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"N Power" capped - should I snap their hand off?
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Martins email today got me price searching. I'm currently with Ebico.
Gas usage per year 15000 kw
Elec usage per year 2500 kw
Combined cost per month £69 (should be £59 but increased to cover winter debt)
Risk of this increasing by 15%-50% = £79 - £104 per month
A lot of people recommend the scottish power 2011 deal on here which I couldn't find on their site so will try calling them tomorrow.
The N Power 2011 deal sounds attractive >>>
Estimated cost: £837.98 = £69.83 per month
I've compared the unit costs and npower use a higher rate for first so many units then a lower rate, combined with the duel fuel, direct debit discount the £69.83 figure is achieved and fixed until 2011!
Is this a complete no brainer?
I don't mean to put you off, but fear you could be looking at the npower offer through rose tinted spectacles at present.
You currently pay, as you say, £69 per month with ebico.
But £10 per month is an outstanding debt which you appear to not have included in npower figures. This is probably correct as I'm not sure if you can transfer the debt anyway. Simplest way to handle this is to ignore the £10 for the purposes of comparison. The debt being paid off should not increase unlike the cost of power itself which you have added between 15% and 50% to.
So based on consumption, current ebico costs are £59.00 per month.
Risk of increasing by 15%-50% = £67.85 - £88.50
Cost with npower = £837.98 = £69.83 per month (as per your calculation which seems correct)
Will ebico raise prices again this year, or ever? Well if anyone knew this for certain the decision would be a lot easier. Based on past history over 10 years, ebico have never changed prices more than once per year (unlike other companies)
So if ebico hold prices for the remainder of this year, you will be paying over 15% premium for this year.
If ebico then raise prices next year, they would need to increase them by over 30% to enable you to make money with the npower deal over 2 years.
If you change today, the npower 2011 deal expires in 2 years 7 months (i.e. 31 Dec 2010)
Put another way, if ebico were to raise prices by 15% next year (2009) and by a further 15% the following year (2010), you would be worse off transferring to the npower 2011 deal today.
Ultimately, the decision to change can only be made by you as no one knows what, if any, price increases will occur in future. But perhaps the figures I have shown may make the decision not so clear cut. Sorry."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Don't forget the Scottish Power 2011 fix.
I just signed up for it on the phone although they said it was no longer available on the web.
I too was contemplating a fix with NPower until I realised it meant a 36% hike!
The fix with SP works at a hike a 20% which I believe is probably acceptable for a near 3 year cap in the current climate of uncertainty.
Looks like the plug may get pulled on that offer anytime now though..0 -
Gas:
6.55p first 4572 Kwh/year
2.13p afterwards
Electricity
14.98p first 728Kwh /year
13.90p afterwards
Where did you get these figures from? Just asking cos i had a look earlier today and the prices i found on their list of tariffs were
gas 7.366
2.235
Electricity 14.490
12.695
Why are there so many different tariffs, its so confusing!0 -
Where did you get these figures from? Just asking cos i had a look earlier today and the prices i found on their list of tariffs were
gas 7.366
2.235
Electricity 14.490
12.695
Why are there so many different tariffs, its so confusing!
It depends where you are in the country as Npower 2011 would cost us a fortune! It would actually cost us double what we are paying at the moment with Atlantic. I have gone with Eon fixed to oct 09 as it is not too much more than I am paying already.Our dream has come true...
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Where did you get these figures from? Just asking cos i had a look earlier today and the prices i found on their list of tariffs were
gas 7.366
2.235
Electricity 14.490
12.695
Why are there so many different tariffs, its so confusing!
I got the figures by phoning npower directly and asking, having already looked online. The 2011 fixed, which the person from npower told me was 3 years from switch, not up until the 1st of January 2001, is standard npower tariff +7%.
The standard tariff is local, though, which I had forgotten. So my figures are only valid for the midlands. It's a bit cheaper in some areas and a bit more expensive in others.0 -
I got the figures by phoning npower directly and asking, having already looked online. The 2011 fixed, which the person from npower told me was 3 years from switch, not up until the 1st of January 2001, is standard npower tariff +7%.
The standard tariff is local, though, which I had forgotten. So my figures are only valid for the midlands. It's a bit cheaper in some areas and a bit more expensive in others.
The expiry date of 31-Dec2010 I got from the energyhelpline.com comparison site
These are the rates & details for the NorthWest of England (since that appears to be where the OP lives based on current Ebico charges)
http://www.energyhelpline.com/energy/rg_tariffdetails.aspx?rg=7&tid1=214697&tid2=214655npower
npower is Britain's largest electricity supplier and supplies gas, electricity and related services to 6.8 million customers across the UK. npower is a market leader in renewable energy and sources the green energy for juice and National Trust Green Energy directly from renewable sources, at no extra cost.
npower have been given a 3 star service rating as they recently had a moderate level of cases raised against them by energywatch and a wide range of services including full online account management. They offer four main tariffs:
1. Sign Online is often very cheap. You can sign up to the Sign Online tariff on the website or we can organise the sign up for you over the phone. All correspondence associated with this tariff is paper based and will come to you through the post. You can still call the main (0845) npower customer services phone number for any account queries or questions.
2. Standard is their most common / regular tariff.
3. Juice is a green tariff that provides the user with 100% green electricity from wind power. It is recommended by GreenPeace as 'the best non-premium green electricity product'.
