Electricity Bill €5000!!!

TheRiverman

Cupatae wrote: »

Isnt that the esbs job to send someone around to read the meter?? i mean u are paying them after all!

Thats a fair mental bill, id ring em back and demand abit more detail... 5k is abit much to be casually throwing u aside!

They only read the meter three times per year where I live.Every second bill is estimated,but every householder has the right to take their own meter reading and submit it to Electric Ireland when you get the estimated bill.Sometimes there can be quite a difference up or down between the estimated reading and the actual reading on the meter on the day the bill arrives.The instruction on what to do in order to send in your own reading is clearly printed on the bill.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

A little off topic. It looks like you're using 600-700 kWh bimonthly.

National average is about ~700 kWh for a 2 bed every two months (not sure how they came up with this figure).
So it would appear you're using less than the national average.

National average is about 880 kWh for a 3 bed.
My own stats, 3 bed with 4 people, we average < 600 kWh every two months.

Includes use of dishwasher, washing machine and dryer once per day on average.

ellejay wrote: »

This thread is very interesting.
I'm in a two bed terraced house, can anyone tell me if my usage looks normal.
Attachment not found.
heating is gas
no electric heaters
no emersion
electric oven
2 x freezers

Edit: All lights are energy saving, including LED spots. We switched the TV from a Plasma to LED a few years ago aswell. If I remember correctly the plasma tv was rated at something crazy like 400 watts. New LED TV is ~50watts. The TV would be on most of the day so anything up to 10 hours/day. Switching TVs saved anything up to about 1 EUR per day for us. Calculations are all off the top of my head, but you get the idea.

RedXIV

Could just be me but €150 every 2 months seems very low, I've a family of 5 in a 3 bed and I'd be be paying almost twice that.

flutered

TheRiverman wrote: »

I never pay estimated bills.When I get my estimated bill which is every second one throughout the year,I go to my meter get the actual reading and either ring it in to Electric Ireland or submit it on line.Within a few days a new bill is issued with a new due date.My last bill was an estimated one and it was €50 less that my actual usage,so just bothering to take a meter reading and submitting it keeps payments on track.

our estimated bill is always 50 quid more than the read ones, it happens every time without fail, we pay the same as the previous read bill, it works out fine

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Obviously it depends on your usage habits and the big ones being heating/water/immersion/heat pump etc.

If your heating is gas then 150 per month would indicate very high usage! Is everything plugged in and left switched on in your house?? :pac:

Maybe that's just me? There was a thread recently asking what the average electricity consumption was actually, I'll have a look for it.

RedXIV wrote: »

Could just be me but €150 every 2 months seems very low, I've a family of 5 in a 3 bed and I'd be be paying almost twice that.

flutered

RedXIV wrote: »

Could just be me but €150 every 2 months seems very low, I've a family of 5 in a 3 bed and I'd be be paying almost twice that.

just two of us and the grandkids after school, our bill is miserly, 75-78 euro every two months, btw the imersion is never turned on, oil heating is used lightly, but the 7k multi fuel stove is always at full heat

TheRiverman

Just wondering if people realise that leaving TV's & satellite digi boxes in standby mode uses a small amount of electricity which will add up if it is done all time when those appliances are not in use.Leaving them on standby is also a fire hazard,as particularly a tv can go on fire.

Squiggle

It's not going to solve the OPs problem but it almost certainly will reduce future bills. Go on to www.bonkers.ie and see how much you can save by switching. When I did this some time ago I was advised the saving would be €240 per annum and it is coming in at that because I am saving around €40 on my bi monthly bills. The switching process was simple and it involved filling in the form on bonkers.ie and subsequently taking one meter reading and submitting it to my new supplier. The transfer was seemless. When this one year contract is up I will be doing the same again to avail of the discounts the suppliers will give to new business. It's genuinely a no brainer and I would be an extreme skeptic !!!!

RedXIV

I have quite a few things plugged in and our heating is on a fair bit too, so I'm not too surprised at the value of my bill (closer to ~€120 a month).

