Easywarm (Swalec)for over 50's ends next week

Yes,

But be aware that even though Swalec are part of the SSE group, Easywarm is ONLY available in Wales. They don't do it in their other companies areas.

Unfortunately, as you mentioned above, Swalec have also put the prices up on Easywarm from 1'st of Feb 2006.

I've now received my price increase letter so I know what the damage is.

Previously the Easywarm prices were discussed in the Staywarm thread (thread 72534, post 32 etc.) but it seems more sensible to put them here now.

So, for example:

3 bedroom 2 people now £65 per month (had been £58 per month before).
3 bedroom 3 people now £71 per month.
2 bedroom 2 people now £57 per month.

They have also taken the opportunity to reduce the maximum usage allowances, e.g. for 2 people and 3 bedrooms on dual fuel the maximum is now 34,750 Kwh of gas and 6.500 Kwh of electricity, or on single fuel the maximum is now 24,500 kwh of electricity.

For those unfamiliar with Easywarm it is Swalec's version of Staywarm (unmetered fixed monthly price for the 'elderly') and as discussed above is only available in South Wales.

Unfortunately Easywarm prices are not fixed for 12 month periods like Staywarm are.

Even with the increase they are still a little bit cheaper than Powergen Staywarm.

The significant cut in the maximum usage allowance is a bit worrying. I'll find out in due course what happens when you exceed it.

I presume that once winter is past, one would swap suppliers to stop paying the company a guaranteed monthly amount, as you are using less electricity and/or gas?

Nigel.

Easywarm is a good scheme but the revised (reduced) usage limits are a bit tight. It was originally sold to me as a "use as much as you want" for a fixed price but it is nothing of the sort.

What I would like to know is what happens if I exceed the gas limit but fall short on electricity as is likely to be the case with us. Does Swalec offset the two against each other, or will they take me off the scheme if I marginally exceed the gas limit but fall well short on electricity. Perhaps I will have to reduce my gas comsumption and use electric fires for a while! Won't be the same as having the central heating on, but I would like to stay on the scheme next year as it is fair value.
Or did Swalec introduce the scheme as a sprat to catch a mackerel, collecting a host of new customers only to transfer them to their standard tarrif later?

Looking through the papers I received when I signed on to Easywarm in May 2005, I have no evidence of any usage limits at all. Does anyone have the previous limits, if any? Being a new scheme it may be only now in the light of experience that they are in fact setting limits. In any event it would be unfair and I suppose unethical (do they care!) to reduce lower limits during the year as customers would not have the opportunity of reviewing/reducing usage in time to make a difference before their year end (which obviously varies from person to person depending on the joining date), and could be construed as a breach of contract. Perhaps the new limits will apply to the next full year.
I will be writing to them shortly for clarification and will post the outcome here.