Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

Speakeasy_2

I don't know the situation with tanks and new contracts, but I certainly hope that a standing charge of £100 does not become normal for the rest of us. I have never been in a contract and would have never before seen such an increase (from £60). At the moment, the standing charge is pretty much the same as I pay for my electricity.

With regard to these two year contracts, I would think it would be better to start in Spring or Autumn. I tend to think the Autumn, just before the Winter price increases if any. This way, the last six months of the two years is in the Summer, when likely the cost/litre has built up quite high but the consumption will be low. A person also has this last six months of the contract to decide what to do.

Speakeasy_2

Expanding on some of HateLPG's figures, that 16,500 kwh from British Gas could cost £576 according to UK Power.co.uk.

That is 3.5p/kwh for mains gas

LPG is 7.4 kwh/litre.

Take a price for LPG as 42p/litre

That is 5.7p/kwh for LPG

That is it, I promise I will not do any more comparisons (especially if someone reckons they are nowhere near right)

HateLPG

Interesting:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8275111/Energy-minister-Charles-Hendry-demands-OFT-inquiry-into-heating-oil-market.html

I wonder why Calor are so "disappointed" to have been dragged into this? If they've nothing to hide, they've nothing to worry about ;-)

The_Hornet

Just got a nice letter from Countrywide regretting that they have to put up my price by another 4p/litre. This only a month after agreeing to hold a lower negotiated price for 3 months. Not that I need any at the moment but I will be contacting them just before the 3 months is up to sort things out.

lpg-user

We have a domestic LPG tank at our house and pay an annual standing charge to the company who own and fill the tank. The tank is over 20 years old and is due its Enhanced Test this year.

Does anyone here know if we are entitled to request a copy of the current Tank Test Certificate from the company ? We have received conflicting advice from different suppliers and would be interested to learn if there are any regulations/guidance on this ?

Many thanks !

LittleVermin

lpg-user wrote: »

We have a domestic LPG tank at our house and pay an annual standing charge to the company who own and fill the tank. The tank is over 20 years old and is due its Enhanced Test this year.

Does anyone here know if we are entitled to request a copy of the current Tank Test Certificate from the company ? We have received conflicting advice from different suppliers and would be interested to learn if there are any regulations/guidance on this ?

Many thanks !

Welcome to the forum!

There's nothing about the user having a copy of the test documentation in the Competition Commission Final Order (I suggest you put "test" in the find box for this pdf: http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/current/gas/lpg_order_final.pdf There is a requirement in Schedule 1 (tank switching value) for the outgoing supplier to provide documentary evidence of the work at 20 years to an incoming supplier.


"the existing supplier should be willing and able to provide documentary evidence of the work undertaken and the date of that work. "

The order implies that the 20 years test involves complete degasification - which is why several companies remove and replace tanks at 20 years (e.g. Flogas, I was told by one of their engineers, and Calor and Shell, as told to HateLPG by their engineers).

LPG tanks, etc come under several regulations - and the HSE website is a start for these (there's an information sheet for domestic bulk LPG users from 1999 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/chis4.pdf ). UKLPG (the trade body) also put out a sheet on (/discouraging anyone from) Owning your own tank http://www.uklpg.org/lpg_property/UIS022.pdf with mention of some of the regulations.

So, apologies, I can find nothing about the user's right to a copy of the certificate. I'd suggest at the least you ask to take a digi image of the document? .. asuming you are there when the test is done.

Maybe someone in the industry who reads the forum can help, please?

frankie

longforgotten wrote: »

Frankie, once you place an order with Calor how long does it take to get a delivery please ?

Sorry for the delay in replying, I wasn't ignoring you!

Called for an order from Calor on 4 January, Gas was delivered on 21 January.

This was during their backlog period so not too bad I suppose.

They did not do a full top up though, they only delivered 404 litres, brings tank to 55%. Don't know if this was some sort of rationing strategy.

Suits me though as that will last me to June when my contract with Calor is due to end. Should be in a position to order a full tank load at 'summer' prices.

I will certainly start looking for a good deal, so lots of haggling coming up in late spring!!

HateLPG

From today's Sunday Times:

The firm behind a heating oil rip-off exposed by The Sunday Times is under criminal investigation. One of the most serious allegations against it is that it billed customers more than they were originally quoted.

Councils are investigating claims that suppliers belonging to DCC [also Flogas' parent], based in Dublin, charged customers up to 25p a litre more than prices agreed over the telephone.

After verbally fixing a price, the company allegedly delivered heating oil without an invoice, then sent an inflated bill weeks later in the hope that customers would not notice.

DCC admitted this weekend "administrative mistakes" had been made, but strongly denied it had defrauded customers.

The allegations came as the government ordered the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate steep price increases imposed on oil and gas customers during the cold snap.

Full story in Sunday Times of 23rd January 2011, page 6

As previously posted, further detail on the proposed OFT inquiry is available on the Daily Telegraph website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8275111/Energy-minister-Charles-Hendry-demands-OFT-inquiry-into-heating-oil-market.html

LittleVermin

frankie wrote: »

.....<snip>

Called for an order from Calor on 4 January, Gas was delivered on 21 January.

<snip>

They did not do a full top up though, they only delivered 404 litres, brings tank to 55%. Don't know if this was some sort of rationing strategy.

......

So delivery on 13th working day after order.

And a partial top-up: BP did the same to me in the freeze last winter when they told me they were spreading a tanker-load among many customers.

Both seem reasonable.

LittleVermin

lpg-user wrote: »

We have a domestic LPG tank at our house and pay an annual standing charge to the company who own and fill the tank. The tank is over 20 years old and is due its Enhanced Test this year.

Does anyone here know if we are entitled to request a copy of the current Tank Test Certificate from the company ? We have received conflicting advice from different suppliers and would be interested to learn if there are any regulations/guidance on this ?

Many thanks !

A bit more!

This is from the CC Order ( http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/current/gas/lpg_order_final.pdf ):



5.2 If the statements confirm that the customer is eligible to switch and that the existing supplier owns the tank, the existing supplier shall at the same time as he provides the statements also provide the new supplier with:
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial](a) [/FONT][/FONT]copies of all documents held by virtue of regulation 14 of the PSSR, and any other technical and safety documentation that the existing supplier has, which relates to the tank, together with details of the tank’s WSOE;
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial](b) [/FONT][/FONT]information as to the existence of any telemetry equipment;
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial](c) [/FONT][/FONT]any information that the existing supplier has about the existence, ownership, construction, routing, pressure capacity, operating pressure, age, safety of, or inspection results relating to, the service pipework; and
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial](d) [/FONT][/FONT]in the case of a tank below ground, all documentation in the existing supplier’s possession relating to the cathodic protection of that tank.

so no mention of the LPG user's rights to have this info!