We all want to save money. One way to do that is looking at our utility bills. Are you paying too much? Maybe you’re on an amazing deal which is already saving you money every month? There are loads of different reasons why we all pay different amounts to those electricity companies every month. Let’s take a look at the average electric bill here in the UK and the reasons behind higher and lower prices.
how much are you using?
The size of your house is a key factor. The more rooms in your house, the more light bulbs you’ll have for a start. You’re probably powering more things too. Perhaps you have an electric oven or have your washing machine and tumble dryer running frequently. You might even run a business from home and have a lot of computer equipment running throughout the day. All these things will impact your electricity bill. On the flip side, maybe you’re hardly ever at home. Perhaps you work in the city all week, shower at the gym and are only really at home for a few hours a day to sleep and at weekends. Again, these things will impact your electricity bill, in a different way. Everyone has a different lifestyle and this will affect how much electricity you use every month.
Comparison Sites
If you use a well known comparison site to see what you can save, you’ll have to input your details. These will include the amount of people in your family, the type of house and how often its occupied. The comparison site will use the data it has to create an average price for you. Of course, this isn’t going to be exact and should be treated as an estimate. If you have a 1 bedroom flat, you’ll be given a lower estimated monthly bill than those selected a five bedroom detached. Comparison sites, whilst not exact, do give a ballpark figure as to how much you’d be spending annually and show the differences in price between utility companies.
The Price Of Everything
The amount you pay isn’t purely made up of the cost of the fuel. The wholesale price of the fuel makes up about a third of your bill. The rest is fees for the use and maintenance of the network of wires, the operating costs of the energy company and government charges. There’s obviously the profit margins & VAT too.
The Average Amount
If we look at last year for our average electric bill price, it was £699. That’s an increase of over 7% on the previous year and around £58 a month. As this is the average, some pay more than this amount, some pay less. You should be able to find a tariff which is cheaper for you, leaving you money to pay other bills.
Switch, Save & Spend Less
By switching your energy company you’ll likely find a cheaper fixed rate. If you’re no longer on a fixed rate with your current company, you’ve probably been with them for longer than 12 or 18 months and the fixed rate you joined on has run out. This means you’ll have more than likely switched to a more expensive standard variable tariff. Switching companies is easy and nothing to worry about. There won’t be an interruption in your supply. Look at ways that you can cut back on using electricity which will save you money. Don’t leave appliances on standby, switch off chargers when they’re not in use and consider energy efficient light bulbs. Put some time and effort into it and you can soon find yourself spending less than the average electric bill.
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