Electricity - Accuracy of "Estimated" 1st Meter Read

• 

  vinnychase on 21/01/2022 - 00:27

  +1

  Asking previous tenant/owner/resident of the house what their bill was might be helpful in crossing out some of the options.

  • 

    Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 00:30

    Hmmm thanks I'll message my realtor - but I don't think it's plausible to pay $3k+ per quarter in a tiny 2br flat

    • 

      avoidfullprice on 21/01/2022 - 01:04

      +2

      What's also a good option is to ask realtor to get building manager to give you a week access to your meter so you can take daily reading and feed that back up to the energy retailer.

      Remember, the distributor take actual readings. The retailer charges you based on the readings

      • 

        Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 01:09

        Cheers again, this is good tip also

• 

  avoidfullprice on 21/01/2022 - 00:29

  +1

  Calm down. Is estimated read. If you can access your meter tell them the meter reading. Calm down.

  Also, is there a way to check exactly which power point is using the most in the house? Or running inefficiently? Ta

  Get an energy meter like https://www.jaycar.com.au/mains-power-meter-with-extendable-…

  • 

    Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 00:33

    Cheers. How will they know the start read, if they have already taken actual end read for billing purposes?

    Thanks for the link - would you say that would be a good investment based on my situation? Would prefer to have like a database site or something for frugal OzB purposes LOL

    • 

      avoidfullprice on 21/01/2022 - 00:39

      +3

      Tbh, either a clerical error on their end, or they didn't do final read properly. Either way, I know what you thinking, like if they don't listen to you and you have to pay 3k. No. Talk to them politely, tell them exactly you just moved in 2 weeks ago and this does not sound right. let them go through their customer service centre checklist. just wait and don't pay. If they don't waive it, then drop a line at their complaint department that the estimated start read is unreasonable and ask them to review. Seriously, be patient and calm down.

      Do you need a consumption meter at this stage? No. Unless you have six new fridges and a spa then You're on your own. If you have a mining rig I don't wanna talk to you. If your neighbour is growing weed well you have a bigger problem on hand.

      • 

        Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 00:48

        Thanks for your quick reply. You are right, I'll see what Support says, hopefully tomorrow.

        I was of the idea that they do this so often that they can't stuff it up this badly lol

        • 

          avoidfullprice on 21/01/2022 - 00:59

          +1

          @Brodo Faggins: They estimate often, and often not get the bill vetted by a human before sending out.

          They will likely throw you the due to covid we didn't do actual read since 2020 excuse. Another likely case is the last tenant had estimate below their actual usage and didnt say anything about it. So when they do the actual read there is a big jump.

          • 

            Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 01:04

            +1

            @avoidfullprice: Hmm I was thinking maybe about prev tenant too. Whether they jacked up the usage during their last months and left the bill to me.

            And also if their last read was also an estimate, hence the switchover carrying over their estimate to me.

            Anyway thanks for the late night advice & peace of mind! Will update this post as it goes :)

  • 

    Chandler on 22/01/2022 - 01:11

    I thought supply contracts had to start & end with an actual read, not estimated?

• 

  Iwantthebestprice on 21/01/2022 - 00:49

  +2

  Ask to confirm the last actual read taken.
  Confirm your current actual read.
  Divide by # of days and work out daily avg
  This will be the best way to know if your usage is crazy high or not. But agree with comment above prop an estimate which by mistake is way to high and a picture of your meter showing the read should be enough to have a new bill issued

  • 

    Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 00:57

    +1

    Thank you, this is also good info. I'll grab a photo of actual read.

    Prev daily = 6.6kWh. On this bill it's roughly avg at 34kWh.

    (Also just found out that this bill usage is 45 days. The 2 weeks is the 1st invoice generated (actual reads). I'll update the post.)

• 

  geekcohen on 21/01/2022 - 08:32

  • The 1509kWh = 45 days use, not 2 weeks. (2 weeks is the invoice period)

  That's about 1000kWh per month which might be about right especially if the hot water system is older and not efficient. My parents had an older system and even with solar, they were using 1000kWh for a 5 bedroom house all electric. I have a 4 bedroom house with gas appliances (inc hot water) with solar and I use about 600kWh a month.

  All scenarios are different. But it sounds reasonable ish.

  • 

    Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 11:05

    Thanks. The entire hot water system has been replaced upon arrival as it over over 7yrs old.

    Still can't compare usage from a tiny 2br with 2 people, with a 5br house though hahaha

    • 

      geekcohen on 24/01/2022 - 06:37

      Still can't compare usage from a tiny 2br with 2 people, with a 5br house though hahaha

      I understand that. A 2br with 2 people helps. You never said how many people were in the house. Probably a 200L or so would be sufficient you would think. Its enough for 2 showers morning or night.

• 

  SF3 on 21/01/2022 - 08:50

  Calm down and Call your electricity provider to see what they say, before making and getting assumptions here…

  It may just balance out when actual read are taken if current read is not accurate.

• 

  pharkurnell on 21/01/2022 - 10:11

  -2

  Turn your grow lights off

• 

  Ocker on 21/01/2022 - 10:15

  With a smart meter, if you have one installed, you should be able to get actual usage data

• 

  Wade on 21/01/2022 - 11:02

  I had a similar problem, where my meter is inside our older property. Hadn't moved in as yet, and got an estimated bill quite high considering the power was actually off at the mains the whole time! The day I got the bill, I took a photo of my meter, called them, and they were super helpful. I simply provided them the reading on the phone, and they issued a new bill (with new due date) with no problems at all. Apparently I only need an actual meter read once a year.

  • 

    Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 12:25

    Thank you. The trouble with our hot water meter is that it's bolted up behind timber reinforcement. I will get to unbolting the timbers over the weekend to access meter read.

• 

  norrisrules on 21/01/2022 - 11:31

  The usage is simply based off actual usage for the last 12 months and takes into account seasonality. Your old tenants probably had radically different usage than what you do. All electricity retailers have to accept photos of your meters for billing purposes, so just take your own image of your meter and submit it to your retailer, and they will bill you appropriately

  • 

    Brodo Faggins on 21/01/2022 - 12:33

    Cheers for that. I would say I'm very conservative with energy use & always switch power points off when not in use.

    The previous tenants confirmed they always had the aircon running, and never switched the power points off & still had a lower bill.

    Waiting for access to my meter to take photos, thanks

    • 

      avoidfullprice on 22/01/2022 - 10:26

      And take them daily to confirm your daily usage to the retailer. For a week at least. As the problem you're facing is estimated start reading