SWM billing - electricity bills

I saw my bank statement today and noticed that SWM is charging me 29 euros/month. That sounds a little low, are they going to charge more sometime later? I haven't yet received a paper bill in the mail stating how much power we are using, so I have no idea how/when this will happen. Can someone explain to me how this works? I hope I don't get a huge bill at the end of the year...

I have no idea, however we seem to get one BIG fuckin' bill at the end of each year...my gf is trying to tell me that's how germans do it...fuck that.

SWM and most other power providers charge you a monthly fee based on the size of the place and how much power they think you would use. As you already know there figure for your place is 29 Eur per month. At the end of the year they calculate how much you actally used, subtract the amount you already paid thru
out the yeear and send you a big bill at the end of the year...

29 Eur is a bit low (Unless you have a small place), esp. considering that they up'ed the gas/power prices on
1 JAN. Don't be surprised if you get a power bill at the end of the year for 300+ Eur. They will also
recalculate a new monthly fee for you based on the new usage figures. If you think you are using more
power than what you are paying for the contact SWM and have your monthly fee raised 20 Eur. This way the
bill at the end of the year isn't so big, and depending on how much power you actally use, you might get a
refund.

Is there a way you can calculate how much you use? Is there a formula posted somewhere? I really would hate to get a huge bill at the end. I would much rather get nothing or a small refund. We just moved in and the people living here before us didn't have a dryer...

@KKS
I'm sure there is, contact the folks at SWM and I'm sure they can help.
They will ned to know things like, how big is the place,how many people live there, How man large appliances you have, etc..

We used to be charged once every 2 months for SWM. They have now changed this and are charging everyone once a month. You get some kind of discount if you pay by direct debit too.
Along with the last bill they sent the annual bill showing how much extra we'd have to pay to cover the rest (about EUR100). They also accordingly changed our monthly sum which is debited to adhere to this, so that hopefully at the end of next year there won't be so much extra to pay in a lump sum.
Along with this, they also sent an explanation of what your bill means, how to read it, and where to find certain information on your bill.
Maybe this will reach you soon, if not just ask SWM maybe.

You can agree with SWM how much you WANT to pay a month.

For instance, our old tennants were being charged approx 50€ bi-monthly. Based on our power usage in our old place, we decided this would be way too little and we did not want a huge bill at the end of the SWM year (Soon after the jahresrechnung is done for your building) we asked if we could pay 100 bi-monthly and they were fine with this.

The only way you will calculate your monthly usage accurately is if you can get your landlord to let you have a look at your meter.

that would be wonderful, but highly unlikely. they say you save time & money by having them withdraw the amount, but it doesn't cost me anything to set up a bi-monthly transfer. in the "old" days when you had to fill out a tranfser form every month it was a hassle. i wonder who still does this?

Take electricity meter readings as the beginning and end of the month, then work out your bill for the month from their published tarif (which is different for different people - you'll need to check what tarif you are on). The bill is made up of an annual standing charge, plus a charge according to consumption. At this wintery time of year then your use is above average, but you can use this as a basis. SWM aren't the cheapest around, so if you want to save money then you might want to change providers which is very easy. You can get a comparison of providers and costs according to your annual consumption and location at www.strom-tarif.de

YL6

Well I get a discount for paying by direct debit. Maybe they only offer it to special people

I should say your pre-payment is definitely to low. I pay € 137 for app. 67 m² bi-monthly. Then again, we have a washer and a dryer and a dishwasher.
SWM tends to do this, though. Our office (300 m²) pays € 25 per month, which is ridiculous.

www.stromtip.de suggests that the average consumption for a single person is 1700kWh per year so would cost €338 a year or around €28 a month on the cheapest provider or €366 (€30.50/month) with SWM. For two people the average rises to 2600kWh per year, costing €475 (€39/month) from the cheapest or €517 (€43/month) with SWM. If, as a single person, you are a heavy consumer (washer, dryer, loads of electrical stuff) then maybe your payments are low. I wouldn't increase your payments, however (why give someone else your money to look after?), but sidle the additional money off into a savings account in the meanwhile so you earn a little interest. If your next invoice does show increased consumption then future monthly payments will be adjusted accordingly.

YL6

Sometimes you CAN be overpaying and get money back at the end of the year!

But €29 a month is pretty low. The Jahresrechnung after my wastrel ex moved in with me the bill rocketed and I had to go down to the SWM's poor bastard department and ask for a repayment plan cos I coulsn't afford it.

They are legally obliged to set the monthly payment at a level that shouldn't give you a massive bill to pay at the end of the year.

There are providers around and some of them are cheaper but there's hassles sometimes and I've come round to saying that SWM is kinda OK.

Does anybody know which household appliances consume the most electricity?

Ones that produce heat (e.g. kettle, toaster, dryer, oven)

If you want to save electricity rememberto turn lights off, turn the TV completely off etc.

Thanks Beg Tets. Can't find any list on the net listing which uses most and least. Tried but no success.

Look on the label for rated power for the various appliances. Basically, the higher the wattage the more current it draws (i.e. the more "electricity" it uses).

You didn't look very hard did you? Simply Google for "power consumption". Among others, the first and fourth in the list provide tables for appliance consumption. The more "Watts" they are the more expensive they are. 1000 Watts consumed in an hour is the "unit" of electricity you pay for. So an appliance that uses 500 Watts consumes 1 unit in 2 hours, or an appliance that uses 2000 watts uses 2 units every hour

YL6

We got sent recently a card to return to SWM which asked for a meter reading. So I assume up until now they've been going on an estimate. Did anyone else get this thing from SWM and does anyone know if one has to send it back or if it's optional? I reckon they undercharge me compared to what I actually use ...

They are not undercharging you as such, just the money they are taking is not covering your consumption. I don't think you HAVE to return the card but one day they will do a correct readoing and you WILL have to pay.

@Chuck Fadanoid:
We got a card as well and if I recall correctly the accompanying letter said that if we didn't return the card they would charge for a meter reader to come out and check the meter. So fill in that card!

The advantage about not paying by direct debit is that if you're freelance and your bank account is subject to alarming fluctuations (fluck to you Europeans too) you can sometimes juggle the time of payment to suit you better. Takes discipline, though. Sorry if this is so obvious that a huge enervated sigh has gone through the ranks.

Ah right, if it says that then DO fill out the card and send it back.
They can't charge for a normal annual reading but if for some reason you weren't there they CAN charge for the bloke to come out to you a second time.