SE General Domestic and Off Peak plan not Eco7 - advise please

MrPoor

I have just discovered that the property that I moved into is not on Eco 7 after all. It’s on a two meter "General Domestic and Off Peak" plan. Although it works the same way as Eco 7 the Southern Electric rep insists that its different and that it would be difficult for me to switch to another provider since I have two meters with different power sources :S

General Domestic (Day Time) charges at 11.52p per kWh
Off Peak (12.30am to 7.30am) charges at 6.07p per kWh

The previous occupant’s usage from April 2009 to April 2010 was in 5046 kWh for Day time and 9085 for night time. Their total annual bill was around £1195. The previous occupant where husband and wife in mid 40’s. It will be myself and my wife who will be living in the property (mid 20’s) – 3 bedroom, mid terraced house, storage heaters and immersion boiler.

The rep recommended that I switch to their Eco 7 Go Direct Plan with Southern Electric since it will be cheaper for me over all. They have agreed to switch the meter for free as well.

Southern Electric – Go Direct 4

Standard Charge - Electricity
Standing charge £0.00
Unit Rates 1 18.90p Up to 1456Kwh
Unit Rates 2 14.05p
Unit Rates 3
Economy 7 Rate 5.38p
Discount: 22.60% per year.

I believe our usage will not be as big as the previous couples, so Im not sure what to do! I was planning on switching to a single meter and take advantage of the cheap online deals but the rep was insistent that I would pay a lot more using panel heaters.

Should I switch to their Eco 7 plan or shall I switch to an Eco 7 plan of one of the providers below (assuming they will change meter) or shall I switch to a single meter on a single online rate?

Now that you guys have more information, I would appreciate your thoughts....

MrPoor

NPOWER – Sign Online 18 plan

Standing charge £15.75Q
Unit Rates 1 10.5105p
Unit Rates 2
Unit Rates 3
Economy 7 Rate 4.8825p
Discount: £42.00 per year.

The savings quoted include any discounts associated with this tariff. The discounts will be paid to you annually in arrears from your final bill of each 12-month period. To qualify, you must take your supply from npower and pay by the same payment method for a full 12 month period – this period does not have to be a Jan-Dec calendar year. Customers signing up to this tariff will receive paperless billing. Customers on this tariff are guaranteed a 2% lower bill than npower’s Standard cash/cheque bills until 30th June 2011. The guarantee applies to customers with average electricity consumption of 3,300 kWh, and includes the monthly direct debit discount. There is a £20 cancellation fee for this tariff if customers switch away before the end date.

All costs are inclusive of VAT

British Gas – Web saver 7 plan

Standard Charge - Electricity
Standing charge £0.00
Unit Rates 1 31.3877p Up to 500Kwh
Unit Rates 2 9.8291p
Unit Rates 3
Economy 7 Rate 3.9155p
Discount: £40.00 (1.429 p/Kwh on tier 2 and night units (if applicable) electricity up to £40.00 per year).

Electricity customers paying by Monthly Direct Debit will receive a discount off their quarterly Tier 2 consumption charges (and night rates where applicable) of 1.429 p/kWh up to a maximum of £10 per quarter.

Customers signing up to British Gas's Websaver 7 will receive a minimum 6% discount against British Gas's standard tariff prices until 1st July 2011. There is a cancellation fee of £30 for electricity if you cancel your contract and switch away from WebSaver 7 prior to 1st July 2011. Customers must manage their energy account online and receive their bills online, although there is a dedicated telephone number in the event that customers need to contact British Gas. British Gas also request that you submit your meter readings regularly online.


Southern Electric – Go Direct 4

Standard Charge - Electricity
Standing charge £0.00
Unit Rates 1 18.90p Up to 1456Kwh
Unit Rates 2 14.05p
Unit Rates 3
Economy 7 Rate 5.38p
Discount: 22.60% per year.

Paperless billing is a mandatory. Online account management, including meter readings through SSE's online service. If the customer changes to another available Go Direct Discount or leaves SSE at any time before 30th June 2011 an exit fee of £50 will be charged. After 30th June 2011 the Go Direct 4 discount will become SSE's standard energy online discount applicable at the time.

