help with electric bill (sorry!) - it has doubled!

greenbeans


Joined: 26/08/2011
Posts: 105

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 10:55

Hi, sorry to bother you all with this post - i've read old threads and know it has come up often.

just wondered if anyone could help me with my electric bill. We are trying hard to keep our costs low at the moment (aren't we all!!!) but my bill has more than doubled since last month and I have not altered what we are using.

We do not use our Air Conditioning at all, and I only use my immersion heater on a Saturday and Sunday morning (for around an hour or 2) for hot water for showers. Rest of the time I boil water from a kettle for washing the dishes. Apart from that, I have an electric oven, use the washing machine daily but nothing else major.

We have been here 3 months. First month bill was 120TL, next month 116TL, but this month is has shot up to 288TL.

Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on the huge increase. From reading old posts, i presume asking Kibtek is a waste of time...?



Thanks all. Upset having to pay so much when I haven't even enjoyed using it! x

metininkibris


Joined: 12/12/2011
Posts: 86

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:07

What is the number of units used on each bill ?

Pipie


Joined: 05/01/2008
Posts: 5499

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:07

Probably due to the price electric increase.

andy2b123


Joined: 21/12/2010
Posts: 141

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:11

I know that this may sound very silly but have you some electrical appliance left on? The gate light?

Also check your water pump is it running constantly? May be a problem with the water system

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:23

The real question is touched upon in msg 2, how many units have you used in the months you are comparing? If you tell us this information we can then judge whether it's usage or pricing related.

Jovial_John


Joined: 31/01/2009
Posts: 1024

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:24

Are you looking at the final total - because that includes last month's bill if it was unpaid when they issued the current bill.

greenbeans


Joined: 26/08/2011
Posts: 105

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:46

Thank you all for your help! Means so much!



Ok, units. I am reading 'Tuketim Miktari' which I think is units...?



Month 1: 156 units (120TL)

Month 2: 280 units (116TL)

Month 3: 571 units (288TL)



So by this, I would presume that the price is correct. Just can't work out how I am consuming this amount! We have no pool or outside lighting, so cannot be accounted to that. I pay bills within a week of receiving them, so no late fees. This is just for the last month only. I have checked the reading on the outside meter too and the readings seem to be accurate.



How on earth have i jumped from using 280 units to 571 units!



hmmm.....



thanks again for your input! really appreciated! xxx

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 11:49

Try switching off your electric at the mains...and then go and check your meter...if it is still turning, then it could be that someone is stealing from you.



DD

flutterby


Joined: 11/01/2008
Posts: 214

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 13:24

Month 1: 156 units (120TL)



Month 2: 280 units (116TL)



Month 3: 571 units (288TL)



Above doesn't look right at all. Month 1 you used 156 units and paid 120TL, then you used nearly double the units in month 2 and charged only 116 TL??

juliamoons



Joined: 14/05/2009
Posts: 849

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 13:46

Check your bill again and make sure that month2 is not included as not paid within your month 3 bill itemised as Bakiye Borç.



Regards

Julia

greenbeans


Joined: 26/08/2011
Posts: 105

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 13:53

Thanks Julia.



My Bakiye Borc is in credit by 0.62.



I am so confused by it all. I will just need to keep a very close eye on my meter.



Thank you all for your comments xxx

susiesusie


Joined: 09/03/2009
Posts: 337

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 15:06

maybe it can be explained like this?

month 1 ..... 156 units........(120tl)

month2.........280 units......(116tl) . it appears the difference between the two which is 124 units is the 116tl.

hence .......month3 ..571 units (288tl) is actuually the difference again of 291 units......................is the 288tl.

This then means that you have either not paid your bills or not been credited them. If you havnt been credited them , thn this also includes penalties.

Hope this helps.

Pippie


Joined: 02/12/2009
Posts: 1288

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 15:29

Just picking up on what Susie has highlighted in msg 12, her explanation sounds plausable but yet you said you always pay your bills within a week. Do you have your receipts of payment. Perhaps you should go to Kibtec afterall (go straight to the office at the back on the 2nd floor, through the door at the side of where you go to make the payments). The guy in there speaks good English and ask him to check that your payments have been being credited to your account. If not they they need to rectify this for you.



Good luck.

canada


Joined: 17/05/2011
Posts: 195

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 16:33

i had a neighbor tap into mine one time

i was told by the electrician but proof is another thing

stellasstar1



Joined: 02/07/2008
Posts: 1519

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 16:39

How are you paying your bills, do you actually go to the office and pay or by direct debit or yourself on line each month. If it's done on line, they tend to still show the previous months on the bill, even though it's been paid. Keep a record daily of your electric use, it might sound over the top, but I did that when using a lot when I first came here, and learnt what used a lot of electricity and what didn't, so was able to control my usage.

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 16:52

I agree with post no. 9. It makes no sense and I think the explanation will come by itself when that anomaly is sorted out i.e. 120 TL for 156 units, 116 TL for 280 units and 288 TL for 571 units.



