My parents are visiting in a few weeks. I'm sure they'll offer some insight on the cost of stuff.

Doubt it. Just checked Viridian's pricing for back home. ~17p per kWh (~30 cents). I'm barely paying a third of that here.

Sure you get dinged for "debt recovery" and "delivery" here but I'd say I still come out comfortably ahead.

You're not in the country. If we use a kilowatt of power in a month the charge is $175.13 per kilowatt which is comfortably more than 17p per kilowatt. The actual bill is usually around $200 dollars, Ontario Hydro advertises that their rates are around 13 cents per kilo, if that's true the actual rate is around a buck a kilowatt.

(200-175)/.13 = 192.3076923076923 kw consumed, about $200 billed.

Cheap, it aint.

So I paid an electricity bill in December for the UK and then one again in February in Canada (bearing in mind we use propane for heating) which was considerably more expensive (maybe 2/3 times more) and most of that was $266 delivery charge and debt recovery and then actual usage, but apparently I'm wrong....ok then if you say so..

We can afford our bills but there are many in this community that can't. We like it here, I'm prepared to cop the higher bills, but don't try and say it's cheaper because it isn't...

Where exactly is this?

*DING DING DING* Give Tirytory a MEDAL! You just hit on the biggest difference in the UK vs. Canada. Canada is a lovely country... of course it is, but people need to stop thinking of "seeing the country" the same way someone in the UK can - not possible. It's FAR too vast. I've lived here 43 years (my WHOLE life) and have seen probably less than 5% of it. My children have seen even less... just Ontario alone is impossible to completely experience.

I'm visiting from the MBTTUK forum (husband is a Brit who moved here when he was a child, I'm a Brit by descent)... I love Canada, don't misunderstand me, but there are just so many more cultural and touristic things you can do closer to home... and then there's the "walking" thing... remember that Canadians? If you live ANYWHERE outside of a big city, walking gets ya no where... maybe out to see the cows? And most of Canada is vast rural. Very little opportunity for our young people still of school age to get jobs, etc.

There's good and bad everywhere, just depends on what you are looking for in your life...

Blessings wherever you all end up.

4th line. But the same is true for any low density rural location in Ontario. You smalltown folk are pampered.

But that doesn't really tell me anything, what was the breakdown of the bill in the UK and what was the breakdown in Canada and I don't know even know where in Canada you are. I accept the non-rate charges are probably higher but the purpose of the thread was to get beyond anecdotes.

£14.09 per day? That's got to be a typo.

I wrote a long reply earlier and it got deleted somehow, anyway the jist of it was- what does the breakdown really matter, the net result is that it takes more of our pay packet here to pay the electricity bill here than it did back home.

Oops yes, ignore the pound sign! 14.09p.

Because where you are the transmission cost could be unusually high for example compared to the middle of Toronto or wherever.

Less than what I pay, is there any tax?

Sounds like more as it's only 7 and a bit cents in Calgary. 5.92p = 11 cents.

That's more than what I pay now and that bill also includes water. But our consumption is obviously going to be totally different so an overall price doesn't say much.

It seems to be the fixed charges where the comparison gets hard.

So I had a poke around the web and standing charges seem to vary a lot both in Canada and the UK, but I'm going to go with what my local charges work out to, which seems to be 67 cents per day. And 14.09p works out to 26 cents which is a big difference. But the rates are enormously different too so that makes comparison tricky.

Let's say 30 day period:

Standing charge = $20.10 in Calgary, $7.80 wherever that is in the UK Chris lives,
Rate = 7 cents per kWh and apparently 14p is the average in the UK so 26 cents.

So say you use 700 kWh in 30 days (which is a completely arbitrary number because electricity usage would vary in both countries), then 700 x 7 = $49 and 700 x 26 = $182.

So clearly it would be way cheaper here because the total is $69.10 in Calgary and $189.80 in the UK (if you use Chris' off-peak rate it works out to $84.80)

Now speaking to a relative of mine, they told me they don't actually pay a standing charge at all because they get a credit for direct debit, so ditch the standing charge altogether and it's still a lot cheaper in Calgary.

Anyway 700 is the number some American website gave me, so let's imagine we're all a bit more frugal than the average wasteful American.

So let's say 100 kWh.

So... $7 + $20.10 = $27.10 and in the UK it would be: $7.80 + $26 = $33.80

So let's say you are pretty frugal and only use one tenth (70 kWh) the amount the average American uses:

So... $4.90 + $20.10 = $25 and in the UK it would be: $7.80 + $18.20 = $26

So say you use direct debit and there is no standing charge, you're a bit cheaper in the UK at the lower levels but with a standing charge you'd have to be hardly using electricity to be cheaper. Compared to Calgary at any rate. Assuming my rate is typical.

Overall though I'd say you'd be hard pressed to say the UK has cheaper electricity, at least compared to Calgary. I accept you might use more here but that was my point originally, that can lead to benefits because you can have a larger refrigerator so you don't have to go to the stores as much.

The reality is the fixed charges might be a bit more here but the rate is fantastically lower.

Anyone want to compare natural gas?

This is my experience. Our stove, heating/cooling all run off the hydro (no gas) and we pay a bit less in summer and a bit more in winter. I'd guess we'd be in the ballpark of $50/month as an average bill from Guelph Hydro. That's with all the other "fees" tacked on at the end too.

Compared to back home (N. Ireland with it's rather unique market), and discussing with family and friends who still live there, I'm confident that I'm fairly well ahead here.

Of course car insurance and petrol usage are far more expensive here!