Resources for Personal, Social and Health Education Activities on energy bills and energy use

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1 Resources for Personal, Social and Health Education Activities on energy bills and energy use Contents Energy bills quiz Energy bills quiz answers Energy bill exercise Energy bill exercise answers Energy meters quiz Energy meters quiz answers Energy meters exercise Energy meters exercise answers

2 Energy bills quiz 1) How often is it recommended we should look into switching our gas and electricity tariff in order to get the best deal from the various energy suppliers? a) Yearly b) 6 monthly c) Every 2 years 2) In the last ten years how much have energy bills increased by? a) Over 30% b) Over 50% c) Over 65% d) Over 100% 3) What is a Social Tariff? a) A bill sent to community groups b) A reduction in the fuel bill for vulnerable customers in receipt of certain benefits c) A higher cost tariff for high users 4) What is Economy 7 tariff? a) A tariff providing cheaper electricity for 7 hours during the night but three times more expensive the rest of the time b) A tariff for your gas where you get free gas at certain times c) A cheap rate for telephone calls 5) Which type of contract/payment method can result in a discount on your energy bills? a) Online tariff paperless billing (no bills through the post), bills can be viewed on the internet, the energy account is managed online b) Direct debit A fixed monthly payment is taken automatically each month from the customer s bank account c) Dual fuel getting your gas and electricity from the same fuel supplier d) All of the above 2

3 6) How much could a household save by switching fuel supplier? a) 50 b) 100 c) 150 d) 200 3

4 Energy bills quiz answers 1) a. It is recommended that householders should look into whether they are getting the best deal on their energy bills every year. Otherwise you could end up paying much more than you need to for your energy bills 2) d. In the last decade energy bills have doubled in cost, making it more important than ever to shop around for the best deal from suppliers as well as reduce energy use at home as far as possible 3) b. A social tariff is a special tariff designed to suit vulnerable customers (usually of retirement age or in receipt of means tested benefits such as Pension Credit or Income Support). It is not always the best deal though as sometimes shopping around for a better deal and paying by a different method, such as direct debit, dual fuel and an online tariff (no paper bills, you manage your account online) works out cheaper 4) a. Economy7 offers cheap electricity for 7 hours a night but is more expensive than a standard electricity tariff during the rest of the day. This tariff is only suitable for households with night storage heaters, which are designed to take in and store heat overnight, then release it in a controlled way the next day to take advantage of the cheaper rate offered by Economy7. Daytime electricity use should be minimised as much as possible. 5) d. If you manage your bills online rather than receiving a paper bill, fuel suppliers usually reward you with a small discount (a few percent) because it is easier for them to administer. Similarly, paying by direct debit is also rewarded with a discount as the fuel supplier is sure you are going to pay your bill on time. Most suppliers offer a discount to customers that buy both their gas and their electricity from the same supplier, as an incentive to the customer to get both from them. In total, these discounts can add up to around a 15-20% discount on your energy bill. 4

5 6) c. If you go from one of the more expensive tariffs on the market to one of the cheapest it could result in savings of 150 or more per year. If you haven t switched in a long time it is likely that you are on one of the poorer tariffs as fuel suppliers do not tend to tell their existing customers about new tariffs and special offers. This is why it is very important to check annually that you are getting a good deal. 5

6 Energy bills exercise Look at the annual energy statement provided and answer the following questions: 1) What is the name of the energy plan this customer is on? 2) When did the price of the customer s electricity change? Did it increase or decrease? 3) How does the customer pay for their energy? 4) When were the last actual readings taken? What are they? Are any of the readings that have been taken over the year estimated? 5) What discounts does this customer receive? How much have they saved over the year as a result? 6) Does the customer owe the supplier any money? 7) How much energy has the customer used over the year? How does the customer s energy use compare to last year? Have they used more or less energy? 8) What percentage of the bill is VAT? 6

