Another huge ESB bill!

Clubman,

I had a good look at your ESB Bill Spreadsheet. It looks neat and easy to analyse. What do I do if I want to maintain a spreadsheet like that for my house? Is it an excel spreadsheet?
Thanks!

Thanks. Yes - it's a very simple Excel (actually it's originally an OpenOffice spreadsheet) spreadsheet; two columns - bill date and amount; then I just used the chart wizard to create the graph; the published version is just a version saved as HTML. Obviously you could do this for any household utility bill (or even have a single workbook with different sheets for each bill).

What do we think of the monthly equaliser payment method? I prefer to manage it myself.

2 people living in 3 Bed house, use electric oven/hob, electric shower, usual fridge freezer/electric kettle. Bi monthly bill is apprx: 100 euro or 50 euro per month.

Turn off lights when not in a room, plug out plugs like tv/radio at night.

Sounds very high for a 2 bed apartment. I would think there is someting drawing your electricity or is it possible the apartemnt next door has hooked up to your supply. I would call ESB.

aircobra19 said:

What do we think of the monthly equaliser payment method? I prefer to manage it myself.

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Me too. I would imagine that equaliser might be handy for somebody who cannot easily deal with monthly cashflow fluctuations.

Niallers said:

2 people living in 3 Bed house, use electric oven/hob, electric shower, usual fridge freezer/electric kettle. Bi monthly bill is apprx: 100 euro or 50 euro per month.

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But are you on Nightsaver and do you use electric storage and/or convection heating?

Hi,
Thanks to everyone for all the information on heating bills especially Clubman.
Can I ask Clubman if you have a 3 bed house, but are only using 2 storage heaters, how do you heat other rooms?
Also, I am in the process of buying an apartment and just found out heating is all electrical. Would people consider Electric heating a deal breaker if they were moving to a new place?

Sideview said:

Can I ask Clubman if you have a 3 bed house, but are only using 2 storage heaters, how do you heat other rooms?

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The two storage heaters are sufficient to provider background heating to the whole house. The downstairs is effectively open plan with the stairs off the living rooms so the heat rises to the upstairs. Downstairs remains warmer but the upstairs also benefits from the storage heating. On the rare occasion that we need a boost we use a freestanding oil filled electric heater. We never use the convection heaters (built into the storage heaters or panel ones upstairs). The house is Goldshield insulated so retains the heat very well (dry lined external walls, double glazed, goot attic insulation etc.).

As I've mentioned before, the monthly "equalizer" payment is not actually equalized over the year. It is however adjusted on a quarterly basis for your usage for the previous quarter. So therefore you never reach a set monthly amount that is consistently the same per year. What happens in reality is that you pay more over the summer & less over the winter would you believe?

If you have a choice I would recommend managing the bimonthly bills yourself and not signing up to the equalizer.

Just an update - despite sending in meter readings every few months it seems I can't keep up with the way ESB charge....

Got whacked for another 250 euros today!

I really wish they would make sure to read meters themslelves regularly or get their estimates right!

Calico said:

Just an update - despite sending in meter readings every few months it seems I can't keep up with the way ESB charge....

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What do you mean? If you have used the units then (barring a meter fault - rare but possible) then you have to pay for them. What is your usage profile? €250 for a two monthly billing period at this time of the year sounds quite possible for a home with storage heating for example. I've updated my own records with a slightly more complex analysis here.

I use the equaliser method for both gas and electricity and have done for the last 15 years; simply so I can just forget about it.

I've had very few issues with it; but in the last two months my ESB debit has increased from €51 per month to €102 per month this increase was caused by grossly over-estimated bills. The customer service insist they cannot reduce the amount to be debited so I've cancelled it. When I finally use the electricity I've paid in advance for I'll see about reinstating it.

I've no problem with estimating bills - but how in heavens name did they imagine my usage would double just like that?

Of course I have to pay, but is it too much to ask to be billed for the electricity that you use AS you use it?

The system they have of estimating bills is inaccurate as borne out by my and others experiences.

Calico said:

Of course I have to pay, but is it too much to ask to be billed for the electricity that you use AS you use it?

The system they have of estimating bills is inaccurate as borne out by my and others experiences.

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Yes - estimated bills are a bit of a pain but I don't understand what you mean by "not being able to keep up with the ESB charge" when logging actual readings to correct estimate bills that are out of line with reality?

paulfree said:

Switch absolutely everything off and then check the little wheel in the meter,if it is turning,some one else is using your electric,if not u need to cut back,the immersion is like boiling the kettle for 2 hours,very expensive.

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I was in a similar situation to you a couple of years back and did the above - it turned out that the apartment common lighted areas etc were hooked up to our meter!! - it def sounds like theres something wrong there!

Did you get that rectified? You should be onto your management company about this and maybe looking for a backdated refund of charges!

Calico, you have something seriously wrong. Before you do anything check the meter and write down the reading. Check it say 1 hour later and write down the reading again and the time. Then check the difference between the readings, for your hourly rate of use.

Then turn off and/or plug out EVERYTHING in apartment, including the cooker, fridge (it won't cool down much' if you don't open it) clock-radio, TV, computer, immersion etc (btw TVs, DVDs, computers may be on standby and draw power, even if turned off - Plug them all out!!) Check you meter, write down the reading and time.
Your meter should be stopped. Dead. Not moving.

If it isn't check everything again until you're sure that there is NOTHING left on. If the meter is still going then either you've got some hidden item drawing power or another user is hooked up to your meter.

On the other hand if the original 1 hour check shows a very high difference, then you may have something eating electricity, e.g. dual immersions can do that if the thermostat is kaput, or if the bath selection is on. Switching things on/off one by one can help suss out the culprit.

You can also use [broken link removed] from Maplins. Do all the plugging out still though.

I had a problem with unusually high electricity bills over the course of 4 months last year and they were proper readings. I found the cause to be a faulty fridge freezer that was icing over within days of it being defrosted. I got rid of the offending appliance and purchased a new one and the bills returned to normal.

Well u thing thats big...u want my bill...?€1200 for the last and this morning i got a surprise €750.....Phoned esb up and we did a check..switch of electricity of at the mains and c if the dial is still moving....Yes it was..backwards.Wot do i do now..?.Even though its going backwards ...is this grounds for a refund..?

Something definitely wrong....My bill is 190 and I have the washing machine on all the time washing kids clothes and tumble dry everything. 4 bed detached. Someone must be rigged into your electricity meter.