The Cheapest Gas Supplier With No Standing Charge?

arion66 · 19 January 2011 at 4:03PM

Dear All

I live in an ex-local authority flat and use gas only to supply my gas cooker in the kitchen. I use this fairly minimally, so the gas bill each quarter should be tiny but unfortunately it isn't. I find that I am on duel fuel paperless billing contract with NPower for both gas and electricy which charges a standard 70 pence per day standing charge for the gas alone. Until last summer I had been paying an agreed monthly direct debit of about £4 for my gas for several years on a different tariff but still with Npower, which seemed fine. Now I am paying about £28 per month for exactly the same amount of gas!

I would now like to identify the cheapest single fuel gas supplier without any standing charge at all, or alternatively, with the lowest possible standing charge. I'm not too bothered about the actual tariff for the gas per unit of use, because this should still be minimal. Can anyone help?

Many thanks indeed.

Arion66, London NW8.

savemoney · 19 January 2011 at 4:06PM

Can you not get this information from a comparison web site? Ideally you need annual usage measure in kWh

MillicentBystander · 19 January 2011 at 4:10PM

Ring npower for your last 12 months usage figs (you may as well get electricity as well while you're on with them). npower are legally obliged to provide you with these figures. When you've got them, pop back on here with the figs and we'll have a look for you.

Cardew · 19 January 2011 at 4:22PM

arion66 wrote: »

Dear All

I live in an ex-local authority flat and use gas only to supply my gas cooker in the kitchen. I use this fairly minimally, so the gas bill each quarter should be tiny but unfortunately it isn't. I find that I am on duel fuel paperless billing contract with NPower for both gas and electricy which charges a standard 70 pence per day standing charge for the gas alone. Until last summer I had been paying an agreed monthly direct debit of about £4 for my gas for several years on a different tariff but still with Npower, which seemed fine. Now I am paying about £28 per month for exactly the same amount of gas!

I would now like to identify the cheapest single fuel gas supplier without any standing charge at all, or alternatively, with the lowest possible standing charge. I'm not too bothered about the actual tariff for the gas per unit of use, because this should still be minimal. Can anyone help?

Many thanks indeed.

Arion66, London NW8.

Virtually all suppliers have a tariff without a daily standing charge. They usually charge for xxxxkWh per year at a higher rate.

However for very low consumption like yours it almost certain that joining Ebico will be your best bet. They have no standing charge of any type and the same rate if you pay quarterly on receipt or by Direct Debit.

MillicentBystander · 19 January 2011 at 4:43PM

Without hearing more details absolutely impossible to say either way, TBH. For instance, what if the OP hasn't completed the regulation 12 months on the npower paperless billing tariff and so won't collect the £105 annual discount (plus the chance of being asked to pay another £40 in exit fees). We need more details, basically.

PS The OP seems happy to pay by DD presently so it could be that there's a better deal than Ebico out there. We'll just have to wait and see...

arion66 · 19 January 2011 at 6:28PM

Dear Respondees

Thanks so much for your indvidual and collective wisdom. I have just rung Npower, and have obtained the following total annual usage figures for 2010:

ELECTRCITY: 2286 units
GAS: 537 Kilowatt Hours.

Any further advice?

Arion66.

MillicentBystander · 19 January 2011 at 6:50PM

This is a difficult one. Are you sure you won't miss out on npower's annual discount paid in arrears by switching away? Because on that (actually almost unbelievably) low usage the £105 becomes a huge amount to lose. I think we need more info as to what npower tariff you are currently and how long you've been on it.

PS Is it a very small flat that you aren't in attendance at much?

ra200 · 19 January 2011 at 9:00PM

I have gas in my house and only the gas cooker runs of it my bill for 11 months gas was £22 on swalec but if i was on ebico it would have been even cheaper https://www.ebico.org.uk/

arion66 · 19 January 2011 at 10:29PM

Yes, it is indeed a small flat and I am out every weekday until 6 or 7pm. I am currently on Npower Duel Fuel Tariff "Standard Sign Online 14/Monthly Direct Debit"...and regretting it. My duel fuel monthly direct debit suddenly changed from its usual £19 to £44 in November, having made the switch from a previous tariff last Summer on the dedicated advice of a switch/comparison website.

Any thoughts? Most grateful.

Arion66

MillicentBystander · 19 January 2011 at 11:06PM

arion66 wrote: »

Yes, it is indeed a small flat and I am out every weekday until 6 or 7pm. I am currently on Npower Duel Fuel Tariff "Standard Sign Online 14/Monthly Direct Debit"...and regretting it. My duel fuel monthly direct debit suddenly changed from its usual £19 to £44 in November, having made the switch from a previous tariff last Summer on the dedicated advice of a switch/comparison website.

Any thoughts? Most grateful.

Arion66

Isn't SOL14 one of the tariffs where people have experienced massive increases? My fear here is that they have you by the short and curlies as it wouldn't appear you have ridden out your min 12 months contract so if you switch away you will effectively 'lose' £145 in total. Only suggestion I could make would be to ring them and ask to be transferred to SOL21 and see if they will waive the fees (other customers have stated the annual discount paid in arrears is not negated as long as you switch tariff not supplier but check first). SOL21 on your figs seems to be a ridiculous £259 cheaper!

PS My advice would be once your min commitment is up with this company to get the hell out of there. You can see what can happen in the 12 months they more or less force you to commit to! HTH.

KimYeovil · 20 January 2011 at 1:44AM

But it could be pointless waiting for a £105 discount if you are paying an unnecessary £255 standing charge. The OP has not identified their useage. They still have to look at what other tariffs would cost.

The Cheapest Gas Supplier With No Standing Charge?

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