Overnight cheap electric rates hours are not what you may think
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As I recently moved to Scottish Power to get a fixed rate deal, I wanted to know which overnight hours gave me the cheap rate. I spent ages looking for the information, failed to find it so finally emailed them to ask. The reply came that it depends on the actual supplier in my area rather than the billing provider, so had not changed. They said the times vary from winter to summer and the cheap hours for me (Cheltenham) turned out to be:
Winter Time
If on the old dial meter it is: 12am - 7am
If on a digital meter it is: 22:30pm - 00:30am and then 02:30am - 07:30am.
Summer Time
If on the old dial meter it is: 1am - 8am
If on a digital meter it is: 1:30am - 8:30am
I am now cross to realise that I have been setting my appliances overnight in the wrong time slots for years, and therefore not getting the full advantage of the cheap rate. I have never been informed that the old 11.30pm - 6.30am economy 7 slot had changed so significantly , let alone become a split shift for most of the year! How on earth was I expected to guess this? Pretty cheeky of them, considering you pay more to have the 2 meters and so you want to use the cheaper slot as much as possible. Any way I pass this on to save others making the same mistake.
Winter Time
If on the old dial meter it is: 12am - 7am
If on a digital meter it is: 22:30pm - 00:30am and then 02:30am - 07:30am.
Summer Time
If on the old dial meter it is: 1am - 8am
If on a digital meter it is: 1:30am - 8:30am
I am now cross to realise that I have been setting my appliances overnight in the wrong time slots for years, and therefore not getting the full advantage of the cheap rate. I have never been informed that the old 11.30pm - 6.30am economy 7 slot had changed so significantly , let alone become a split shift for most of the year! How on earth was I expected to guess this? Pretty cheeky of them, considering you pay more to have the 2 meters and so you want to use the cheaper slot as much as possible. Any way I pass this on to save others making the same mistake.
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Comments
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It appears that the meter you have is 'teleswitched' which means the switching times are controlled by radio signals. This allows suppliers to vary the times without visiting the property. If it was 'timeswitched' the times would be fixed the same all year round.IT Consultant in the utilities industry specialising in the retail electricity market.
4 Credit Card and 1 Loan PPI claims settled for £26k, 1 rejected (Opus).0 -
It appears that the meter you have is 'teleswitched' which means the switching times are controlled by radio signals. This allows suppliers to vary the times without visiting the property. If it was 'timeswitched' the times would be fixed the same all year round.
Just to clarify, it's your local Distribution Company that does the switching and determines the time not your Supplier.
If you are on a teleswitch it is always best to ask your Distributing Company for the times for your address or MPAN, and if possible check by looking at the idicator on your teleswich during the low rate hours.
If on a mechanical timeswitch you should be able to see the on / off indicators.0
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