Power bills high, inconsistent, non-sensical

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Power bills high, inconsistent, non-sensical

orangegreen

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#279902 16-Nov-2020 08:22

Hi there

We are with Ecotricity, on a dumb meter. We just received a bill for $1100.

Can you help me understand;

Why isn't the meter reading listed on the bill? How do we know how many KWH we are actually using?

Why are they charging us for several months, is this fair?

The pattern seems to be, two months around 200$, then a whopper of a bill, then a low bill again.

1 | 2

20857 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5349

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2604531 16-Nov-2020 08:28

You really need to call your electricity company to discuss this with them. Back when I used to get a bill the meter readings were listed on the back of the bill. They might be doing three monthly reads.

tanivula

998 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 158

Lifetime subscriber

#2604533 16-Nov-2020 08:31

Bit hard to comment without seeing the other bills, but I'm guessing the other months are estimated billing and they read your meter every 3 months and these bills are the 'catchup'/actual figures. And They are grossly underestimating your usage on the other months?

concordnz

492 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 277

Trusted

EMT (R)

#2604534 16-Nov-2020 08:33

Please post the Aug & Sept bills.
(without seeing the 'apportionment on these) we connot tell what is happening.)

It looks as though your 'average useage' is about $390 per month.

RunningMan

9184 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4833

#2604535 16-Nov-2020 08:34

If there is a cycle up and down month to month it is probably alternating estimated and actual readings.

richms

29097 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10205

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2604543 16-Nov-2020 09:02

If you have a dumb meter then they cant break it down like that without actually coming and reading it. You would need to get that from the provider.

Get a smart meter and you will have more accurate numbers and breakdown thruout the day. Otherwise get out there and take your own readings and check it out using excel or something.

Richard rich.ms

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2604550 16-Nov-2020 09:15

Wowsers, that's hell of a bill........ but as others have mentioned, it's probably "guestimated" and completely off the mark. We always requested actual readings to be done soon as we saw figures creeping up when we knew they were wrong.

Watercare are just as bad....

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

trig42

5889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2094

ID Verified

#2604553 16-Nov-2020 09:19

Did you actually get bills in July, August and September?

It looks like they're just catching up.

Linux

12173 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8468

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2604557 16-Nov-2020 09:24

Glad my power bill was under $100 this month :)

Edit: I know this adds zero value to this thread sorry

wellygary

8810 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5287

#2604558 16-Nov-2020 09:27

orangegreen:

Hi there

We are with Ecotricity, on a dumb meter. We just received a bill for $1100.

Can you help me understand;

Why isn't the meter reading listed on the bill? How do we know how many KWH we are actually using?

Why are they charging us for several months, is this fair?

The pattern seems to be, two months around 200$, then a whopper of a bill, then a low bill again.

Looks like Ecotricty had traditionally billed quarterly, but are now moving to a monthly cycle,

https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/customer-service/pay-your-bill/a-21st-century-energy-company

As others have said if its a "dumb" meter you need to check which reading are estimates and which are actual...

You have two meters, one for your controlled load (likely hot water) and one for the rest...

Looking at the patter is seems to be rising between July and August, not unexpected as Winter bites, and then falling in September,

PolicyGuy

1820 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1769

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2604562 16-Nov-2020 09:47

If that's all the information they provide, and the best they can do for billing, I'd change to another supplier

Linux

12173 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8468

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2604564 16-Nov-2020 09:53

PolicyGuy:

If that's all the information they provide, and the best they can do for billing, I'd change to another supplier

This ^^^^^^^^

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

rogercruse

644 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 211

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2604590 16-Nov-2020 10:43

We changed to Electric Kiwi and our power bill isn't that complex.

We also get daily usage information. Plus other benefits like: a daily 'Hour of Power' where all the electric used in the hour is free - which is enough to top up the hot water tank and warm up the house in the morning, discount on prepayment, etc.

Bung

6733 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2926

Subscriber

#2604600 16-Nov-2020 11:01

wellygary:
orangegreen:

Hi there

We are with Ecotricity, on a dumb meter. We just received a bill for $1100.

Looks like Ecotricty had traditionally billed quarterly, but are now moving to a monthly cycle,

https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/customer-service/pay-your-bill/a-21st-century-energy-company

As others have said if its a "dumb" meter you need to check which reading are estimates and which are actual...

You have two meters, one for your controlled load (likely hot water) and one for the rest...

Looking at the patter is seems to be rising between July and August, not unexpected as Winter bites, and then falling in September,

I don't know if Ecotricity NZ has any links to the UK. They claim to be 100% Kiwi owned. Their FAQ also states

"All of our customers are on smart meters in order to receive the extra benefits that Ecotricity provides."

orangegreen, you may have a smart meter that isn't communicating properly. Give Ecotricity a call and ask. We are with Contact and they don't seem to be proactive about fixing meters they just start estimating. Ecotricity may be the same.

Scott3

4176 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2990

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2604603 16-Nov-2020 11:10

They seem to be charging you for use (kWh's) used in July, August, September & an unspecified period where 662.6kWh were used. This is the key driver of the high cost 3+ months of usage charges in a single bill...

Despite the above, you are only getting charged for 31 days of daily charges.

Stacked on top of this, your electricity usage seems to be quite high. Average monthly power consumption in Auckland is about 630kWh/month. I have no gas in my household, and in winter our consumption can get up to around 1350kWh/month. This is considered quite high usage. In winter we run the heatpump whenever somebody is home, run all drying through the tumble dryer etc.

Your Aug consumption is roughly double my winter peak. This may be accurate, but would take some doing (perhaps you have many people in your household or use resistance electric heating a lot. - 2 fan heaters running 24/7 would use roughly this much power).

kotuku4

485 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 137

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2604636 16-Nov-2020 11:59

Talk to Ecotricity, I was with them and they seemed good to deal with. They should be able to smooth out the monthly accounts based on annual usage.

I have a smart meter that does not communicate reliably anymore, very frustrating.

To avoid having meter readers visit, and get consistent monthly accounts, I email off monthly readings to my supplier.

1 | 2