Brano77

For the first time we received a monthly bill in December (as opposed to the previous two monthly periods) and it was based on an estimate and paid automatically via our bank account. We have now received the January bill with consumption based on November and January actual readings. However, no deduction has been made for the amount we paid for the December estimated bill! Is this par for the course as I have read some criticism of billing by the utilities?

We will obviously complain at the local office but was just interested to know if this is a common problem.

valenciatim

Have a look here!

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...le_19839.shtml

Casa Santo Estevo

Just seen that your house is in Galicia, Maybe you could put that info in the sidebar/profile as it helps others to answer your questions as sometimes you will find things a lot different up here. Hence Tim giving you a link about ENDESA not about FENOSA.
Anyway to answer your question here in Galicia there has been a lot about this on the local news and in the local newspapers. Here are some examples:
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/dinero/...03_7507614.htm
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/dinero/...03_7507616.htm
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/ourense...03_7507713.htm
This is especially maddening because after the recent storms they have not repaired all of the lines so some folks are without power. Some consumers are having to issue denuncias because of FENOSA's attitude to its customers. Time to brush up on your Spanish or Gallego me thinks.

themercer4

On the bottom of the electric bill I received in December it said that we were to pay monthly from now on.

I then received my January's bill a short time ago. It was estimated and they have gone on took out more than what I would normally pay in two months just for January alone (207 euros to be precise) I don't warm my house using electricity.

This as far as I can see is going to happen every other month. Ok, they want to take money off us every month, but they won't read the meters every month, because this is just too much work! So therefore every other month will be estimated.

The prices of everything is going through the roof. Supposed to be 'in crisis', so what do they do put everything up!
Water as well , this is also being paid monthly now. I have also paid more for that than I did in two months.

Lived here 6 years now and it is just not a cheap place to live anymore. It's a complete rip off. I would never have paid over 200 pounds for a months electric in the UK.

Mitzyboy

I read somewhere that it was a government decree that bills must be monthly now

jdr

That is right, god knows why though. ;-)

Casa Santo Estevo

The Voz de Galicia web site is down as I write this (so no link) but it seems the consumers association or a government department is looking into this mess. Saw it on TV this morning.

jjh

We are with Sevillan Endesa. If you look at the top left hand corner of your bill, below the Resumen de la Factura, you wil see Consumo. There you will see the dates and usage (estimated) for the first month. Look in the same place on the second bill and check that the dates and usage numbers follow on from the first one. The invoices are calculated individually so, therefore, they do not have to show what you have already paid.

If you look under Facturacion, below Consumo, you will also see that the price per kWh has increased on the second bill.

Hope this helps.

JJ

Brano77

jjh - thanks. Our Dec bill had no Consumo figure given in the "last reading" and "current reading" columns which I expected to see, with an E next to an estimated reading. However on a closer examination in the Calculos de Facturacion I did find a figure for kW consumption that the estimate was based on. On checking the Jan bill the Total Consumo figure at the top has been reduced in the Calculos de Factura to arrive at the bill total. So, egg on face!!:embaressed_smile:

My surprise, if not shock, was the size of the Jan bill. This I now understand is a function of an under estimate in Dec, the increase in unit cost in Jan and the fact that we have been running dehumidifiers a lot!!

So my complaint would default to the nationally voiced complaint, viz under estimate in Dec based on a lower unit cost/kW, with the under estimate being charged at the higher unit cost/kW in Jan.

Will now focus my attention on energy saving which can't be a bad thing!!

Mitzyboy

I was shocked at first, electricity aint cheap here. Dehumidifiers dont use that much according to a neighbour who checked usage on everything. Water heater, cooker and rings and the aircon are tops. Although the aircon is more efficient as it heats up quickly.

I mean to buy a fan oven and new rings at some point to make it more efficient

Brano77

Dehumidifiers are rated at 350W so you could do a calculation, which I will in due course. Galicia is damp this time of year and many people run them continuously in their homes.

Granted main energy burners are hot water, cookers etc. I think another thread on energy saving tips may be useful. For example, we have an electric French Thermor 150 litre wall monted electric hot water heater and there is always debate about whether it more efficient to run them on a timer or continuously.

Fred James

It is cheaper to put them on a timer and run for a few hours. If they run continuously the heat loss is higher and it is the heat loss that uses most of the power.

I have one of those plug in energy meters that will measure actual consumption over a period and when I tried it on my water heater it showed a saving of nearly 50%. The heater is on for only 3 hours each night.

As we are on the "night" tariff the saving is even greater, in fact we get all the hot water we need for about €70/year.

digdug

well, we've finally got our new bill through, and thanks to an estimated one last month, this is a whopping €155!!! we dont even use electricity for our hot water, and 3 rings on our cooker are gas too.
thats just taking the piss, we never had a leccy bill that high in the uk and we had econ7 running in a 3 bed house.
the time for cheap living in spain is finally, officially over.

crispy

Our winter bills run at about 220 euros bi monthly, January estimated monthly bill was 65E when we checked the reading it shold have been double that so I expect Feb's will be about 160e. Our July/August bills are often in the 200e ballpark

costablancaAnna

We Just had our bill for nov/jan and it was 416euros but we do use a fan heater in the bedroom and the computer is always on . Was a bit of a shocker though.