True however we find it rarely works first time you call. Its an automated call system and because our estimated guestimated bills are always miles less than are actual useage we call them with a real reading for every single bill and almost every time have to call a second time a week or so later when no ammended bill arrives.

So yes ESB provides an amended bill facility but don't rely on it and if you don't get an amended bill keep trying.

Shifty

Its worth remembering you can also submit an adjusted reading for your ESB bill online also.

http://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/your_account/adjust_a_reading.jsp#form

According to Bord Gais Electricity Payment Code of Practice, Meter reading
ESB Networks provide the meter reading services for all customers regardless of their supplier. How often the meter is read by ESB Networks depends on individual circumstances.

If you are a residential or small to medium business customer, ESB Networks’ meter readers call on you four times a year to ensure they record your electricity usage accurately. When your meter is not read, usage is estimated based on previous consumption. Any necessary adjustment is made
when the next reading is obtained.

However, you can submit a meter reading online to ESB Networks if:

1. You have received an estimated bill that is significantly out of line
with the actual reading.

2. Or if an ESB Networks’ meter reader missed you today and left you a card. If you submit a meter reading within 24 hours of receiving this card you can avoid getting an estimated bill.

We recommend that you check how much electricity you are using by
reading your meters regularly and providing meter readings to ESB Networks online or call 1850 33 33 77. When entering meter readings on-line you must enter the readings and meter numbers for all the meters you have,

I think this is the one:
http://www.esb.ie/esbnetworks/domestic_customers/metering/submit_meter_reading.jsp

http://www.bordgaisenergy.ie/docs/publications/G22854%20BGE%20COP%20Electricity%20Bill%20Eng%20230209%20-%20Final.pdf


Airtricity: Information on how to submit an amended meter reading can be found here.

http://www.airtricity.com/meter-reads/



For Bord Gais Gas Bills information for online and telephone amendments to your bill here

http://www.bordgais.ie/networks/index.jsp?1nID=102&2nID=115&3nID=348&pID=348&nID=197


Flogas: Information here on how to amend your estimated bills

http://www.flogasnaturalgas.ie/business_howdoi.php?anchor=hdi05

foggy_lad

Welease wrote: »

Good advice.. One question though...

I lived in the UK for years and years, and with all our estimated bills, we rang the supplier, they amended the records and send out the new bill within a week... Great

Since moving back to Ireland, we were on ESB and the moved across to Bord Gais. Our first bill couple of bills were low estimates, and for precisely the reasons you mentioned above I contacted them with the correct meter reading (which upped the bill from estimated 200 Euro to 350 Euro). However, they stated they could not, and would not send out an amended bill, i would just have to pay this bill and then the next bill would contain the correct reading. In essence, they wouldn't allow me to rectify the mistake as per your suggestions..

Do only certain companies offer this service.. Seems daft not to..

i was told by the esb before that they could under no circumstances issue an amended bill so i asked to speak with a supervisor and the line went dead so i rang back asked to be put through to their complaints department and someone took all the details and a brand new bill(not an amended one) was issued. like so many other companies the call centre staff will do nothing that makes work for themselves.

Davy

Shifty wrote: »

2. Or if an ESB Networks’ meter reader missed you today and left you a card. If you submit a meter reading within 24 hours of receiving this card you can avoid getting an estimated bill.

This is for the first bill, but if you do get an estimated bill, and their is a big difference, i think you have 7 days time frame in which they will issue an amended bill.

From the day the bill issues, it must be paid 14 days from then, so their is time to get a new one sent out.

Ive said it before, the handy isnt thing is using the account online. Submit a reading every 61 days and you wont have any estimates.

Fnergg

foggy_lad wrote: »

...i was told by the esb before that they could under no circumstances issue an amended bill .....

I'm sorry, but that is totally incorrect. The issue of amended bills is a core activity of ESB Customer Supply. It is one of the options (under Bill Enquiry) on their suite of services on their telephone menu (1850372372).

Maybe you are confusing them with Bord Gais? I've heard they are very reluctant to send out amended bills and will insist on full payment of the estimate.

Regards,

Fnergg

foggy_lad

Fnergg wrote: »

I'm sorry, but that is totally incorrect. The issue of amended bills is a core activity of ESB Customer Supply. It is one of the options (under Bill Enquiry) on their suite of services on their telephone menu (1850372372).

Maybe you are confusing them with Bord Gais? I've heard they are very reluctant to send out amended bills and will insist on full payment of the estimate.

Regards,

Fnergg

this happened twice with me on the firsty occasion i was told it was not possible then after i rang back i was sent a brqand new(not amended) bill and on the next occasion i had a similar experience, firstly asked for an amended bill and was told no it was not possible then after trying another person it was sent out but the previous bill amount was shown as being in arrears which it was not so i had to get onto them again and insist on them sending a brand new bill using the correct reading instead of their ridiculously low estimate.

now what is incorrect about this? only thing not right is the way the ESB treat their customers when there are any kind of issues.

foggy_lad

Davy wrote: »

This is for the first bill, but if you do get an estimated bill, and their is a big difference, i think you have 7 days time frame in which they will issue an amended bill.

