Housing Energy Advisor.com Forum

[tastag]

Hi,

Can anyone help? Me and my husband both work 9 - 5, there is just us (no kids) in a two bedroomed house which is a ten year old end town house/terrace. We take our gas and electricity from NPower and pay £113 per month. Are we paying too much?

Thanks

Tracy

[Angib]

£112 per month sounds a lot for a modern two-bed house, but it's almost impossible to say why.

The biggest factor which people leave out of the £x per month is how much of that is paying for a previous underpayment - if you are actually paying £80 per month for your energy plus £32 per month so that over 12 months you will have repaid a £400 underpayment that had built up before, then that looks quite different.

Most peoples' monthly payments bounce up and down as they alternately underpay and overpay. Some of this is not even in the energy company's interest, so I think the cock-up theory is more appropriate to explain this than the conspiracy theory.

Secondly, individuals' use of energy can vary enormously - taking off your shoes when in the house and wearing just a tee shirt in winter needs a lot more energy than wearing shoes and a jumper. I suspect that variation is greatest in modern houses as they are well-enough insulated that they can be heated to a higher temperature, which older houses often can't.

[Colin S-C]

How much do you pay per unit and standing charge for each?

[tastag]

Hi,

Angib, thank you for your comments, you are right about the underpayment I guess, in that it always gets increased toward the end of winter lowered in the summer, so I suppose the average is about £90 per month.

Colin - not sure but I can find out, what's a good price per unit?

Thanks

Tracy

[earthstoreenergy]

It is not just the price per unit you need to look at, it is also the daily charge.
Their are now so many different tariffs available, some will push the fact that they have a low unit rate, however they may have a high daily charge, however if you are a high energy user this may work out better for you.

You need to spend some time I am afraid, with your bills in front of you, and your energy usage written down, to work out which tariff/supplier would work out the best for you. (and a calculator), just beware of any hidden charges.

I hope this helps.