Look what popped through the door yesterday, my utilities bill. Looks alright to me. Figures tally up, I put the readings into Ebico web site. I think the July one must have been a bit late, they have estimated that, but no matter, I checked the figures against those I wrote on the calendar and the estimates are very close.
Looks like my usage is almost the same as a year ago.
Not much difference between this quarter and the previous one.
If I was to go Direct Debit I could save a bit, but I am not willing to hand over my bank details to them. I can recover what I would have saved from other places. Swings and roundabouts.
Now off to the pop up Post Office in the church to pay this, it closes in an hour. ilona
Wow, I'm amazed how low that is. That's really good.
ReplyDeleteI am very mindful about switching things off when not needed, putting more clothes on if I am cold, only putting the washing machine on when I have something dirty or smelly to wash, one bath per week and washing myself in the sink in between.
DeleteRoughly 2 units a day (or should I go back to school?!!!) That includes a freezer, washing machine use, lighting, computer power? I think I need to be out back peddling a bike to keep ours a bit lower!!!
ReplyDeleteAs an afterthought (having just had a bath!) our immersion heater is probably the biggest contributor to a bigger bill here.
ReplyDeleteIf you have several people in the house it's harder to monitor usage. The immersion will be on a lot longer if everyone wants hot water. Could you share a bath? We used to do that when we were kids. Three in the bath at the same time.
DeleteJust my husband and I here, and we share a bath. The immersion is on for perhaps an hour in the evening. I need to run down my spare freezer, which is full of summer produce and that will make a goodly difference. I use my oven regularly and as the top (small) oven isn't working properly, it's a case of use the bottom (expensive!) oven and try and cook several things when I have it on. I make my own bread too (breadmaker) but I'm not sure how much juice that uses.
DeleteOh! I have just realised you don't pay 'standing charges', that is what I pay for so of course my bill is higher; I can swap next autumn as am tied to a contract til then. Am a low user so should be able to save money when contract expires.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, my company has a Zero standing charge tariff. Keeps my bills low. I won't tie into a contract, I want to be flexible and move wherever I choose.
DeleteThat's really low! Ours is a bit higher but I am not exactly sure why. I keep requesting a smart meter but my provider hasn't come up with one yet. Then we will be able to see exactly where the electricity particularly is being used! We could probably get cheaper energy but I am with Good Energy as it is all renewable and they offer excellent customer service, so happy to pay a little more. I have had terrible experiences in the past!
ReplyDeleteHave you read up about Smart Meters on the MSE Forum? Many people are waiting for the new model to come out, because the older ones cannot be used as Smart when you change to a new provider. They revert to being a dumb meter. Maybe that's why there is a delay for you, no point in fitting an older meter.
DeleteHi Ilona
ReplyDeleteThey are great figures for your gas and electric. I have spent the last half hour on the Ebico web site and it seems they don't offer your particular plan any more. The nearest plan they have wouldn't save me enough, per year, to bother changing. Thanks for posting though-very informative. x
These are very good figures Ilona. I am in the process of switching from British Gas to Bulb but am finding the switch very stressful as their customer service seems poor. British Gas added £120 a year to my bill because I was on a standard variable tariff and paid by cheque, I had no option but to leave as there was no way I could afford that. It seems very hard to find a good deal now with cheque payment. I hate direct debits but felt backed into a corner really. I try to economise as much as I can. I have a friend with Ebico who I think is probably on the same tariff as yourself, but I don’t think this one is available to new customers now.
ReplyDeleteJules above mentioned that the tariff I am on is not available to new customers. It's annoying that utilities companies can move the goal posts, but not a lot we can do about it.
DeleteI joined Ebico about four + years ago, I am glad they are allowing me to stick with the original arrangement.