Greenbeans,

Is it at all possible to take a picture of these bills and put them up somewhere? I am sure the answer is there.

ismet

BizziLizzi


Joined: 02/08/2011
Posts: 855

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 18:40

How lovely to find a thead where everyone is being helpful and no one sarcastic!



Just a few thoughts with questions for the more electrically knowledgeable and mathematically less challenged than myself. Because economy in electricity is becoming very important to us all.



Presumably the months were September, October and November? With efficient solar water heating I cant remember using any supplementary water heating in September and very little in October.



Kettles are one of the highest users of electricity. Is it cheaper (except on the very rare totally sunless days) to top up the water already partially heated by the sun with a short spell of immersion heating. (I usually find half an hour adequate)?



What heating is used. Previously threads here indicate that air con is in fact the cheapest form o f ELECTRIC heating.

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 19:19

One thing you do have to watch is that 1 mth is not necessarily the same as the next month. They rarely read the meter exactly 30 days after the last reading, so you can get long months of nearly 5 weeks & short months of just over 3 weeks. This means that you cannot just look at each bill & compare with the last.

You can check this out by looking at the date on the bill, ie. when they read the meter & comparing this to prior month. Also the 2nd item on the bill is the service charge & is charged per day, so you can see at a glance how many days your bill was for.

I does not explain your problem on this occasion but does make it difficult to compare usage.

Finally as others have indicated electricity prices have gone up by 25 to 30% depending on how much electricity you use in each charging period, per band. The more you use the more you pay. December was the first full month with the full price increase on the entire bill.

theparson


Joined: 28/05/2011
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 20:17

I would advise anyone living in the TRNC to go into Kibtek in Girne and pay their bill by cash each and every month. This way you know the bill has been paid, and you are not relying on a third party to muck things up for you.

the butler


Joined: 22/06/2007
Posts: 1958

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 20:43

I had the same problem as msg1, this month our electric bill had more than doubled from previous months. We don't use electricity for heating and have not used the water heater or oven any more than any other month. We pay our bills on time and at the bank. On checking our meter the reading was accurate with the bill but we still cannot understand why this should be. We have switched to using the gas to boil the kettle now and we are being very careful how we use appliances.





The butlers wife

PhilUK


Joined: 31/03/2010
Posts: 236

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 21:18

I've not been here long and have made a big mistake-my first months bill was about 285TL(I had budgeted for around £150 per month as I have a pool- this months bill was(I never gt a bill in November for some reason)-wait for it-is 1350TL.

I had family from UK staying a few weeks ago and not understanding that the water tank is on the roof and therefore not insulated had l had left the immersion on 24/7 for 6 weeks!

I am assuming this is the reason for a bill of this size_ I guess it's my fault and a lesson learned here- in the UK the tank is inside and insulated so I suppose the immersion would not kick in so often - but it's a lesson learned I suppose.

would anyone know how much lekky an immersion on full time for that length of time would cost- or should I be looking else where?

Ant advise would be appreciated.

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 21:37

I'm not an expert but I think they use at least 1 Kilowatt an hour & leaving it on 24/7 for 6 weeks would be disasterous for your electricity bill especially at night. 24 x 42 = 1008 units. If your bill is 1350 TL then you seem to have got off lightly.

We used 16 units per day in October & 21.5 units per day in November, but living here full time with a pool pump & using some electric for halogen fires in November.

In October our bill incl. KDV was 220 TL for 34 days using 514 units.

In November was 294 TL for 27 days using 580 units.

So our bills seem slightly cheaper than your 1st bill which would have been for September before the prices went up significantly?

Hope this helps.

PhilUK


Joined: 31/03/2010
Posts: 236

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 21:50

scruff-thank you for that,at least i know my leccy is not being hacked into and just a stupid newbie mistake on my part.

the irony is that every switch in the house lights up so that you know it's on-except for the one which uses the most electric-go figure?

Thank you for the advise.

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 22:30

Just 2 things. The immersion heater would not have kicked in whilst the solar panels were in the sun, but only once they were in the shade & the water cooled down. Obviously night time would have been the worst. This does assume that you have a thermostat on the Immersion heater. They do tend to set them rather high here at 60c which I personally think is too high. I had ours lowered in the UK. years ago because you really don't want or need to be paying for boiling water.

2nd thing. You say you didn't get a bill for November. Does your latest bill show a total arrears figure on the line Bakiye Borc because if so this was your previous bill for October billed in November.

Alternatively if they didn't actually read your meter last month, then this bill should show 500 units more or less in each of the first 3 bands & finally any balance in the 4th band. This means they have correctly calculated last months usage.

ctd.

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 22:33

However, if by any chance the latest bill shows 250 units more or less in the first 3 bands & all the remainder in the top band then you have been significantly overcharged on a 1 month basis for 2 months. If this is true, you do need to go to the Kibtek office because you have been charged twice as much as you should have paid.

PhilUK


Joined: 31/03/2010
Posts: 236

Message Posted:
21/12/2011 23:00

thank you again scruff- i will upload the bill in the morning.