Electric bill is 1000 euro which seems utterly absurd.

SunnyInIreland

Based on my research I would expect more like 400-500 since we use our computers all day and work from home. This is our first meter read bill so I understand that it's higher than the estimated bill, but I can't wrap my head around how we would have used 1000e of electricity. We aren't running power tools and server farms of computers. 

A rep suggested I check the number of the Meter to make sure it's the right one, but I live in an apartment so I can't do that right away I'll have to check with building manager and arrange that. But if the numbers checkout am I stuck with this insane bill?

banham

Are you growing any cannabis?

Ghekko

How long does the bill cover? 

SunnyInIreland

banham wrote: »

Are you growing any cannabis?

I almost included the fact that we are NOT a grow-op in my post, since I know that grow-ops usually have high electricity usage. Back in Canada you can actually sometimes spot a grow-op because there won't be any snow on the roof. Neither of us grow or purchase weed (or any illegal narcotic for that matter) we stick to our whiskey.

SunnyInIreland

Ghekko wrote: »

How long does the bill cover? 

65 days

Outkast_IRE

How do you heat the apartment ?

Is it using electric heaters / electric storage heaters ?

If yes then that would probably be a major culprit.

listermint

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

How do you heat the apartment ?

Is it using electric heaters / electric storage heaters ?

If yes then that would probably be a major culprit.

This

Valetta

How long have you had estimated bills?

If underestimated over a few two month periods it can add up to a shock.

Pardon the pun.

Outkast_IRE

Maybe start ringing in your meter readings it will help you avoid any nasty surprises, also if you are checking your meter before you do turn off all your appliances and shut off the main incoming circuit breaker on the circuit board in your apartment, if your meter is still moving then there is a big problem.

SunnyInIreland

Valetta wrote: »

How long have you had estimated bills?

If underestimated over a few two month periods it can add up to a shock.

Pardon the pun.

If your estimated bill was lower than your actual consumption does EI add the difference onto your next (meter read) bill?

whiskeyman

SunnyInIreland wrote: »

Based on my research I would expect more like 400-500 since we use our computers all day and work from home. This is our first meter read bill so I understand that it's higher than the estimated bill, but I can't wrap my head around how we would have used 1000e of electricity. We aren't running power tools and server farms of computers. 

A rep suggested I check the number of the Meter to make sure it's the right one, but I live in an apartment so I can't do that right away I'll have to check with building manager and arrange that. But if the numbers checkout am I stuck with this insane bill?

If it's your first meter read Bill, all the others must have been estimated too low.
How much were the previous ones?
Lower than expected, given your usage?

Only way to confirm is check the meter yourself.
even though it's an apt, you still should have access. Sort a key out with the mgt co and submit monthly reads in future to avoid 'shock' bills.
if the read matches, the bill stands as that's what you've used.
if you're financially in trouble to pay, their Cr Control dept should be able to arrange a payment arrangment over a couple of months to pay it off.

SunnyInIreland

whiskeyman wrote: »

SunnyInIreland wrote: »

Based on my research I would expect more like 400-500 since we use our computers all day and work from home. This is our first meter read bill so I understand that it's higher than the estimated bill, but I can't wrap my head around how we would have used 1000e of electricity. We aren't running power tools and server farms of computers. 

A rep suggested I check the number of the Meter to make sure it's the right one, but I live in an apartment so I can't do that right away I'll have to check with building manager and arrange that. But if the numbers checkout am I stuck with this insane bill?

If it's your first meter read Bill, all the others must have been estimated too low.
How much were the previous ones?
Lower than expected, given your usage?

Only way to confirm is check the meter yourself.
even though it's an apt, you still should have access. Sort a key out with the mgt co and submit monthly reads in future to avoid 'shock' bills.
if the read matches, the bill stands as that's what you've used.
if you're financially in trouble to pay, their Cr Control dept should be able to arrange a payment arrangment over a couple of months to pay it off.

The previous/first bill was an estimated reading at 146.01 electricity usage charges plus  other charges and a 300 security deposit for a total of 509.46

The next bill was for 720.32 electricity charges plus the other charges and VAT.

SunnyInIreland

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

How do you heat the apartment ?

Is it using electric heaters / electric storage heaters ?

If yes then that would probably be a major culprit.

Honestly not sure. We have wall mounted white metal units which disperse heat, as well as a "electric fireplace" which we used occasionally, I think that 
may be the culprit for the high readings, we haven't used it in over a month, so I'm hoping that when I find the meter it will be substantially less than the previous. 

Outkast_IRE

SunnyInIreland wrote: »

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

How do you heat the apartment ?

Is it using electric heaters / electric storage heaters ?

If yes then that would probably be a major culprit.

Honestly not sure. We have wall mounted white metal units which disperse heat, as well as a "electric fireplace" which we used occasionally, I think that 
may be the culprit for the high readings, we haven't used it in over a month, so I'm hoping that when I find the meter it will be substantially less than the previous. 

Yeah those wall mounted units are electric heaters, you will need to figure out yourself if they are storage type or simple on/off type . Either way they are very expensive to run in apartments that are not well insulated you will be facing very large bills. Do you leave them on continuously ?

Electric Ireland: David

Hi SunnyInIreland,

Thanks for getting in touch.

As previous posters have pointed out, the first thing you need to do is check the meter reading yourself, just to be doubly sure that it wasn't a reading error. Whoever manages the property should be able to provide you with access to where the meters are located, which would usually be a switchroom in the case of an apartment block. It would also be helpful to have your meter serial number to hand before you do this - we can confirm this for you if you send us your account details by private message.

SunnyInIreland wrote:

The previous/first bill was an estimated reading... We have wall mounted white metal units which disperse heat, as well as a "electric fireplace" which we used occasionally

It sounds as if electric heating may be the culprit, and that your previous bills may have been significantly under-estimated. If you can't pay this bill all at once, we could facilitate a payment plan so as to spread out the payments over a more manageable time period. Just send us your account details by PM (including your full name, address, contact number and confirmation that you are the account holder) and we can look into this for you.

For general info and future reference, this section on our website provides tools and tips (including our Appliance Calculator app) to help reduce your bills.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,
David

 

DivingDuck

You might also want to make sure your Day/Night clock on the meter is working correctly.

If you're using what you think is off-peak electricity for water heating, or anything else that drains a lot of power, (not storage heating; as far as I know that only comes on when the clock switches to off-peak) it could be costing you a lot more than you realise.

You can check the clock by making note of what time the storage heaters go on and off at.

Electric Ireland: David

Thanks for the additional suggestions DivingDuck, as you mentioned if the storage heaters are synced up to the dual-tariff/nightsaver meter (this being the typical set up) noting when the storage heaters turn on and turn off will give you a clue as to the time the timeswitch is set to.

SunnyInIreland, for general info, this is one way you can check. You can also make note of the time displayed on the timeswitch when you access the meter (in an apartment block a single timeswitch may control more than one meter). If the timeswitch is out by 2 hours or more, we can send out a technician to fix this.

Currently, the cheaper night rate comes into effect from 11pm to 8am the following morning. This changes to 12am to 9am in summertime (when the clocks change).

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to get in touch.

Regards,
David