From the day the bill issues, it must be paid 14 days from then, so their is time to get a new one sent out.

Ive said it before, the handy isnt thing is using the account online. Submit a reading every 61 days and you wont have any estimates.

what if your meter is not read for almost two years and there is no history to accurately estimate from due to it being a new account?

jor el

Fnergg wrote: »

Maybe you are confusing them with Bord Gais? I've heard they are very reluctant to send out amended bills and will insist on full payment of the estimate.

Indeed. I just got my gas bill and it's 430 units under actual. This translates to about €230 on the bill. I submitted an accurate reading there now, and the unhelpful robot woman says the change will be reflected at my next scheduled bill. What's the point in that? They'll be re-reading for the next bill anyway.

Submitting a reading to Bord Gais is a complete waste of time.

For anyone reading their own meter, I'd suggest you over pay this bill by the amount that should be charged, then you won't get a big surprise in March when they add your Winter gas usage on.

ttm

jor el wrote: »

For anyone reading their own meter, I'd suggest you over pay this bill by the amount that should be charged, then you won't get a big surprise in March when they add your Winter gas usage on.

Good advice, but I suspect most people just look at the bill and say thats not much and pay it with no idea the next time the meter gets read they'll be hit with a big bill.

foggy_lad wrote: »

what if your meter is not read for almost two years and there is no history to accurately estimate from due to it being a new account?

Get real :pac: expecting an estimated utility bill to have any resemblance to actual usage is just plain stupid. Just why would they bother to get it right? If they under estimate they'll get their money next time if they over estimate comsumers complain, so the best option is to under estimate.

Davy

foggy_lad wrote: »

what if your meter is not read for almost two years and there is no history to accurately estimate from due to it being a new account?

Sorry i dont get what your point is?

Max Power1

Fnergg wrote: »

I'm very surprised at Bord Gais' response. As you say, it seems daft not to provide the service: it gives the customer an accurate bill and avoids possible payment problems that can result when an accumulated usage bill issues months later.

ESB Customer Supply certainly provides the amended bill facility. I'm not sure about Airtricity.

Regards,

Fnergg

BGS normally only provide a corrected bill if the new reading is within 14 days of bill issue

Fnergg

ttm wrote: »

...Get real :pac: expecting an estimated utility bill to have any resemblance to actual usage is just plain stupid. Just why would they bother to get it right? If they under estimate they'll get their money next time if they over estimate comsumers complain, so the best option is to under estimate.

Estimated electricty readings are determined by ESB Networks who provide the actual and estimated readings to all suppliers - ESB Customer Supply, Bord Gais Supply, Airtricity, etc.

ESB Networks have no interest in the monetary aspect of the readings- that is purely a matter for the suppliers.

Estimated readings are based on previous usage. They are reasonably accurate where there are regular actual readings and consistent usage. However, if it is not possible to obtain actual readings on a regular basis then the estimates will invariably be out of synch with the actual readings.

That is why it is very important to check your bills and if the estimated reading is out of line with the reading on the meter contact your supplier with your own reading and request a new bill.

Regards,

Fnergg

foggy_lad

Davy wrote: »

Sorry i dont get what your point is?

if the ESB or bord gais have not read your meter in nearly two years there is no way their history sheets can give an accurate or near accurate estimated reading!

kayla1989

im with flo gas and my last bill cost me €547 for 2 months which is CRAZY i did have the heating on most of the time over the winter but wasnt expecting that!!has any1 else gotn a bill like that?

rameire

have you checked your meter reading,
do you know what your meter reading was last time and does it match up with the bill.

and most peoples gas bills are quite high due to the very low temps we have had in the last 2 months

kayla1989

dont know what the meter reading was but i rang them to check was it an estimated bill and they said it was the actual bill. i have it paid.wont be using the heating anymore.ill stick to fire logs......

the_syco

kayla1989 wrote: »

dont know what the meter reading was but i rang them to check was it an estimated bill and they said it was the actual bill. i have it paid.wont be using the heating anymore.ill stick to fire logs......

How is your heating set up? Ours is set up to heat the house a bit in the morning for 2 hours (when people are there), and again in the evening.

I've seen some houses where the temp will never go below X degree's all day, which is mad, as they won't be in the house for almost 8 of those hours, and asleep for another 8 of those hours.

So check into where your thermosat is for the boiler, is it in a room which would be cold, or hot, is there a window open in it (yes, people sometimes open a window to cool down the place, rather than turn down the heat), and what times the heat comes on.

loyatemu

assuming your house is well insulated and you have a thermostat on the heating, the difference between leaving the heating on all the time and just turning it on when you''re cold isn't as much as you'd think (not that I'm advocating this, but a lot of people do run their heating in this way).

kerash

I'm with Flo-gas my bill for period 7 Dec to 2 Feb is €427.46 :eek:

I have to say I'm pretty shocked, having been careful as we could with the heating over the winter, is there any way this could be wrong?
Also how do I know if it's an estimated bill?
I'm gonna give them a ring tomorrow anyway but any advice on how to keep the bills down iwthout freezing would be great.

rameire

current reading should have an E beside the meter report if it is an estimate i think.

dudara

Posts about high gas bills moved to another thread

dudara