Just surprised to find myself at the higher end of the spectrum

Squiggle

You will save money in future by switching supplier each year to avail of discounts offered to new business. The process is simple on www.bonkers.ie. Their calculator showed I would save €240 per annum and that's correct almost to the euro, about €40 per bimonthly bill it's coming in at.

flutered

TheRiverman wrote: »

Just wondering if people realise that leaving TV's & satellite digi boxes in standby mode uses a small amount of electricity which will add up if it is done all time when those appliances are not in use.Leaving them on standby is also a fire hazard,as particularly a tv can go on fire.

especially the zgemma boxes, they are a well known fire hazzard

flutered

Squiggle wrote: »

It's not going to solve the OPs problem but it almost certainly will reduce future bills. Go on to www.bonkers.ie and see how much you can save by switching. When I did this some time ago I was advised the saving would be €240 per annum and it is coming in at that because I am saving around €40 on my bi monthly bills. The switching process was simple and it involved filling in the form on bonkers.ie and subsequently taking one meter reading and submitting it to my new supplier. The transfer was seemless. When this one year contract is up I will be doing the same again to avail of the discounts the suppliers will give to new business. It's genuinely a no brainer and I would be an extreme skeptic !!!!

i try them twice a year, they tell me to stay with my preseent provider, i mut be on some kinda deal since i joined them forty odd years ago

andekwarhola

TheRiverman wrote: »

Just wondering if people realise that leaving TV's & satellite digi boxes in standby mode uses a small amount of electricity which will add up if it is done all time when those appliances are not in use. Leaving them on standby is also a fire hazard,as particularly a tv can go on fire.

Sorry for being off-topic, but I would have thought that fire hazard isn't really an issue with modern TVs, or at least that the danger is statistically remote?

Ditto the cost of leaving it in standby.

L1011

andekwarhola wrote: »

Sorry for being off-topic, but I would have thought that fire hazard isn't really an issue with modern TVs, or at least that the danger is statistically remote?

Ditto the cost of leaving it in standby.

Both would be correct. Received information / old wives tales get killed by new technology. Old CRT TVs kept internal components warm when on standby = high power consumption and fire risk. New TVs do not and usually use under 1w on standby. 1 unit per ~6 weeks in standby.

andekwarhola

RedXIV wrote: »

Could just be me but €150 every 2 months seems very low, I've a family of 5 in a 3 bed and I'd be be paying almost twice that.

Beleive it or not, we (family of 4 in a newish 1200 square foot 3-bed house) paid 1701 (total sum) in 2016 for gas and electricity. We have an electric oven, washing machine, dishwater etc. Plus gas central heating and a gas hearth fire.

We always make sure and submit meter readings online every 2 months and also check online to make sure that actual readings are being taken. FWIW, they took 4 actual readings in the last 12 months. The rest were our readings so essentially they didn't have to estimate.

Also either switch around or look for discount offers with the current provider. We've more or less been on continual special offer for a few years. Just ring up when the current offer is up and be prepared to switch if you don't get one.

lawred2

TheRiverman wrote: »

Just wondering if people realise that leaving TV's & satellite digi boxes in standby mode uses a small amount of electricity which will add up if it is done all time when those appliances are not in use.Leaving them on standby is also a fire hazard,as particularly a tv can go on fire.

it'll add up to about a few quid a year

still power all ours off though

well not the internet related stuff - that's always on

TheRiverman

andekwarhola wrote: »

Sorry for being off-topic, but I would have thought that fire hazard isn't really an issue with modern TVs, or at least that the danger is statistically remote?

Ditto the cost of leaving it in standby.

Annual energy usage while on standby:
Wireless Router (e.g. BT Hub) - £21.92
Printer (Laser) - £18.26
Set-top (Satellite) - £18.26
Amplifier - £12.18
Compact Hi-Fi - £12.18
iPad charger - £12.18
Nintendo Wii - £12.18
Set-top box (Freeview) - £7.31
Alarm Clock - £6.09
Microsoft Xbox 360 - £6.09
Modem - £6.09
Sony PlayStation 3 - £6.09
Air freshener plug-in - £4.87
CD player / Tuner - £4.87
Television (Plasma) - £4.87
Video Player - £4.87
Inkjet printer - £4.26
Desktop PC - £3.65
Nintendo DS - £3.65
Oven (Electric) - £3.65
Microwave - £3.04
Television (CRT & LCD) - £3.04
Mobile phone charger - £2.44
PC monitor (CRT) - £2.44
Electric toothbrush - £1.22
Childs night light - £0.73