Direct debit customers receive a discount of 5% off the unit rates. Go Direct customers receive a further discount of 17.6% off the unit rates, only available until 30th June 2011.

All costs are inclusive of VAT.

LoCO2 Energy – Pocket Fix Direct

Standard Charge - Electricity
Standing charge £5.46 per month
Unit Rates 1 10.22p
Unit Rates 2
Unit Rates 3
Economy 7 Rate 5.23p


LoCO2 Energy's Pocket Saver prices are fixed for 12 months beginning on the day LoCO2 starts supplying your energy. There is a cancellation fee of £30 if you switch away before the end of the fixed price period.
All costs are inclusive of VAT.

EDF – Online Saver v6
Standard Charge - Electricity
Standing charge £0.17 per day
Unit Rates 1 11.4765p
Unit Rates 2
Unit Rates 3
Economy 7 Rate 4.8510p
Discount:
6.00% per year.

Minimum 2% discount off standard rates until end of June 2011. Termination fee of £25 per fuel may be applied if customer changes supplier.
All costs are inclusive of VAT.

MrPoor

Spoken to NPower and British gas and they both have refused to switch my meter. Its not that they dont do free meter swaps but they just dont work with the type of meters i have - two electrical meters, one for day time and one for evening.

Afro_Thunder

Hello MrPoor

May be your best option would be to contact SE and ask them to switch your meter to a Eco 7. Try it out for 6 months and if you dont like it, switch to a standard electric plan but on a cheap on line deal. You would of course have to change your meter again and stop using your storage heaters. You can buy good electrical heaters from Argos.

Although I have never been on Eco 7, as far as I see it:

Eco 7

Advantage - cheap rates for heating and water
Disadvantage - higher rate for day time use, i have heard storage heaters can be problematic and you have no control over them ie have heat when and where you want it.

Standard cheap online electrical plan

Advantage - you can buy portable heaters that are not that expensive to run and you can have heat when and where you want it. Fixed rate

Disadvantage - not sure what imapact switching meters from Eco 7 to single will have on your immersion but I guess you will pay a lot more for heating and water.

Im not an expert but I thought I would add my 2 cents. I could be completely wrong with my assumptions so wait for someone with first hand experience to reply. Its an interesting topic, there appears to be a lot of people with the same issue as you on these forums!!

GOOD LUCK!

kjsmith7

I've taken the time to work out the bills, based on the previous occupants usage of 5046kWh day and 9085kWh night. Bear in mind that if you use less these figures will be useless, but either way it'll give you a good idea. I'm also presuming all of your unit rates include VAT @ 5%.

Southern Elec - Go Direct 4
- tracker at 17.6% discount with £50 penalty before June 2011
- good that it's a tracker: prices go down, you're laughing, prices go up you've still got a bit of a smile as at least you're not fixed
- quite a high penalty in comparison with the others on here
No Standing charge = £0
Unit Rate 1/Tier 1 Day - First 1456p x 18.9p = £275.18
Unit Rate 2/Tier 2 Day - Everything else in the day at 14.05p = 3590kWh x 14.05p = £504.40
Night/E7 date = 9085kWh x 5.38p = £488.77
Total bill = £1,268.35 - discount of 22.6% per year [check if it's capped e.g. 22.6% discount per year up to a maximum of £50 or £100] = -£286.65 = £999.70 TOTAL

nPower Sign Online 18
- tracker at 2% discount with £20 penalty before June 2011
- good that it's a tracker: prices go down, you're laughing, prices go up you've still got a bit of a smile as at least you're not fixed
- nice low exit penalty
Standing Charge £15.75/quarter x 4 = £63 per annum
All day units at 10.5105p = 5046kWh x 10.5105p = £530.35
All night units at 4.8825p = 9085kWh x 4.8825p = £443.58
Total bill = £1036.94 - discount of £42 = £994.94 TOTAL

British Gas WebSaver7
- tracker at minimum 6% discount with £30 penalty before June 2011
- good that it's a tracker: prices go down, you're laughing, prices go up you've still got a bit of a smile as at least you're not fixed
- reasonable exit penalty
No Standing charge = £0
Unit Rate 1/Tier 1 Day = 500kWh x 31.3877p = £156.94
Unit Rate 2/Tier 2 Day = Everything else x 9.8291p = 4546kWh x 9.8291p = £446.83
All night units at 3.9155p = 9085kWh x 3.9155p = £355.72
Total bill = £959.49 - discount of £40 = £919.49

