economy 7 meters

katykatkins

hi, we have just got married and moved into our first place together, and it's also the first time we've had to pay/sort out bills. We have storage heaters and an economy 7 heater in our little 2 bed flat - does anyone have any idea of how much we might be looking at paying and who would give us the best value for money? I've literally no idea, i'm only 19!
thank you
xx

Money_saving_Martyn

Hi!

I've just moved into a flat too and had the same stuff to deal with.

With Economy 7, you get 7 hours of electricity (during the night) for which you pay a much cheaper rate.

Basically, for every "unit" of electricity during the day, we pay 23p. For every unit we use during 12:30am and 7:30am we pay just 5p. If your water heaters are electric, you can save a lot of money by simply using these during your economy 7 hours, at the cheaper rate.

If you're renting, ask your landlord who your electricity supplier is and contact them. They will probably give you a choice of tarrifs and tell you when your eco7 hours are. Also, don't forget to check all the sections of this site before you sign up to anything. (Phone, broadband, credit cards, bank accounts....) This is the best site for explainig all your options in plain English (in my opinion)

I'm no expert by far, but if you ever want to ask someone a question, but don't want to ask the forum, drop me a line - although I'll probably just point you back to one of Martin's articles - no harm in asking though!!

And one last thing - Congratulations!!!!!!

Ken68

Before all the rise in prices, the norm was £1000 a year, more if on electric heating. Not sure of the E7 normal use.
E7 is the way to go if no gas, and take readings every week at the same time, also water meter readings.
Build up a picture of usage. Don't accept estimated readings, ring in with your own.
If a low user, try Ebico, otherwise an online tariff.
Have you registered with your existing provider and phoned in the start reading?
If and when moving to another provider use a comparison site link from this board or QUIDCO cashback site. At least £15 per utility and up to £70 for a full transfer.
Congratulations on your marriage and being 19.

katykatkins

thanks! I just wish there was an easy way to know what to do! it's all so confusing when you have to do it for the first time ... at least I'll know for the future. It'd probably be a bit better if the (new) husband was even vaguely helpful with this sort of stuff!

Ken68

You found the right place, Katy, as and when you get a problem just write in. Keep it public, others learn too.

coolio_2

Ken68 wrote: »

Before all the rise in prices, the norm was £1000 a year, more if on electric heating. Not sure of the E7 normal use.

I have a 3 bed 1100 sq foot place, between 2 and it's about £350 a year on economy 7. This was before Swalec upped their rate so I am currently looking to switch.