7 Energy bill exercise answers (also see PDF PSHE Energy bill exercise answers ) 1) E.on Energy Plan. Suppliers tend to offer lots of different energy plans to their customers. Which one you can access depends on how you pay for your fuel, whether you have an online tariff and how much energy you use. The name of the energy plan is a useful thing to know if you are looking into switching supplier or you want to check you are on the best deal with your current supplier. Switching websites will ask for this information. 2) 27 th February The price decreased. When a fuel supplier changes its prices it must show this information on your next bill. The supplier must also write to their customers in advance to let them know the prices will be changing and when. 3) Direct debit. If the customer pays by direct debit this information will be shown on the bill, along with a summary of the payments received during the billing period. 4) Both gas and electricity meters were read on the 4 th April by the fuel supplier. Gas is 4365, electricity is Some of the readings before this date are estimated readings. The type of reading will always be marked in some way, often with an A for an actual reading and an E or est for an estimated reading. There will always be a key that explains the terminology used. If the final readings on this bill were also estimated it would be sensible to give up to date readings to the fuel supplier as soon as possible to ensure the bill is accurate, but because the final readings are actual readings the customer can be sure that they have been billed correctly for the period. 5) The customer gets a direct debit discount and a dual fuel discount. This has saved them over the year, or 8% on the bill. 6) The customer owes the supplier at the end of the billing period. With direct debit it is normal to be slightly in credit or in debit over the course of the year as the payments are designed to be spread equally over the year but consumption varies quite radically depending on the time of year, especially gas consumption where heating is used far more in the autumn and winter quarters. The fuel supplier states that the direct debit does not need to change as the direct debit should cover both the expected energy consumption for the next year as well as paying off the slight arrears. 7) The customer has used 1,408 units of electricity and 5,745 units of gas over the year. This is less than last year. This information can be gleaned from the comparison between the daily average consumption last year and the daily average consumption this year. 7

8 8) 5% VAT is always charged at 5% for domestic energy customers. 8

9 Meters quiz 1) Which of the following meter types prevents you from switching fuel supplier? a) Prepayment meter b) Credit meter c) Economy7 meter d) None of the above you can switch supplier with any of them 2) Which of the following is true of a prepayment meter? a) The fuel costs more per unit than a standard credit meter b) The customer cannot get a direct debit discount c) The customer cannot switch fuel supplier d) The customer cannot request that a credit meter is fitted 3) What might be installed if a customer gets into debt with their fuel supplier? a) A prepayment meter b) An energy monitor c) An Economy7 meter 4) Which type of meter requires 2 separate meter readings? a) Prepayment meter b) Economy7 meter c) Credit meter d) Dial meter 5) What services might be provided to a customer on the fuel supplier s Priority Services Register (a list of the supplier s most vulnerable customers) a) Relocation of a meter to a more convenient place b) Replacement of a prepayment meter with a credit meter c) Quarterly meter readings by the supplier d) All of the above 9

10 6) How often is a fuel supplier obliged by law to read your meter? a) Quarterly b) Monthly c) Yearly d) Every 2 years 10

11 Meters quiz answers 1) d. It is a common misconception that you cannot switch supplier if you have a prepayment meter. This is not the case. You can switch supplier with any type of meter but if you are in debt with your supplier you must usually repay this debt before you switch. 2) b. Fuel suppliers are no longer allowed to charge any more per unit of fuel for prepayment customers than they do for their customers with credit meters. In the past suppliers tended to charge a higher price for prepayment meters as they are more difficult to administer but this practice has now been banned by the market regulator OFGEM. Many people also wrongly believe that they cannot switch fuel supplier or request a credit meter if they have a prepayment meter. This is not true. As long as you are not in debt you are able to switch supplier and should be able to have the prepayment meter swapped for a credit meter if you want to. If you have been in debt (or if someone else that lived in your house before you moved in ran up a debt) a supplier may refuse to fit a credit meter, but it is always worth checking with the supplier. The main drawback of a prepayment meter is that you cannot access either a direct debit discount or an online tariff discount because these payment methods are not available to you. This can mean you miss out on up to 20% savings on your bill that those with a credit meter can access. This is one of the main reasons why it can be worthwhile having a prepayment meter swapped to a credit meter. 3) a. If a customer gets into debt a fuel supplier may fit a prepayment meter. They do this in order to collect the debt via the meter as well as preventing the customer falling into arrears in the future. The supplier can program the prepayment meter to collect a weekly repayment. However, the fuel supplier should not be taking more each week to repay the debt than the customer can afford. For customers in receipt of means tested benefits this should be no more than 3.40 per fuel per week, although in practice many customers do not know this and often end up paying more either because the fuel supplier does not explain this or they feel they should repay the arrears as quickly as possible. 4) b. An Economy7 meter requires 2 separate meter readings as there is a day and a night rate. When taking a meter reading to give to the supplier both day and night readings need to be taken so that the total usage can be calculated. 11

