Social Tariffs ( electric only )

boysim34

hi there, newbe here on this site, i'm lookin for some help. at present i am with n-power with a smart meter and on there social tariff which gives me back about £150.00, not that i'm complaining anything is better than nothing. but the thing is we are all electric ( water/heating ). if i had gas as well i would be getting approx £300.00 back per year, it's not fair that though no choice of our own we can not get a full social tariff. does anyone know of any energy company that gives a full discount or social tariff with only having eclectric from them?

Bark01

There should be some sort of no mains gas discount also available for you but you should get this if on social or not.

I think Scottish and Southern Electricity have the best social offering, I think it is ~30% of your bill, but you would need to check with them.

Don't agree with your point though, you get one discount for one product, not 2 discounts for 1 products. If you can't get gas then why should the energy companies give you a discount for something they are not going to get any revenue from? Doesn't make economic sense.

Cardew

boysim34 wrote: »

if i had gas as well i would be getting approx £300.00 back per year, it's not fair that though no choice of our own we can not get a full social tariff.

Have I understood you correctly? You expect a company to give you an additional £150 rebate for gas, when you don't have gas?

Are you serious?

Perelandra

I think the poster's issue is as follows:

A household's energy requirements are similar regardless of whether that house is on the gas supply or not.

If the house uses electricity for all its energy requirements, then its elec useage will be higher than if it were on the gas supply.

As it stands, he is getting a discount off his (presumably high) elec useage that is the same as that of an elec user who is on gas supply (who would use a lot less).

To the OP: you should really be looking at the utility provider who is able to give you the lowest overall price for your personal energy requirements may not be the best way of judging who offers the "best" social tariff. £150 is a generous discount. However, if you switched to a supplier who offered a discount based on consumption, then you might find this fairer since you'd be getting a discount off your whole energy useage.

boysim34

What you means are you serious, i don't have mains gas, heating etc is all electric, for which i recieve approx £150.00 back, if i had gas and electric off n-power i would recieve approx £300.00 back, to me this is not fair to people not only on social tariffs but also normal accounts. my electric costs for 12 months were just under £1400.00 and thats for a flat. electric storage heaters are so expensive to run

Cardew

boysim34 wrote: »

What you means are you serious, i don't have mains gas, heating etc is all electric, for which i recieve approx £150.00 back, if i had gas and electric off n-power i would recieve approx £300.00 back, to me this is not fair to people not only on social tariffs but also normal accounts. my electric costs for 12 months were just under £1400.00 and thats for a flat. electric storage heaters are so expensive to run

'Not fair to people on normal accounts?' What do you mean?

This is not some government ‘hand out’ we are discussing. Some Energy companies have been pressurised by the Government into providing ‘social’ tariffs for less well off customers.

These ‘social tariffs’ are funded by charging extra for other customer’s tariffs i.e. The other customers(on normal accounts) pay for that £150 grant by paying higher prices.

IMO if people are financially disadvantaged and need their fuel costs subsidising, then it is the Government’s job to provide that assistance, and not other customers.

boysim34

for example if you ( cardew ) were on any ( expect social ) tariff from say npower and paid direct debit you would get

* Direct Debit discount: After you've been with npower and paid by monthly Direct Debit without a break for 12 months, you'll receive a discount off your energy bill. Stay with us and continue to pay in this way and you'll get a £100 annual discount if you buy both electricity and gas, or £20 if you buy just one fuel. You'll receive £40 annual discount for paying each quarterly bill in full by variable Direct Debit and taking both fuels or £10 for single fuel. Your discount will be credited to your account after 12 months and after each year you continue to pay this way. Monthly payments will be based on current credit or debit balance and estimated future consumption at current prices. Subject to change

being all electric i would only get £20.00 ( sorry but not fair )
if i did not have a smart meter and a normal credit meter and paid dd i would only get £20.00 compared to a person who has gas and electric would get £100.00, i know life is not fair but treating customers who only have electric different to thoes who have gas and electric is not fair and if the law has to be changed to force the energy firms to do this , so be it

Cardew

boysim34 wrote: »

for example if you ( cardew ) were on any ( expect social ) tariff from say npower and paid direct debit you would get

* Direct Debit discount: After you've been with npower and paid by monthly Direct Debit without a break for 12 months, you'll receive a discount off your energy bill. Stay with us and continue to pay in this way and you'll get a £100 annual discount if you buy both electricity and gas, or £20 if you buy just one fuel. You'll receive £40 annual discount for paying each quarterly bill in full by variable Direct Debit and taking both fuels or £10 for single fuel. Your discount will be credited to your account after 12 months and after each year you continue to pay this way. Monthly payments will be based on current credit or debit balance and estimated future consumption at current prices. Subject to change

being all electric i would only get £20.00 ( sorry but not fair )
if i did not have a smart meter and a normal credit meter and paid dd i would only get £20.00 compared to a person who has gas and electric would get £100.00, i know life is not fair but treating customers who only have electric different to thoes who have gas and electric is not fair and if the law has to be changed to force the energy firms to do this , so be it

You have summed it up in a couple of words "I know life is not fair' perhaps 'things are not equal in life' would be better.

Where on earth do you stop with that argument if you believe commercial firms should equal everything out between their customers.

Even with Utilities

People in Scotland, where it is colder anyway, pay more for their electricity than London - unfair.

Virtually every company charges low users proportionately more for their gas and electricity than high users. - unfair

Most companies offer a discount for payment by Direct Debit - unfair on those who don't have a bank account, or are not credit worthy.

The internet tariffs with most companies are by far the cheapest - unfair on those who do not have the internet.

You chose to go with npower(it ain't mandatory) to get a £150 rebate - that is unfair on those other npower customers who have to pay extra to subsidise you.

You now feel you should get a further £150 rebate for gas(which you don't have). Wouldn't this be unfair on npower gas customers who would have to subsidise you?

Why not apply your principle to other fields.

Some people take a short bus journey to work, others much longer trip and pay more. Isnt that unfair? The bus company should only charge them the same as the short trip.

You have a bigger flat than some other people - isn't that unfair?

Etc Etc

narabanekeater

How do I find out about these tariffs please and whos qualifies?
Im with n power if that helps

boysim34

narabanekeater wrote: »

How do I find out about these tariffs please and whos qualifies?
Im with n power if that helps

hi there phone n-power 0800 975 1373 takes you to the spreading warmth tariff section

Bark01

Perelandra wrote: »

I think the poster's issue is as follows:

A household's energy requirements are similar regardless of whether that house is on the gas supply or not.

If the house uses electricity for all its energy requirements, then its elec useage will be higher than if it were on the gas supply.

As it stands, he is getting a discount off his (presumably high) elec useage that is the same as that of an elec user who is on gas supply (who would use a lot less).

To the OP: you should really be looking at the utility provider who is able to give you the lowest overall price for your personal energy requirements may not be the best way of judging who offers the "best" social tariff. £150 is a generous discount. However, if you switched to a supplier who offered a discount based on consumption, then you might find this fairer since you'd be getting a discount off your whole energy useage.

Good Point, the poster should look for a supplier who offes a % discount or a discount from unit rate. I think E.on and SSE both offer % discounts, I think SSE offers the highest discount.