A man has been left furious after his housemate bought an electric car - but still wants to split their energy bills evenly. The energy price cap for October was confirmed yesterday, with millions of people across the UK now facing an average annual increase of £1,578.
Ofgem also revealed that the price cap has almost doubled from £1,971 to £3,549 for those on default tariffs paying by direct debit. Feeling the strain of skyrocketing energy prices, the man explained how his roommate has added to his cost of living woes after purchasing an electric car.
Although saving on petrol, the housemate will need to charge the vehicle at home - and is expecting his friend to foot some of the bill, the Mirror reports. Posting to Reddit, the anonymous man claims his housemate is insisting that they continue to split their energy bill 50/50 despite his new energy-guzzling motor.
He tried to suggest that they use an electricity usage monitor to see how much money it costs to charge the car, and then split whatever's left of the energy bill between them as usual, with the housemate taking on the full cost of charging the car.
But his friend argued that the man has a gaming PC which can also a lot energy - although only when it's actively in use. The man wrote: "My roommate and I have lived together for several years. We split the electric bill.
"My roommate just bought a plug-in hybrid. It charges at night and gets 40-50 miles on electricity before converting to a hybrid. I am happy for my roommate as they are really happy about the new car.
"The problem is that I proposed we use the [electricity usage monitor] I have to measure the kWh that is used to charge the car. I said we could deduct that amount from the electric bill and split the remainder as usually.
"They disagree. They brought up that I have a gaming computer and a large monitor. I told them the pc only uses high power while gaming, not all the time. I also told them that the car uses far more electricity than the PC.
The electricity they are getting will be equal to about 20-30 gallons of gasoline (equivalent miles, not cost) per month. They still disagree and we are at an impasse."
In an edit to the post, the man - who is from the US, which is also facing rising energy and fuel costs - clarified that his housemate only just bought the car, so they don't yet have a clear idea of how much it will impact their bills. The man has agreed to pay the difference if it's a minimal increase, but has estimated it could send their bills skyrocketing by 70% per month, so is reluctant to pay.
He added: "They just got the car so I don't have the bill yet, but I know it is going to up the bill by a large per cent. Also, our year to year electric bill has already been all over the place due to inflation and energy costs, so it would be hard to make a solid comparison.
"If the bill does come back with a small increase, I will pay with no problem. But we pay $0.27/kWhr (23p). Based on 40 miles a day over 20 days a month at around 35 kWhr per 100 miles (obtained by google search), at our rate, it would equal $74 (£63). Our normal bill is around $100 (£84). So 70% increase due to the car."
Commenters on the post were largely on the man's side, as many of them said that driving an electric vehicle doesn't mean that the people you live with should take on the cost of running your car. One person wrote: "Owning an electric vehicle doesn't mean you get to make your roommate pay for your transportation."
While another added: "They have to pay for their car charging. You are not responsible for the cost of their car. Comparing the cost of charging a car to a gaming computer is insane."
And a third said: "I think splitting hairs about an electric bill can be petty … until it comes to charging a car. That will produce a noticeable increase in your shared bill. Your roommate should pay more than you."