From a 2014 UK article I found online.They are small amounts,but they do add up year after year depending on how many of those you have.

alig123aileen

What a terrible shock for you. I would ask them who their Data Protection Officer is and email him - there no point in phoning and ask him to confirm that your personal data used in the bill is correct or you will go to the Data Protection Commissioner. Another alternative is CER.ie is the Energy Regulator and they will raise a complaint on your behalf. If they gave you estimated readings on 4 occasions this as misleading information and they did not safeguard your person data with regard to your usage. I would fight back but only in writing as phoning wont get you anywhere. Also ask for a copy of your terms and conditions you signed when you took out the account with ESB and see what it says regarding estimated readings. At worst if ESB can prove you owe it yhou should be able to arrange a repayment schedule with them. Hapy to help you with letters and representations as I have background in this if you send me a PM. The onus is on them to prove its actual your usage not you to just pay it. Consumers must fight back!!

ArthurG

alig123aileen wrote: »

.... I would ask them who their Data Protection Officer is and email him - there no point in phoning and ask him to confirm that your personal data used in the bill is correct or you will go to the Data Protection Commissioner.....

What on earth does data protection have to do with an estimated bill?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

alig123aileen wrote: »

What a terrible shock for you. I would ask them who their Data Protection Officer is and email him - there no point in phoning and ask him to confirm that your personal data used in the bill is correct or you will go to the Data Protection Commissioner. Another alternative is CER.ie is the Energy Regulator and they will raise a complaint on your behalf. If they gave you estimated readings on 4 occasions this as misleading information and they did not safeguard your person data with regard to your usage. I would fight back but only in writing as phoning wont get you anywhere. Also ask for a copy of your terms and conditions you signed when you took out the account with ESB and see what it says regarding estimated readings. At worst if ESB can prove you owe it yhou should be able to arrange a repayment schedule with them. Hapy to help you with letters and representations as I have background in this if you send me a PM. The onus is on them to prove its actual your usage not you to just pay it. Consumers must fight back!!

That all makes no sense whatsoever. What has Data Protection got to do with it? The CER has no role in this either, as it presently stands.

bog master

TheRiverman wrote: »

Annual energy usage while on standby:
Wireless Router (e.g. BT Hub) - £21.92
Printer (Laser) - £18.26
Set-top (Satellite) - £18.26
Amplifier - £12.18
Compact Hi-Fi - £12.18
iPad charger - £12.18
Nintendo Wii - £12.18
Set-top box (Freeview) - £7.31
Alarm Clock - £6.09
Microsoft Xbox 360 - £6.09
Modem - £6.09
Sony PlayStation 3 - £6.09
Air freshener plug-in - £4.87
CD player / Tuner - £4.87
Television (Plasma) - £4.87
Video Player - £4.87
Inkjet printer - £4.26
Desktop PC - £3.65
Nintendo DS - £3.65
Oven (Electric) - £3.65
Microwave - £3.04
Television (CRT & LCD) - £3.04
Mobile phone charger - £2.44
PC monitor (CRT) - £2.44
Electric toothbrush - £1.22
Childs night light - £0.73

From a 2014 UK article I found online.They are small amounts,but they do add up year after year depending on how many of those you have.

Not sure if these are accurate.

My AVR/Stereo amp, a mid range model, which is 8 years old uses
1 watt in standby, so if I never switch it on, will use 1 watt x 24 hours=24 watt per day x 365 days=8,760 watts=8.7 Kw x .17 cent= €1.47 PER YEAR

My plasma 42" telly 6 years old uses .7 watt per hour.

So, I would take some of this figures with a grain of salt.

stronglikebull

Aurora. D wrote: »

Correction of previous reading (s) 02/08/14 to 07/11/16 3768.22

This is the part that needs to be looked into. They need to explain this correction to you, as the estimate and actual meter readings you show for November and January do not indicate such a problem at all. Take a look at the meter yourself, if you haven't already, and check that the recent actual reading is accurate. If it is, then the actual Vs estimated readings that you've been paying your bills from shouldn't be the problem.

