Economy 7 Off Peak/On Peak Rates - do you know the correct 'off peak' times?!!

Greenr

I don't know if anyone else has been in a similar situation, but I have asked my electricity provider (SWALEC) to confirm the off peak economy 7 times on many occasions. Each time I ask, I get different answers!! Some advisers have said off peak is 12pm until 7am all year round and some have said 12:15pm until 7:15am all year round.

I have just called SWALEC this morning and have now been told something COMPLETELY different. The advistor today said that off peak during the winter is 11:30pm until 6:30am and between 12:30pm until 7:30am during the summer. I then asked when winter rates switch over to summer rates and the guy didn't know!!!! I would have presumed that it switches over when the clocks change but apparently this isn't the case!!

Has anyone else been in a similar situation?? Obviously we need to know the correct times dates otherwise our bills might be much larger than they should be?? Is anyone else with Swalec on economy 7? If so, what times have you been told are 'off peak'?

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi

The exact time for Economy 7 electricity varies from area to area and can also change depending on BST and GMT.

The information about each type of meter is difficult to find out about due to the different manufacturers and areas.

Your energy supplier should be able to give you a number for your Meter Operators (they install and maintain meters in your particular area) I’d call them and ask for the correct Economy 7 times for your meter, they may want your meter serial number.

If you still want to check their information the only real way you can find out is by staying up to see when the meter switches over, you’ll then know what time it will switch back.

Greenr

Brian_-_E.ON wrote: »

Hi

The exact time for Economy 7 electricity varies from area to area and can also change depending on BST and GMT.

The information about each type of meter is difficult to find out about due to the different manufacturers and areas.

Your energy supplier should be able to give you a number for your Meter Operators (they install and maintain meters in your particular area) I’d call them and ask for the correct Economy 7 times for your meter, they may want your meter serial number.

If you still want to check their information the only real way you can find out is by staying up to see when the meter switches over, you’ll then know what time it will switch back.

Hi thanks for the advice!!! SWALEC told me that economy 7 times don't change per region - they are the same all over? I'll try and get hold of the meter operator's number in our area.

espresso

Greenr wrote: »

I have just called SWALEC this morning and have now been told something COMPLETELY different. The advistor today said that off peak during the winter is 11:30pm until 6:30am and between 12:30pm until 7:30am during the summer. I then asked when winter rates switch over to summer rates and the guy didn't know!!!! I would have presumed that it switches over when the clocks change but apparently this isn't the case!!

According to information on the eon website here, Electricity is supplied at a cheaper rate for 7 hours between 12.00am and 8.00am for your region. Obviously the times may vary according to BST, depending on the type of E7 switching you have i.e. mechanical or radio teleswitch.

Greenr

i have a mechanical switch i think?? i only have one economy 7 meter rather than a meter plus another meter..

it's a big vague saying between 12 and 8 for 7 hours. a specific start and end time would be good.

SWALEC have just called me back to say the following:

Winter (from last Sunday in October to last Sunday in March)
off-peak = 11:30pm until 6:30am

Summer (from last sunday in March to last sunday in Oct)
off-peak = 12:30am until 7:30am

this means that twice a year i should be setting my night storage heaters and water tank timer to come on at two different times each year... if the information they have given me is correct that is!!

I have also noticed that when the clocks change, the time on my meter doesn't change so for the summer months, my meter clock is out by an hour. the swalec rep said that this is fine and wont affect my payments - does this sound right?

kai_lani

i've been playing this game the last few days with swalec too.

the region you live in is more important than your supplier.

I only have the one mwter too, and having confirmed with swalec and western distibution, i'm teleswitched at 1230 GMT every night at the moment, in the south wales area.

and you shouldn't have to worry about timers on your storage heaters as they're wired in to the circuit that only works after the thw switch to off peak. if they have timers, they may not be storage heaters.

E.ON_Company_Representative

Greenr wrote: »

I have also noticed that when the clocks change, the time on my meter doesn't change so for the summer months, my meter clock is out by an hour. the swalec rep said that this is fine and wont affect my payments - does this sound right?

The clock not changing is perfectly normal, and this won't affect your payments. Just make sure you stick within the correct time frames for the reduced rate electricity.

Greenr

kai_lani wrote: »

i've been playing this game the last few days with swalec too.

the region you live in is more important than your supplier.

I only have the one mwter too, and having confirmed with swalec and western distibution, i'm teleswitched at 1230 GMT every night at the moment, in the south wales area.

and you shouldn't have to worry about timers on your storage heaters as they're wired in to the circuit that only works after the thw switch to off peak. if they have timers, they may not be storage heaters.

we have a seperate board with timer for our night storage heaters and water heater. I set this manually to turn them on/off each day so that they turn on at off-peak rates (i live in a flat so it's a slightly different set up to a house). have you checked that you actually switch over to off peak at 12:30pm or are you just going with what Swalec are saying? I think i'm going to have to literally watch the meter to see what times it changes over...

kai_lani

i'm flat like too, but i guess i have a slightly different system to you.
my times are from the last 6 nights of sitting up to watch the meter rate switch on my multi tariff meter, and then again in the morning to make sure i get the change.

washing machine and tumble drier are modern and can't just switch on when the timer socket supplies power, i have to manually press the digital start button, so when i run these overninght I have to be up anyway.

Greenr

kai_lani wrote: »

i'm flat like too, but i guess i have a slightly different system to you.
my times are from the last 6 nights of sitting up to watch the meter rate switch on my multi tariff meter, and then again in the morning to make sure i get the change.

washing machine and tumble drier are modern and can't just switch on when the timer socket supplies power, i have to manually press the digital start button, so when i run these overninght I have to be up anyway.

yeah, i think our system is the old way of doing it. when you've watched the switch for the last 6 nights, you mentioned that it switches over at 12:30am, but what time does it switch back to expensive rate in the morning?

i have a washing machine with a timer so i set it to come on first thing in the morn during cheap rate. out of interest, how much was your last quartlery bill oct-dec? do you think off-peak rate times vary throughout south wales or are they all set the same?

kai_lani

i'm led to believe the same as you, that all swales switches at the same time, and at the same time each day in general.
i'm getting the 7 hours as it switches at 0730 back to rate 1.
as for bills, i couldn't tell you as i moved last monday froma gas/elec to this all elec.

but with a geeky wireless monitor thing (and confirming with meter readings and tariff tables - cos i'm scared i'm going to have HUGE bills), i can see i'm using around £3.50-£4 per day with general stuff on in evening, computer on all day (working from home), 8kw of (untimerable) storage heaters on about 1/2 input for 7 hours overnight and 3kw immersion on for 2 hours overnight. By my rough reckoning it should be around £65-£70pm dd.