LoCO2 Energy Pocket Fix Direct (not heard of these!)
- Fix for 12mo with £30 exit penalty, not too long a fix but gives some security by being fixed
- reasonable penalty/exit fee
Standing charge = £5.46 x 12 months = £65.52
All day units at 10.22p = 5046kWh x 10.22p = £515.70
All night units at 5.23p = 9085kWh x 5.23p = £475.15
Discount?
Total bill = £1056.37

EDF Online Saver v6
- tracker at 2% discount with £25 penalty before June 2011
- low penalty/exit fee
- good that it's a tracker: prices go down, you're laughing, prices go up you've still got a bit of a smile as at least you're not fixed
Standing charge = 17p x 365 days = £62.05
All day units at 11.4765p = 5046kWh x 11.4765p = £579.10
All night units at 4.851p = 9085kWh x 4.851p = £440.71
Total bill = £1019.81 - 6% = -£61.19 = £958.62

BG is the cheapest with EDF in a close second. Remember that the less the use the less the difference will be. Hope that helps.

kjsmith7

Must say that the rep with Southern is probably correct. Having two meters in that set up may prevent you from getting onto these tariffs. It's likely you may have to consider a "Best Fit Tariff", which the company will create for you and it's likely to be more expensive than these.

If you don't think you're going to use more than 40% of your usage in the night time (roughly midnight til 7am, but varies a little by region), it may be worth considering risking using the panel heaters. If the previous occupants were using over 9000kWh over night they were either night owls, used their home as an office and worked overnight, their meter readings were being put in the wrong way (and therefore they were being charged incorrectly) or they have did storage heaters at the property.

Might be worth getting information at the very least on the costings of rewiring everything through the one meter...

MrPoor

kjsmith7 wrote: »

Must say that the rep with Southern is probably correct. Having two meters in that set up may prevent you from getting onto these tariffs. It's likely you may have to consider a "Best Fit Tariff", which the company will create for you and it's likely to be more expensive than these.

If you don't think you're going to use more than 40% of your usage in the night time (roughly midnight til 7am, but varies a little by region), it may be worth considering risking using the panel heaters. If the previous occupants were using over 9000kWh over night they were either night owls, used their home as an office and worked overnight, their meter readings were being put in the wrong way (and therefore they were being charged incorrectly) or they have did storage heaters at the property.

Might be worth getting information at the very least on the costings of rewiring everything through the one meter...

Firstly, thank you for your advise, time and effort. Very much appreciated.

The previous occupant used storage heaters and had an immersion boiler set at 5am to heat up for one hour. This could explain their high usage during night/off peak.

Southern Electric have offered to switch me to a single Eco 7 meter to use their online eco 7 plan but I'm not sure and contemplating going on a single meter single rate online plan and use panel heaters instead of storage. The immersion will of course still work but I will be charged at fixed rate.

In terms of life style; myself and my wife work 9am to 6pm, like to have showers in mornings and when we return to work. From 6pm to 11pm we relax, cook, watch TV or use comps and at weekends were more or less do the same thing unless we go out. Most of washing is done in evenings or weekends.

kjsmith7

MrPoor wrote: »

Southern Electric have offered to switch me to a single Eco 7 meter to use their online eco 7 plan but I'm not sure and contemplating going on a single meter single rate online plan and use panel heaters instead of storage. The immersion will of course still work but I will be charged at fixed rate

It'd definitely worth having the meters changed into one meter, regardless of whether it's E7 or Single Rate, because you'll be able to switch to any supplier then without faffing around with Best Fit tariffs. I can't really advise on whether storage heaters or panel heaters will be cheaper, sadly!

MrPoor

kjsmith7 wrote: »

It'd definitely worth having the meters changed into one meter, regardless of whether it's E7 or Single Rate, because you'll be able to switch to any supplier then without faffing around with Best Fit tariffs. I can't really advise on whether storage heaters or panel heaters will be cheaper, sadly!

Thanks for your advise.