# Gas and Electricity prices



## Revise (May 13, 2012)

If anybody has not checked their gas and electricity prices lately please check now and you may save a fortune.

I am with Scottish power and was paying £181 per month for Gas and Electricity combined. I was watching the news and saw prices were coming down by 5% with British Gas. A quick call to Scottish power and my bill went down from £181 per month to £129 per month. 

Saving £52 per month or £624 per year. 

It is with spending 10minutes on the phone and threatening to mover supplier and they will do their best to keep your business.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Good god man, what are you doing growing something we should not know about. That is an awful lot to pay out per month.

cabby


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## Revise (May 13, 2012)

Big house and 2 (Grown up) kids who love the dishwasher and dryer.


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## Kaytutt (Feb 5, 2013)

I pay £125 a month, 2 adults in a 3 bed bungalow. 

I'm with Scottish Power on a new fixed price tariff which I believe I can leave without notice so I might give that a try


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

All the Energy Companies are Crooks and Shysters ..... that fact should be taught in Schools. :evil: 

Fixed price contracts are always higher than non-fixed. The important part is finding the right deal. I have not had one for some time but they serve a purpose in volatile times and you can save a lot of money. A lot of these deals were pushed at the consumer recently, I wonder if they knew the price would be dropping.

My Energy Company hiked my dual fuel monthly payment from £94 to £121 when there was no need to apart from pure greed. I phoned up and complained and threatened to leave them (First Utility). I was told that my increase was computer generated automatically and was not necessary and the chap cancelled it. What I found out by checking my agreement is that there is a financial penalty if I change suppliers part way through the year, so check your terms and conditions.

BTW, we have a 4 bed house, so some of you seem to have bad deals or are heavy handed with the thermostat on your heating system.


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## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

Revise said:


> If anybody has not checked their gas and electricity prices lately please check now and you may save a fortune.
> 
> I am with Scottish power and was paying £181 per month for Gas and Electricity combined. I was watching the news and saw prices were coming down by 5% with British Gas. A quick call to Scottish power and my bill went down from £181 per month to £129 per month.
> 
> ...


I am a wee bit puzzled! Did the cost of fuel go down as a result of your phone call, or was it your direct debits payments that were reduced? Two very different things; and as someone else has said, dd payments are generated by computers and if customers do not agree, all they need to do if contact the company and a human will put a dd at the mutually agreed correct level. My own attitude to anyone with access to my bank account is that I decide how much is being taken out and if companies cannot accept this I move.

Dave


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## homenaway (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi,

I'm also with Scottish Power who have just announced a 4.8% drop in gas prices from end of February.

Their fixed price deals change every month. We were on one that finishes in March so will wait and see. They moved us onto one with no penalties and they will switch you to a new deal if you phone. I've found their callback or book a call online system works well. They all seem to have dropped the "no standing charge" deals which worked well if you are away a fair bit.

Our direct debit amounts have varied from £120 a month when we moved into this house 15 months ago and we ended up with £300 in credit. With a phone call that was dropped to £78 pm plus a refund. I send in meter readings every month and the computer has now dropped the dd to £36 pm and thats for dual fuel  

I've found if you send in a reading just after you've been away for a longish trip it calculates a low annual consumption.

They are quick to put the dd up if you go into the red by a few pounds 

Steve


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

It all depends on what you are being charged per KWH (Kilowhat Hour).??
And how many units you consume.
This plus the meter rental or standing charge results in your bill.

Eat yer hearts out lads. We only pay 5.5 cents a KWH.

Ray.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

I also am with Scottish Power. Dual Fuel, fixed.
When you say monthly bill,I take it you mean your monthly direct debit, which is not your true usage or bill.
We live in a detached house and no cavity wall insulation as I believe the cavity is there for a reason.
We HAVE been paying £100 per month, but have built up quite a buffer, so have recently reduced our payments to £75 per month.
I think it will take us about one year to get rid of the buffer.
In conclusion, our useage is probably around the £85/£90 per month.
Bear in mind we have two roughly 6 week tours during the summer, but no long winter tours with the van.
Looks like our bill is quite low compared with others here! 8)

edit.
I also run an oil heater in the van, when the temp is around or below zero


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Have to agree the key to accurate bills is regular supplied meter readings.
Unit price, usage, standing charges, payment plans, tariff and frequency determines the price you pay.

After 30 years of meter reading and billing experience, making comparisons with friends and neighbours is not really possible given the variables listed above.

The companies just love customers like Grath, my advice would be to get your DD amended to a more realistic figure and demand any credit (buffer) for your bank account rather than their account.

Terry


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Terry, I keep a constant check on my bills and regular meter readings.
I have run up a buffer of about £500 and my dd was only £100 which is £1200 per year, supposed to be about average use!
The buffer will substantially reduce over the next couple of winter cold months, and it should be around zero in about 12 months.
I doubt the utilities love me as we are quire careful what we use. We try to use similar to when we both worked.
At least, I know that if we have a real cold spell, my buffer will keep me warm, and the interest I am loosing is negligible.
OK if everybody, and many are, in so much credit, the utilises would probably and probably do make millions in interest.
Anyway, my bills, do seem to be low compared to some others
:lol:


edit
our actual usage for the 12 months to Jan 2015 is £1019
Not bad I think, for a detached house with no cavity wall insulation.


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## Revise (May 13, 2012)

It is my monthly direct debit that has been reduced. The meter readings are given to them every month so the bill is pretty accurate. But I understand what you mean regarding the usage vs direct debit. I will wait and see in a few months to see how it averages out.


