SSE to lower Gas prices tomorrow

tripled · 2 March 2007 at 1:13PM

It appears as though most people won't get the promised price reduction on the advertised date. Your prices drop once you've had your first quarterly bill after the advertised dates. meaning for some it could be nearly 3 months before they see the cut.

I don't know if you phone in and give a reading maybe they will cut it from then? Could someone try it and find out for us guys? (I can't I'm not with SSE)

The lower prices will be applied to gas usage on billing periods that commence on or after tomorrow (1 March). For electricity, the lower prices will be applied to usage on billing periods that start on or after 1 April.

space_rider · 2 March 2007 at 7:50PM

Broxis, i had forgotten that powergen been taken over by eon. I was thinking of powergen vs BG. oops!!

Cagey · 2 March 2007 at 8:36PM

tripled wrote:

It appears as though most people won't get the promised price reduction on the advertised date. Your prices drop once you've had your first quarterly bill after the advertised dates. meaning for some it could be nearly 3 months before they see the cut.

I don't know if you phone in and give a reading maybe they will cut it from then? Could someone try it and find out for us guys? (I can't I'm not with SSE)

I would imagine it will be like the increases where they estimate the usage at the changeover date.

tripled · 4 March 2007 at 4:55PM

I read in one of the papers you don't actually get the discount until after the first bill you have received since the price change. The quote I have posted is from SSE's press release, which seems to confirm that. But as I'm not with them, it doesn't really make much difference to me either way to be honest.

espresso · 4 March 2007 at 5:38PM

Cagey wrote:

I would imagine it will be like the increases where they estimate the usage at the changeover date.

Unless you provide them with a meter reading when the price change is effective from.

oldwiring · 4 March 2007 at 6:47PM

tripled wrote:

It appears as though most people won't get the promised price reduction on the advertised date. Your prices drop once you've had your first quarterly bill after the advertised dates. meaning for some it could be nearly 3 months before they see the cut.

I don't know if you phone in and give a reading maybe they will cut it from then? Could someone try it and find out for us guys? (I can't I'm not with SSE)

This was wording from the ealier post
Quote:
The lower prices will be applied to gas usage on billing periods that commence on or after tomorrow (1 March). For electricity, the lower prices will be applied to usage on billing periods that start on or after 1 April.

This is what is on Southern Electric's site

# All existing gas customers will be charged at the new rates in their first full gas bill which covers a period after 1st March 2007.
# All existing electricity customers will be charged at the new rates in their first full electricity bill which covers a period after 1st April 2007.

To me that means that any bill orignated post the reduction dates will be charged at the lower rate for power consumed after the redction date, with the usual apportionments made. Having been an SSE customer for a few years I am satified they will do it all fairly.

Cardew · 4 March 2007 at 8:49PM

oldwiring wrote:

This was wording from the ealier post
Quote:
The lower prices will be applied to gas usage on billing periods that commence on or after tomorrow (1 March). For electricity, the lower prices will be applied to usage on billing periods that start on or after 1 April.

This is what is on Southern Electric's site

# All existing gas customers will be charged at the new rates in their first full gas bill which covers a period after 1st March 2007.
# All existing electricity customers will be charged at the new rates in their first full electricity bill which covers a period after 1st April 2007.

To me that means that any bill orignated post the reduction dates will be charged at the lower rate for power consumed after the redction date, with the usual apportionments made. Having been an SSE customer for a few years I am satified they will do it all fairly.

So if you have an electricity bill on 31 March, you will pay at the old higher rates on your next quarterly bill that will be raised on 30 June.

In extreme cases you could pay at the old higher prices for 3 months(or longer) for gas/electricity consumed after their date of implimentation of the new lower rise.

Whenever there has been a price increase mid billing cycle, they have estimated consumption at the date of the price rise and applied the old and new prices.

Why can't they do that for price decreases?

Surely that is what BG is doing on march 12th?

oldwiring · 5 March 2007 at 12:16AM

My interpretstion is entirley diffreent to yours C. We must wait abd see.

thor · 5 March 2007 at 2:40AM

Cardew wrote:

The simple answer is they can’t. This was posted in another thread.

As Broxis11 mused above, BG are in a very strong position if the ‘gloves come off’

BG’s parent company Centrica have huge financial resources. If the regulator allows BG a free hand, and its starting to look as if it is going that way, they have the financial muscle to undercut all the other companies and, like a game of poker, force other companies out of the game.

Yeah right. If centrica were so rich why has it taken them a couple of decades to try and undercut their rivals. BG has been losing customers for ages but they still have enough to bleed dry and this is why they have brought in their miniscule cuts.

Cardew · 5 March 2007 at 9:24AM

thor wrote:

Yeah right. If centrica were so rich why has it taken them a couple of decades to try and undercut their rivals. BG has been losing customers for ages but they still have enough to bleed dry and this is why they have brought in their miniscule cuts.

I assume the ‘yeah right’ comment is intended to convey scepticism rather than agreement?

Your second sentence contained a question. If you are interested in an answer to that question, you might like to read this thread(it was the one I referred to):

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=381979

This is a relevant extract:

Under the rules for deregulation of the Gas/electricity industry BG, who had a monopoly, were restricted from reducing their prices. The reasoning behind that stipulation was they could have reduced their prices as a 'loss leader' and killed off any competition before those companies got up and running.

In the same way Electricity companies, who were regional before deregulation, were not allowed to reduce prices for their catchment area.

The above is an over-simplification of a set of complex regulations, and the restrictions will be relaxed - but BG still have to apply to the Regulator for permission to cut prices.

Interesting that you define 17% as ‘miniscule’!

Can you explain the 'bleed dry' comment?

SSE to lower Gas prices tomorrow

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