The only other thing that springs to mind, is something like Level Pay. If you've been paying €150 every two months, but your usage is significantly over this amount, then Level Pay is supposed to adjust and you pay a bit more. If however, something in the system broke down, and for the last 3 years you've been underpaying by about 50%, then this could account for this sudden adjustment.

Looking at your usage figures, your current rate of consumption would indicate a bill of about twice as much as you've been paying. I suspect that you've got some kind of level pay service, and it has not worked properly for you.

In short, only your electricity provider can tell you what exactly this is.

googled eyes

I know the OP hasn't posted for a bit but if they were only paying the estimated bill and not updating it with a customer reading for lets say a year and then it was read, there could have be a huge difference between the to amounts.

Also a friend of mine lives in an apartment with storage heating and the clock that controls the night rate was broken (or slow?) and the main storage heater of the house was basically running during day time hours for how ever long. This was adding to their bill.

Months later they are still waiting for the ESB to fix the issue and have the storage heaters switched off practically permanently. OP should get an electrician in to have check everything is ok in their house.

They also need to keep after their supplier. We switched to a pre-pay meter last January and switched back within the cooling off period. 6 months later they ( Electric Ireland) were still billing us the pre-pay standing charge as well as regular standing charge

TheChizler

The consumer issue is the unexplained adjustment on the bill. Taking the bills at face value the calculations do not make sense. High usage appliances and broken meters are really irrelevant.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

TheChizler wrote: »

The consumer issue is the unexplained adjustment on the bill. Taking the bills at face value the calculations do not make sense. High usage appliances and broken meters are really irrelevant.

Totally agree. As presented by the OP, the readings make no sense. The addition of an amount of €3800 as shown does not gel with the meter readings given. High usage, appliances on standby, defective meters, heaters etc. are all red herrings. Only the Supply company can explain the cause.

OP mentioned contacting ESB but the Supplier has not been mentioned. What have they to say? The actual reading shown after the estimates should have given the unbilled units but it doesn't. Something else is at play here.

Cabaal

ArthurG wrote: »

What on earth does data protection have to do with an estimated bill?

Nothing, a meter reading is not classified as personal data by any stretch of the imagination.

OP, ignore the data protection complaint suggestion. It's utterly pointless and will only waste your time.

alig123aileen

I don't agree with previous posters re data protection not being relevant . data protection is very relevant here they have a duty of care to update and keep your personal data (usage) relevant. I have used this before (I'm a Data Protection Manager!) and companies move very quickly to put things right. Sending estimated bills for 1 year is not in line with data protection guidelines on keeping your data relevant and up to date. Especially with Government departments it always works. ESB are in essence a government organisation and so have to have an appointed Data Protection Officer in place.


.

gordongekko

alig123aileen wrote: »

I don't agree with previous posters re data protection not being relevant . data protection is very relevant here they have a duty of care to update and keep your personal data (usage) relevant. I have used this before (I'm a Data Protection Manager!) and companies move very quickly to put things right. Sending estimated bills for 1 year is not in line with data protection guidelines on keeping your data relevant and up to date. Especially with Government departments it always works. ESB are in essence a government organisation and so have to have an appointed Data Protection Officer in place.


.

Good lord .

L1011

alig123aileen wrote: »

I don't agree with previous posters re data protection not being relevant . data protection is very relevant here they have a duty of care to update and keep your personal data (usage) relevant. I have used this before (I'm a Data Protection Manager!) and companies move very quickly to put things right. Sending estimated bills for 1 year is not in line with data protection guidelines on keeping your data relevant and up to date. Especially with Government departments it always works. ESB are in essence a government organisation and so have to have an appointed Data Protection Officer in place.


.

If you have not provided access or given a reading, they have no choice but to provide estimated bills.

Data Protection is utterly irrelevant here and will do nothing to fix the problem. Waste of time and energy to go down that path.

beechwood55

If the meter is not accessible to the person who reads the meter, and if the customer does not send in correct meter readings, then what is the utility company supposed to do? How can it be a breach of data protection guidelines????