Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

Hi,

I have just read some of this thread with interest and have some questions/observations.

It is well known that the whole, or most, of the LPG supply industry act like MI5 when dealing with customers, so they really deserve all of their customers to change supplier as often as possible. The only transparent supplier I have found is Extra gas, these people have the gas price for all of their tariffs on their home page. My change is due and I am thinking of giving them a try, currently they have an introductory of 38ppl, rising on Nov. 30th to 46ppl, fixed for a year, prices exclude VAT. This compared to my Avanti price of 55.7ppl seems good. I am of the opinion that the main suppliers put the fuel up in the winter then forget to reduce it in the summer.

In my area Extra gas do an on-line service where you order your gas and get your delivery and invoice information, so no paper invoices (until you print them). I wondered if anyone here is using Extra gas and what their experiences are?

There is a lack of smaller suppliers in the Gatwick area of Sussex.

rendor wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone else has had a letter in relation to increase in their tank rental charge from Listers. We are apparently low usage customers and so our tank rental is being increased from £50 a year to £15.99 (+vat) a month - so now at least £200 a year. A not inconsiderable increase. This is due to apparent 'great increase in tank maintenance charges and tank replacement costs'. We have an underground tank which has been in since the house was built in 1996 and currently pay 47.5ppl. We do not use the 2000ltrs a year that Listers say is needed as a minimum to make the installation financially viable. We are now out of contract with Listers - but to be honest have been very happy with them and this is the first issue I've had with them. We are low usage as we have a woodburner that we use regularly and don't over use the gas as it is pricey. Seems as if we are being penalised in other ways for using less gas. I can't see how gas usage can affect the level of maintenance a tank will require. Or maybe I'm wrong....

This sounds a bit cheeky to me. Sure, underground tank rental is invariably more expensive than overground tank rental, not least because the cost is supposed to cover bi-annual cathodic testing and replacement of the sacrificial anodes, if required (although many underground users have reported skepticism as to how often or how diligently LPG suppliers actually undertake this work).

Last time I looked in detail (about a year ago), underground tank rental typically seemed to vary between £95 and £120 (+ VAT @ 5%), so yes, £191.88 (+ VAT) p.a. definitely does seem a bit on the high side, and it's certainly a huge jump from £50 p.a. I've not heard anything about tank prices increasing sharply, although in the current global economy, I suppose that's not inconceivable - perhaps one of our resident industry lurkers could enlighten us?

Assuming tank prices have NOT changed to the extent that this rise is justified on those grounds alone (and if that is the case, many of us are in for a shock over the next few months) and assuming you are using exactly 2,000 litre p.a. they would achieve exactly the same financial result by leaving your tank rental the same and increasing your price per litre by a whopping 9.6p to 57.1ppl - and I'd bet you would look elsewhere pretty sharpish if they did that! But in fairness, remember, that they DO have to factor in tank depreciation and back-office/administrative costs (overheads) and that even if you use no gas whatsoever, they still have to cover those costs. That is why low-users generally pay such a premium.

As you are out of contract, it might be worth getting another supplier along at least to quote, and to use that as ammunition to try to negotiate a better price with Listers (even if you are happy with them) - it might be all that is needed to get them to sharpen their pencils over your tank rental. On the flip side, though, they may then want to tie you in to a contract to get a better tank rental price, and I doubt they would shift much on the per litre price as you are a low volume user (your price of 47.5ppl seems pretty fair if you are using less than 2,000 litres p.a.). And a new contract would mean you are tied in for a minimum of 2 years and (dependent on the precise terms of their contract) it could be much harder, (if not impossible to move) if they increase your price per litre after you sign a new contract.

In summary, I think you are paying a pretty good rate for your LPG (47.5ppl) based on your stated usage, and you have been paying well under the odds for your tank rental, which makes the current increase seem all the worse. If you can encourage Lister's to drop the tank rental to something around £10 per month, you'd probably do as well to stick with them, especially if you can avoid signing a shiny new contract just now!

Little vermin,

Thanks for your info., I am leaning towards them now.

HateLPG,

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried Rose gas. They do deliver to Crawley but only to the RH10 postcode, not to RH11, this is an East/West split through the town so they get the country areas on one side of the town but not on the other.

Extra fuel looks like the way to go.

To add another query, does anyone know any details about getting a larger tank, I wanted a 2,000L one when I had the installation done but the company told me that they could not get their vehicle close enough. I offered to do this myself but they were not cooperative. I would like more of a reserve for cold winters.

As far as I know your tank has to be compliant with current regs.

The only supplier that seems to advertise the price is Extra fuel, extrafuel dot co dot uk Their price is on their home page, currently approx. 46ppl, with an introductory offer of 38ppl. Where I live they do an on-line service where you read the meter and run the paperwork yourself on-line, so you print of your own invoices etc. (if you need them). There is a bit more about them in this thread.