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

We are down to £66 a month for our four bed house now 

Generally the two of us with one little extra chap once a week


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## scouter (Dec 14, 2007)

It really is worth checking up on how many kwHs you've used over the last 12 months from your bills ( for both gas and electric) and then using 2 of the price comparison sites to see what better deal you can get.

Some of the smaller new companies really do offer some great deals. The recent news about price reductions is only really relevant to those on the standard tariff where you are already paying a lot more than on a fixed term contract.

Check on the comparison sites to see what rates you can get then it seems better to go to the individual supply company's website direct to get the best price.

It's well worth doing, even if your current supplier charges an exit fee. 

The Labour Party's proposed freeze on gas and electric prices might be holding up reductions at the moment, might be interesting to see what happens after May, who knows what the oil price might be then.

Individual costs all depend on how much you're in in the winter and how warm you like it coupled with the size of the house etc etc. First Utility reckons we 'll use £850 this year and have just reduced our monthly dd to £30 as we're about £480 up, but we did invest in some solar panel 18 months ago which reduces our elec usage by about 1/3. Even up here in the north we get some sun although at the moment the snow been falling all day and its bitter outside.

anyway get your usage data and get comparing

alan


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Electricity huh? Alright for some! Still burning trees we drag out of the Tees here. 8O 

Actually my pal does just that. His garden backs onto the Tees and he even bought a little boat and outboard to drag the things out with. He will kill himself of course one day but I was in his lounge yesterday and he has a 15KW wood burner. Blimey it was like being in the tropics. Has he given me any? Nope!! Miserable git.

Back to living in a duvet then.


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## SNandJA (Aug 22, 2008)

Warning on MSE that the British Gas cuts aren't as good a deal as they say
Quote
"Don't fall for British Gas & Scot Power's 5% cuts - you'll still overpay £200+/yr
These trivial price cuts risk giving many false confidence they're on a good deal. They're not. Don't be fooled 
BG and Scottish Power say in late Feb - once the high-use time's over - they'll cut their variable tariffs (incl prepay and Fix & Fall) by 5%-ish, shaving £30-£40/yr off typical bills for those on standard tariffs; but that's still £230/yr more than the cheapest deals."

This is a comparison option MSE recommends:-
MSE Cheap Energy Club


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Again many on here have given pointless monthly dd's. But so far no one has said what they pay per unit or kwh. It could make the big difference.

The variables on each dwelling are endless. Construction, usage, overall temps, how much of the house is heated, woolies worn, double glazing, cavity insulation, roof insulation, hot water fuel, etc. etc.

It's like saying how much you spend in petrol or diesel per month.? So many variables. But the cost per kwh is everything.

Ray.


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## SNandJA (Aug 22, 2008)

raynipper said:


> Again many on here have given pointless monthly dd's. But so far no one has said what they pay per unit or kwh. It could make the big difference.
> 
> The variables on each dwelling are endless. Construction, usage, overall temps, how much of the house is heated, woolies worn, double glazing, cavity insulation, roof insulation, hot water fuel, etc. etc.
> 
> ...


Coop Energy current tariff (which I am in process of changing to a better one)
Electricity 12.55p kwh + 20p a day standing charge
Gas 4p kwh + 20p a day standing charge


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Tell Sid! Lots of money to be made! :wink: 

Dick


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## homenaway (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi,

Just checked the amounts on my latest Scottish Power bill for a largish modern 2 bed detached bungalow with full insulation new d/glazing and a new boiler.

Electricity : 10.27p/kWh + 32p daily standing charge
Tariff Comparison Rate =14.36p

Gas : 4.01p + 32p standing charge 
Tariff Comparison Rate =4.01p

We're on Fixed to November 2015 with the usual discounts and about £190 in credit.

Not sure if that makes comparisons with other providers any easier :? 

I'm registered with the MSE Energy Club so I'll see what they come up with in March

Steve


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Cant remember what ours is Ray but I think I went for a low standing charge and slightly higher KW rate as we spend so much time away. Why pay a standing charge when your not there using anything?

Anyway supplier is iSupply and its £31 a month and we usually end up in Credit.

Heating here of course is Oil, hence the low leccy bill but the good news is that for the first time in donkeys years oil is now cheaper than gas at 32p a litre here. I have seen it as high as 76p a litre in recent years. House is still bloody freezing though!


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

If it is any help it is blooming freezing down here as well.We have had a very light dusting of snow, felt as if I was a sponge cake. does this mean I get a reduced cost to join my cousin Fruitcake.
We are with EDF, really cannot be bothered with chopping and changing for the sake of £30/40 per year.

cabby

Now I expect that someone will tell me that is 2/3 nights on a campsite. :lol: :lol:


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

EDF France used to do a tariff that tried to shed the load on high usage days. i.e. very cold.!
It was called EJP and offered half price electricity all year except 22 days between Nov.1st and March 31st. When and usually on the coldest days they could trigger the meter to charge 10x the 5 cent rate. 

It was perfect for any holiday home as they were unlikely to be there in the winter. But now being permanent, on those days we just go out and visit. 

Ray.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Ours is Scottish Power, help beat cancer, fixed Jan 2017

Elec is 12.145p / kwh
Standing Charge 33.79 p/day

Gas is 3.737p / kwh
Standing Charge 33.79 p/day

Jan 2014 to jan 2015 cost us £1019.59
Detached House, no cavity wall insulation, double glazed and loft insulated. 
Lots of elec cooking and daily use of elec shower, power washer etc
House nice and warm from mid afternoon to bed time!
Includes elec oil heater in van.

edit

over this period, we have spent about 15 weeks touring with minimum power use at home. Freezer and lights!


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