Prepayment meters with no standing charge

I may be making some changes to my life and I'm considering switching over to a pre-payment meter for my electricity.

What I'd like is a prepayment meter with no standing charge, such that if I don't use any electricity I don't have to pay for any. Are there companies out there that offer this? How can I find the best one?

Lastly will I have to pay to have the prepayment meter fitted and how much is that likely to cost?

Thankyou! :)

Comments

  • Kev27
    Kev27 Posts: 393
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    Ebico offer it! ;)
  • Kev27 wrote: »
    Ebico offer it! ;)

    A big thankyou Kev! :)

    I looked at their website and they look very interesting!
    I will DEFINITELY be considering them! :)
  • DirtyDick
    DirtyDick Posts: 415 Forumite
    I've just been dealing with this, having take a lease on a place with a prepayment meter for electricity.

    The ones I've looked at, Atlantic, SSE and Ebico don't have a standing charge and their cost is around 14.5p per kwh in my area. Otherwise the standing charge of about 15-20p per dim with a penny or so reduction in Kwh - I suppose it depends how much electricity you intend to use; II'm a low-medium user so a standing charge not in my interests.

    Not sure whether they'd fit one for free, maybe more likely if they offer the most competitive rates, but if not meters often switched for £30-50.
  • t0rt0ise
    t0rt0ise Posts: 4,255
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    They usually fit the PPM for free but don't remove it for free. Although there are exceptions to the rule.
  • willowgirl wrote: »
    I may be making some changes to my life and I'm considering switching over to a pre-payment meter for my electricity.

    What I'd like is a prepayment meter with no standing charge, such that if I don't use any electricity I don't have to pay for any. Are there companies out there that offer this? How can I find the best one?

    Lastly will I have to pay to have the prepayment meter fitted and how much is that likely to cost?

    Thankyou! :)

    NSC~no~NSC is snake oil :)

    Price per unit = X kWh
    Price standing charge = Y
    Price no standing charge = Z

    So Z = X & Y

    The fact of the matter is everyone's average consumption per annum is the same whether or not they pay a ' standing charge ' you see the no daily service charge is applied to your energy charges.

    Instead, you'll pay a higher rate for the first ???kWh used each quarter, then a lower rate for any other energy you use in that quarter ditto the ' key meter '

    Others will correct me, but with NSC you need to consume an minuscule amount of something like £25 per quarter to benefit.

    Free ' key meter '

    Of course its free others will correct me, but its about 15% more expensive for the same consumption than the standard DD delivery, when you later find out its 15% more they will take your last remaining good eye out in charges to have it removed.

    NOTE BG seem to be more willing to absorb the cost of replacing a ' key meter ' than others to earn you as a new customer.
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141
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    edited 23 August 2011 at 9:11AM
    willowgirl wrote: »
    I may be making some changes to my life and I'm considering switching over to a pre-payment meter for my electricity.

    What I'd like is a prepayment meter with no standing charge, such that if I don't use any electricity I don't have to pay for any. Are there companies out there that offer this? How can I find the best one?

    Lastly will I have to pay to have the prepayment meter fitted and how much is that likely to cost?

    Thankyou! :)

    As always, use a comparison site. If you click on the tariff, it'll show whether a standing charge applies or not :)

    Costs for non-essential meter changing vary by company. Some will do this without charge, but others may typically charge about £50.
    By changing to a PPM, you will lose the ability to access the better tariffs most suppliers offer, so this will result in higher costs ... but I also understand that you may wish a PPM for budgetting reasons and that may infact reduce your consumption resulting in a lower overall cost :)
    "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 2010
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115
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    NSC~no~NSC is snake oil :)

    Price per unit = X kWh
    Price standing charge = Y
    Price no standing charge = Z

    So Z = X & Y

    The fact of the matter is everyone's average consumption per annum is the same whether or not they pay a ' standing charge ' you see the no daily service charge is applied to your energy charges.

    Instead, you'll pay a higher rate for the first ???kWh used each quarter, then a lower rate for any other energy you use in that quarter ditto the ' key meter '

    Others will correct me, but with NSC you need to consume an minuscule amount of something like £25 per quarter to benefit.

    Free ' key meter '

    Of course its free others will correct me, but its about 15% more expensive for the same consumption than the standard DD delivery, when you later find out its 15% more they will take your last remaining good eye out in charges to have it removed.

    NOTE BG seem to be more willing to absorb the cost of replacing a ' key meter ' than others to earn you as a new customer.
    Ok I'll correct you Ebico does not have a standing charge and they don't have tiered rates. They are awful for high users but for those very low users they are perfect. I use less than £25 of gas a year so it would be perfect for me.

    Also, Ebico does not charge a premium for having a prepayment meter. For some customers a prepayment meter is helpful for budgeting so if they choose to have one over a credit meter and paying monthly by DD then that is their choice.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • "Others will correct me, but with NSC you need to consume an minuscule amount of something like £25 per quarter to benefit."


    I was actually thinking of a situation where there might be no use whatsoever.
    Kind of a way of maintaining the supply without having to have it disconnected and to avoid any billing issues.

    I understand it's very expensive to be reconnected after a disconnection period.

    It's a good point tho because £25 is not a lot over 3 months!
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141
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    Anyone who uses less than the tier 1 amount per quarter will benefit from being on the supplier's equivilent NSC tariff. ;)

    Whilst the tier 1 levels vary, yes it is about £25 of electricity or gas, but with standing charge/tier1 premium added, this is more like £45/qtr.

    It's unlikley that a typical user would use less than this amount of electricity per quarter unless the property is left unoccupied for long periods (e.g. a second home), but can quite often be the case for gas users during the summer quarters.
    "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 2010
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