12 5) d. The Priority Services Register is a list that every fuel supplier is obliged to keep of its most vulnerable customers. This includes customers with very young children or elderly people in the home and those with disabilities. The fuel supplier is then aware that the customer is vulnerable and can treat them accordingly. For example, the supplier will take more frequent meter readings, can relocate meters to a more convenient spot, will remove prepayment meters (so that the vulnerable customer does not have to keep going out to buy credit for the meter) and also knows never to disconnect a vulnerable customer over the winter. 6) d. By law fuel suppliers are obliged to read your meter every 2 years at least. In practice it is usually more often than this luckily, but it is illegal for them to leave it any longer than this. The reason it is so important to take a regular meter reading is that without this information a supplier may not be charging you correctly for the energy you are using. If you and the supplier have not taken an actual reading for up to 2 years each bill in that time will have been based on an estimate of your usage. This can mean that you have either paid too much or too little for your energy. If you have paid too much this is very inconvenient for you but the supplier will refund the money. The main problem is if you have paid too little over a long period and then find you are in debt to the supplier. Over a long period some customers have found themselves in thousands of pounds of debt because they have consistently been paying for much less than they are really using due to a lack of actual meter readings. This is why it is highly recommended that you take frequent (quarterly) meter readings and let the fuel supplier know. 12

13 Energy meters exercise Every house has an electricity meter, and if the house has a gas supply it will have a gas meter too. This meter keeps count of the total amount of energy the house has used since the meter was installed. Energy bills are based on period meter readings so it is very important to take accurate meter readings so that your energy supplier charges you correctly for the energy you use. However, lots of people do not know how to read their meters! Use the fact sheet How to read meters to help you answer the questions below. 1) What is this meter reading? Is it a gas or an electricity meter? How do you know? Hint - you never need to look at the last digit when taking a meter reading as this measures tenths of a unit. The first 5 digits are taken for an electricity meter and the first four are taken for a gas meter 2) What sort of electricity meter is this? How do you know? 13

14 3) What sort of electricity meter is this? What else might it display other than the meter reading? Hint look at the right hand side of the meter 4) How do you know this is a gas meter? 14

15 5) What sort of meter is this display taken from? What is the meter reading? Hint - on dial 3 has the pointer just passed the 7 or is it just approaching it? Looking at the next dial along to the right helps to determine this. 15

16 Energy meters exercise answers 1) The reading is It is an electricity meter because it has 6 digits whereas a gas meter would have 5. A gas meter would also show what units (cubic feet or cubic meters) it was measuring the volume of gas in. Since the meter was installed 29,897 units of electricity have been used. The 6 th digit shows tenths of a unit and can be disregarded. 2) It is an Economy7 meter. It has 2 readings, a low and a normal rate. Economy7 meters will always have 2 separate sets of readings. One measures the consumption during the day at the normal or high rate; the other measures the consumption overnight at the low rate. These different rates are often called different things on different meters, but it s usually something like high, low, day, night, rate 1, rate 2. The meter is set to automatically switch between rates at the right times. 3) This is a prepayment meter. To check the debt on the meter you would push the blue button to cycle through the different display screens until the screen showing the debt is displayed. Prepayment meters will have a slot for a card/key or token to go into. They also have a button to cycle through the different displays. The different displays tell you things like how much your fuel costs per unit, how much debt is on the meter, the weekly debt repayment rate, what the standing charge is. 4) It has gas pipes, as well as the ft 3 symbol showing the meter is measuring cubic feet Gas meters are fairly easy to spot as they do have hefty gas pipes connected to them. They should also show whether they are measuring cubic feet or cubic meters. It is important that the fuel supplier has this information down accurately as if they think you have a meter measuring cubic feet when it actually measures cubic meters you can end up paying 3 times as much for your gas as you should be. Some customers have experienced this problem as the records were not updated properly when their new metric meters were installed. This is because a conversion factor of 2.83 is applied to imperial readings to convert to metric. So if your meter is already metric this conversion should not happen. 5) The reading is The trick to reading dial meters is to look at the way the arrows are pointing on the dial and then looking at where the pointer is. The number it has gone past (even if it is very close to the next number) is the number to record. If the pointer is hovering over a number as the third dial shows, the next dial along to the right reveals whether it has gone past or not. Because the next dial in this case is a 9 rather than a 0 we know that the dial to the left has not yet quite reached the 7. 16

17 Other resources Every Action Counts game - c- a.ac.uk/every- action- counts- community- pack (choose game cards for schools and game instructions for schools, or make your own) 17