Power company charges!

[network_engineer]

Hi all,

Could somebody please guide me on how the power companies are charging for the power supply?

If I understood correctly, they charge based on what would be the estimated use during the next billing period.
Question: Correct?

I.e. that is in addition to the charges for "bringing" the power supply to the house, which is again something I do not understand, e.g. if something does go wrong in the last mile, i.e. the connection to our house, are they gonna replace/repair it without costs to us?

The other thing that I was unable to get a clear picture of when I called the company is about day charging versus night charging. They said that we (meaning us) do not currently have the system installed.

My questions are:

- How do I go about getting it installed?
- Any idea of the charges?

Final question:
- how do I ensure I am not getting overcharged?

What is annoying me is that our quarterly bill is hitting 200 EUR, despite the fact that I am reporting the monthly usage every last day of the month.

In addition, it seems that our costs do not seem to go down, despite other actions, e.g. we decided that from October - December, we would not use the telly nor the dryer to see how it affects the consumption and charges - no change!
Can somebody please explain what's going on?

[Pursuivant]

Well basically it used to be like with the telecoms. Where you lived at = that area monopoly. Then came EU and the world went upside down. So basically, you pay your bill to your "landline" (transfer charges) but then you can buy your "operator service" (electricity) from any operator.

Now how is your heating organized or is the 200 just regular household stuff? Night electricity is usually used to heat up the reservoir in a central water heating system.

Quarterly 200? I paid just 158 for 1347kwh for Nov-Dec (80/month) for the cottage, stop already you pauper.

[Tiwaz]

I.e. that is in addition to the charges for "bringing" the power supply to the house, which is again something I do not understand, e.g. if something does go wrong in the last mile, i.e. the connection to our house, are they gonna replace/repair it without costs to us?

Yes. Line gets broken before your meter, company guys rush to the rescue and you do not pay a dime. They are responsible for delivering electricity to your meter, whatever happens after that is your responsibility.

The other thing that I was unable to get a clear picture of when I called the company is about day charging versus night charging. They said that we (meaning us) do not currently have the system installed.

Because it requires different kind of meter on the wall which can tell the time instead of just watts.

- How do I go about getting it installed?
- Any idea of the charges?

You order night electricity option, for which you pay for. They switch your meter and after that during certain hours, when use of electricity is lowest (IE night) your electricity costs less.

Catch? You are not going to use much electricity at night either unless you have some kind of big water heater or other heat storage device which can be set to warm up something during night hours and stay idle during day.
For example having heating elements on huge fireplace which heat it up during night and then it releases heat during morning/day.

Final question:
- how do I ensure I am not getting overcharged?

Read the bill.

Here is how it works... If your meter cannot be read from their facilities, they send those estimate bills. Then on occasion (at least once a year) they tell you to read the meter, report the numbers and even out the bill.

In this balancing bill they should have your total electricity used marked out. Compare this number to ones you wrote down when you read the meter and you know.

What is annoying me is that our quarterly bill is hitting 200 EUR, despite the fact that I am reporting the monthly usage every last day of the month.

So why you presume that you reporting them would cause less charges?

In addition, it seems that our costs do not seem to go down, despite other actions, e.g. we decided that from October - December, we would not use the telly nor the dryer to see how it affects the consumption and charges - no change!
Can somebody please explain what's going on?

What consumes most electricity? If you have direct heating with electricity, this winter is going to see increase in those costs even if you stopped using television or dryer.
You also will be using more lights during dark months than during summer. Again which uses more juice.

Also do not forget standby-current of appliances. While much lower than current when it is being used, it still adds up.

[Upphew]

Could somebody please guide me on how the power companies are charging for the power supply?

Two companies charge you: electric company and grid company. First charges you according to your energy consumption and the latter charges for the transfer of said energy.

If I understood correctly, they charge based on what would be the estimated use during the next billing period.
Question: Correct?

Yes, if your meter is not online readable, then they take for example previous years (or your own estimate) bill and charge according to that. Then once a year they check the real reading and either bill you more or give credit to the next bill.

I.e. that is in addition to the charges for "bringing" the power supply to the house, which is again something I do not understand, e.g. if something does go wrong in the last mile, i.e. the connection to our house, are they gonna replace/repair it without costs to us?

As Tiwaz said: electric grid company is responsible of the line to the meter.

The other thing that I was unable to get a clear picture of when I called the company is about day charging versus night charging. They said that we (meaning us) do not currently have the system installed.

My questions are:
- How do I go about getting it installed?
- Any idea of the charges?

Our electric company seems to charge flat 200 for the change: http://www.ekoteko.fi/viewLibDocument.a ... a=4&id=191
So I'd guess that you go to your own electric company and make new contract and then they come and change your meter.

Final question:
- how do I ensure I am not getting overcharged?

https://www.kilpailuttaja.fi/palvelut/v ... hkosopimus

What is annoying me is that our quarterly bill is hitting 200 EUR, despite the fact that I am reporting the monthly usage every last day of the month.

In addition, it seems that our costs do not seem to go down, despite other actions, e.g. we decided that from October - December, we would not use the telly nor the dryer to see how it affects the consumption and charges - no change!
Can somebody please explain what's going on?

If your house uses electric heating then about 3/4 of your electric bill comes from that. Telly is few hundred watts max? How much radiators use? How much warm water you must make? How much you use fireplace? How is your insulation?
Electricity is expensive during peak usage. Some energy heavy industries shut down during highest peak spots. http://www.nordpoolspot.com/reports/sys ... /Post.aspx