Social Tariffs summary

brysiewysie

Prompted by some older posts and the common questions now around Social Tariffs I couldn't find 1 thread that had all the current bits combined.

I thought it may help popping all the bits I could find below. I have used several forum members posts as some direction on where to find info and shamelessly copied some of their hard work over. In particular a super post some months ago by heeth and other great bits of info from others including iris, billsavings and john539 (:T ). If I've caused offence by this I'll remove any offending items.

If anything is wrong please tell me, I'll correct it. Also add any tariffs I've missed if you want. Much of the info is copied from the relevant suppliers websites and are their words, not mine.


British Gas Essentials (edit; there are posts on this forum to indicate that this has now changed and that's the first link below)

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy/do-you-need-extra-support.html

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy/are-you-on-benefits.html?WT.seg_3=i100221

Who is eligible for Essentials?
Disability Living Allowance
Attendance Allowance
War disablement pension

Disablement Pension
Child Tax Credit and salary is below £14,600
Working Tax Credit and salary lower than £14,600
Council Tax Benefit
Housing Benefit
Carers Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
Income Support
Income-Based Job Seekers Allowance


If you are on the Essentials tariff you won't see a rise until after winter.

We launched the Essentials tariff, Britain's largest social energy tariff, for 750,000 of our most vulnerable customers at the start of last year. Essentials provides additional help to our more vulnerable customers




Southern Electric Energyplus Care

http://www.southern-electric.co.uk/Help/ForYourHome/SpecialPackages/Default.aspx


energyplus Care is a special tariff available for customers who are worried about being cold in winter because of poor housing, health or income issues. If you are spending 10% or more of your income on your energy bills you may qualify for extra help.
Scottish and Southern Electric (which includes Atlantic) has a 20% to exsisting customers on a means tested benefit - (big long list that generally includes everything except Incapacity Benefit). They will do a check with you and they will include Housing Benefit and Council tax benefit as an income before they work out if you are spending more than 10% of your income on energy, so it is slightly harder to get onto.



EDF Energy Assist

http://www.southern-electric.co.uk/Help/ForYourHome/SpecialPackages/Default.aspx

Energy Assist is the first specialist energy social tariff for those most vulnerable households experiencing fuel poverty. An innovative response to this challenge, Energy Assist gives households a 15% discount on our current standard tariff prices.
We launched Energy Assist in 2006 and we recently announced that it will be extended until March 2009. Around 57,000 customers benefit from this reduced tariff. We also help those customers with a benefit entitlement check by telephone, to help maximise their household income.
It’s easy for our customers to participate in Energy Assist: we can apply the tariff directly to households with standard and Economy 7 meters, while those with prepayment and complex metering automatically receive a rebate each year.
Through our social commitments, we have committed to offering a social tariff to our most vulnerable customers until 2012.
If you are billed you will get the 15% deducted automatically, pre payment meter you will get an annual rebate.



Npower Spreading Warmth

http://www.npower.com/spreading_warmth/index.htm


What is the Spreading Warmth tariff? – A new social tariff from npower that delivers a total dual fuel annual discount of £250 Exc. VAT (£125 per fuel).
Who is eligible? – If you have a gross annual household income of less than £13,500 and where someone in the household meets at least one of the eligibility criteria below:

• Is 60 or over
• Has a disability
• Suffers from a chronic illness
• Is aged under 16

When will the discount be paid? – Initially the annual discount will be applied as a one off discount of £125 per fuel on the first bill after 1st January 2009. From the 1st of April 2009 the discount will be applied in quarterly discounts of £31.25 per fuel. Prepayment customers who sign up to the new tariff will be communicated to separately regarding how their discount will be paid.



Scottish Power

(directly from here but edited to remove some of the blurb);

To protect its most vulnerable customers ScottishPower has announced a package of support measures:

• Carefree Winter Rebate: For customers on its Carefree Priority Services Register, which includes the company’s most vulnerable customers, ScottishPower will offset the impact of the increase over the winter months. This will take the form of a credit to these customers’ accounts, which will be applied from February 2008.
• New Social Tariff: In addition to the winter rebate, eligible customers on ScottishPower’s Priority Services Register can apply for ScottishPower’s new Carefree Plus social tariff. This package will offer eligible customers, a saving of up to £112 per annum. These customers will also have the opportunity to access free energy efficiency improvements (such as cavity wall insulation) and a Benefits Health Check to ensure they are receiving all of the income to which they are entitled.
• Energy People Trust: All of the above will work in conjunction with the existing ScottishPower Energy People Trust.
• ScottishPower remains the only UK energy company to set standard pre-payment prices for both gas and electricity lower than standard quarterly credit prices. This ensures a good deal for some of the UK’s most vulnerable customers - with an estimated benefit to them of nearly £11 million per annum.