4. National Trust Green Energy is another green tariff that provides the user with 100% green electricity from wind power. In addition, npower will donate £15 every year to a low carbon fund.
npower tariffs can include a large discount paid at the end of each year - anything from £21 to £84 a year. Therefore over the year you will save the money quoted, however, if you leave during the year you will lose the discount and some of your savings. npower now offer the option of managing your account online, with online billing and the ability to submit a meter reading and pay your bill online. Once you have become a customer you can sign up for this, if you want.
Tariff Details
Name npower - Price Fix 2011
Region NORWEB
Payment method Monthly Direct Debit
Features • Extended hours 0845 customer contact centres
• Moderate service ratings
• Prices fixed until 31st Dec 2010
• No tie-ins or cancellation fees
Pricing Details
Gas Electricity
Standing charge 0.00p per day (£0.00 per year) 0.00p per day (£0.00 per year)
Unit charge (pence per kWh) 7.463p for the first 1143 kWh per quarter, and 2.235p thereafter 15.173p for the first 182 kWh per quarter, and 13.388p thereafter
Discounts Direct Debit discount of £21 per year for gas and £21 for electricity. Dual fuel discount of £42 per year. Total discount of £84 per year
All prices shown are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
Additional Information
Tariff Information The savings quoted include any discounts associated with this tariff. The discounts will be paid to you annually in arrears from your final bill of each 12-month period. To qualify, you must take your supply from npower and pay by the same payment method for a full 12 month period – this period does not have to be a Jan-Dec calendar year. Prices for this tariff are fixed until 31st December 2010.
Special offers associated with tariff n/a
Other services available from supplier n/a
Unit prices for East MidlandsPricing Details
Gas Electricity
Standing charge 0.00p per day (£0.00 per year) 0.00p per day (£0.00 per year)
Unit charge (pence per kWh) 7.514p for the first 1143 kWh per quarter, and 2.235p thereafter 14.826p for the first 182 kWh per quarter, and 12.338p thereafter
Discounts Direct Debit discount of £21 per year for gas and £21 for electricity. Dual fuel discount of £42 per year. Total discount of £84 per year
All prices shown are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
Unit prices for Midlands
This confirms the prices you were quoted - difference being that yours are excl.-vatPricing Details
Gas Electricity
Standing charge 0.00p per day (£0.00 per year) 0.00p per day (£0.00 per year)
Unit charge (pence per kWh) 6.884p for the first 1143 kWh per quarter, and 2.235p thereafter 15.729p for the first 182 kWh per quarter, and 14.595p thereafter
Discounts Direct Debit discount of £21 per year for gas and £21 for electricity. Dual fuel discount of £42 per year. Total discount of £84 per year
All prices shown are inclusive of VAT at 5%."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
I am currently with NPower and I am so confused!!
Gas usage per year 1600 kw
Elec usage per year 1800 kw
Gas -
First 1473 at 6.1p
1.9 afterwards
Elec -
First 180 at 15.03p
11.11p afterwards
We are moving house tomorrow / over the next 2 weeks and would either like to cap prices or change energy supplier. I currently pay bills as and when they arrive, although the lady on the phone said I can save £80 by paying monthly DD.
We live in a mid terrace 2 bed property atm, but will be moving to a larger 3 bed mid terrace with only part double glazing and not in the best state of repair so I'm expecting my usage to increase.
I have no idea where to start as I've never switched energy suppliers before or anything like that. I've read all the info Martin says but am still none the wiser lol.
xXx"All of us are lying in the gutter but some of us are looking up at the stars." Oscar Wilde.0 -
I don't mean to put you off, but fear you could be looking at the npower offer through rose tinted spectacles at present.
You currently pay, as you say, £69 per month with ebico.
But £10 per month is an outstanding debt which you appear to not have included in npower figures. This is probably correct as I'm not sure if you can transfer the debt anyway. Simplest way to handle this is to ignore the £10 for the purposes of comparison. The debt being paid off should not increase unlike the cost of power itself which you have added between 15% and 50% to.
So based on consumption, current ebico costs are £59.00 per month.
Risk of increasing by 15%-50% = £67.85 - £88.50
Cost with npower = £837.98 = £69.83 per month (as per your calculation which seems correct)
Will ebico raise prices again this year, or ever? Well if anyone knew this for certain the decision would be a lot easier. Based on past history over 10 years, ebico have never changed prices more than once per year (unlike other companies)
So if ebico hold prices for the remainder of this year, you will be paying over 15% premium for this year.
If ebico then raise prices next year, they would need to increase them by over 30% to enable you to make money with the npower deal over 2 years.
If you change today, the npower 2011 deal expires in 2 years 7 months (i.e. 31 Dec 2010)
Put another way, if ebico were to raise prices by 15% next year (2009) and by a further 15% the following year (2010), you would be worse off transferring to the npower 2011 deal today.
Ultimately, the decision to change can only be made by you as no one knows what, if any, price increases will occur in future. But perhaps the figures I have shown may make the decision not so clear cut. Sorry.
Premier many thanks for the time to took to have a look at my figures. You are more than correct my actual cost is £59, if I carried on paying £69 for the rest of the year I would go into credit and get cheque back at the end of the year.
So Npower is £10 per month extra.
The good news is I spoke to Scottish Power who can offer £64 per month. i will post the actual costs when I get home later.
£5 a month extra and a bill of £64 a month for the next 3 years is very attractive.
You only have to look at the rising fuel costs and a penny a day going on the forecourt prices. Gordon Brown himself admits theres still a long line of increases on the way and its going to get no easier anytime soon.
I personally think the predicted increases could easily happen with the state of the economy, and continue to happen year on year. :money:0
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