Getting rid of E7

[tim9966]

My house has E7 meters, and still has a working storage heater, but I now have gas central heating which was fitted last year.

Now I want to get rid of E7 as I only use about 0.5 KWH at night, but I still want the storage heater to work if the boiler ever broke down, so I'll have a back up system.

Is this possible, as at the moment the storage heaters only work on E7 hours and must be wired up to do so. I'd like to keep my old meter but just add the 2 sets numbers together. Will British Gas let me do this? Just wondering as my parents had to had a new meter when they switched to single rate.

[Terrylw1]

Yes, its possible but there is an issue you have to be careful with.

Not all E7 meters are allowed to operate in standard and E7 modes. This is because they have never been set up by suppliers to do so. If they can operate this way though, you still have 2 readings but the supplier can choose to add them together if required, that's a policy call and some just prefer to show 2 readings set to the same unit price.

You need someone clued up on Market Domain Data (MDD) to check this.

What you are looking for is the following:

- the Standard Settlement Code (SSC) which is a 4 digit code (has leading zeros so can have up to 3 of them) which matches to list of meter operating modes. Basically, it says what you meter is doing e.g. E7.

- they take this code and match it to another data item called Profile Class (PC) which is a more standard item of 2 digits (up to 1 leading zero or can also be 00 for half hourly metering) and it denotes whether the meter is triggering a specifically wired load. So, an E7 meter is set to 02 which means it triggers an off peak load such as storage heaters. Now, if this meter can also be set in MDD with your SSC for your region, to PC01, then it is allowed to operate in standard mode.

So, you want your SSCXXXX to match to PC01&02 in this MDD list. This then means you don't need a meter change and your supplier simply alters your profile in the distributors database. Its very simple for them to do and is usually updated within 5 days of receipt by the distributor.

If you can only operate as PC02, then you can't do it. Now, Bgas may allow you to but just remember, your next supplier is not obliged to as its non compliant...its just Bgas are doing it to save money until they get spotted!

Another solution which can avoid issues with other suppliers is, ask them to fit another E7 that's works in both modes. If there is one in your region, it can be arranged if you prod them in the right direction. It could mean your time switch times change though, so check that.

Good luck finding someone in a call centre who understands this though, its a very specialise area that most back office/metering experts won't know much about.

If you get your SSC which is a common item you share with tens of thousands of other customers and cannot be used to find out who you are, I can show you were to check it yourself.

If you go your parents route, remember you will be talking about paying for rewiring as I'm presuming you still have the storage heating wired to the off peak circuit in your fuse box?

[tim9966]

Thanks. I think it's seems a lot less hassle to just leave things as there are. I would only save a few pence each day if I did get rid of E7, and I don't want to pay to have the heaters rewired when I may never use them again.

[macman]

But you can still switch to a non-E7 tariff without a rewire, assuming that no meter change is required. If you are only using around 185kWh pa on night rate, then E7 is probably costing you more than a few pence each day extra.

[Terrylw1]

Originally Posted by macman

But you can still switch to a non-E7 tariff without a rewire, assuming that no meter change is required. If you are only using around 185kWh pa on night rate, then E7 is probably costing you more than a few pence each day extra.

Yes, as long as the meter complies with the rules I posted earlier. If not and the supplier does it, its a fudge and not applicable to any other supplier.