Eon
Details to follow





Looks like all the relevant info is also here at Consumer Focus (Thanks Premier);

http://cfe.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cfe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5111&p_created=1210078248&p_sid=BO6Z9tgj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01ODQsNTg0JnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1

Please could we try to keep this thread just to comments about the Social Tariffs available please? I'd suggest posting problems or other questions in separate threads.

I was hoping this could be a useful catchment post for all developments on this important front.

Thanks

mulligan

I am told that if I get a disability rebate from my energy companies, I will not be able to benefit from online energy account savings. Can anyone confirm or deny this, please? (To avoid possible confusion with this one, I am not assuming that moneysavingexpert.com takes benefits into account when it compares energy prices.)

Best,

mulligan

BexTech

mulligan wrote: »

I am told that if I get a disability rebate from my energy companies, I will not be able to benefit from online energy account savings. Can anyone confirm or deny this, please? (To avoid possible confusion with this one, I am not assuming that moneysavingexpert.com takes benefits into account when it compares energy prices.)

Best,

mulligan

You will most likely find the online discount tariffs are much cheaper than these social tariffs.

el_nino_5

I currently work for British Gas, registering people for the Essential Tariff, This is for anybody who is on a government benefit (But you could just lie and say you are on a benefit as they do not check up), the Essential tariff gives a discount of around 10-15% on your gas and/or electrial bill, once you phone up and sign up it takes 6-8 weeks for your request to be completed and you will be back dated from the day of registration.

BexTech

el_nino wrote: »

I currently work for British Gas, registering people for the Essential Tariff, This is for anybody who is on a government benefit (But you could just lie and say you are on a benefit as they do not check up), the Essential tariff gives a discount of around 10-15% on your gas and/or electrial bill, once you phone up and sign up it takes 6-8 weeks for your request to be completed and you will be back dated from the day of registration.

Yes, but is it cheaper than BGas Click Energy or other companies discounted online tariffs? It wasn't the last time I checked.

el_nino_5

The best tariff BG do is the price protection 2011. In my opinion the price of Elect and Gas is shocking and I feel sorry for everybody cos it's all a complete rip-off!!!!!

1carminestocky

el_nino wrote: »

The best tariff BG do is the price protection 2011. In my opinion the price of Elect and Gas is shocking and I feel sorry for everybody cos it's all a complete rip-off!!!!!

Any evidence to back this up?

BubbleOfLife

el_nino wrote: »

The best tariff BG do is the price protection 2011. In my opinion the price of Elect and Gas is shocking and I feel sorry for everybody cos it's all a complete rip-off!!!!!

I called BGas, the other day, and they say that their Click 5 wil increase at some point, though the customer services representative did not know when that would happen.
However, I read on a recent leflet BGas sent me about the price protection 2011, and now I see Fixed Price Gas until 31st January 2012 here
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy/gas.html

If that is the case, gas price being fixed till end of January 2012, then it ought to be the cheapest option.
Has anyone else signed up for this yet?

brysiewysie

Any chance we can keep this thread to info on or questions about Social Tariffs? While questions on other subjects are obviously important it will help others to keep this focussed and also you'll get a better response if off topic subjects are posted in their own or relevant threads.

Thanks :T

aurora5772

My mum has just changed tariffs with EOn. She moved to them fron British Gas just when it was the last fixed tariff available, following advice in Martin's email. For dual fuel by direct debit she would have paid approximately £90 a month, fixed for (I think) 2 years. However, when the social tariffs came to light, she rang them, and has now moved to their Staywarm tariff, saving £18 a month. It's only fixed for a year, but she's prepared to move again to get a better rate then.
The EOn Staywarm plan is quite different to the other low-cost tariffs, in that it is a fixed price per month, regardless of usage (within an upper limit), meaning that if you qualify you can turn the heating up in the winter without worrying about the bills.
My mum is 69, so doesn't qualify for the British Gas social tariff. She isn't disabled, and receives pension credit, although not the "guaranteed element".
In my opininon, the EOn tariff is very good for her. To qualify, you only need to be over 60. She's now protected against the price hikes due early next year, and has peace of mind and is able to budget.

LindsayO

I receive DLA (higher mob, lower care) and I'm looking to change my gas/electricity supplier, so this thread is very helpful. But I'm finding it hard to find the actual tarrifs, ie how much of a discount you actually get for the social tarrifs.

Is there anywhere I can get this info, or do I need to ring round the different suppliers and ask