Switch from Econ-7

mhep

We have Econ-7 with Scottish Power. I have read that Econ-7 is not such a great deal in that daytime rates are much higher than one-rate tariffs.

We use Econ-7 mainly for heating up water and storage heaters. There are only 2 adults. One home all day. Paying £133.00 per month. (Recently lowered. I have been working very hard to turn off lights, etc but lowered used has only lowered costs a little because of raised rates. Hasve used Eon hand-held meter to observe rise and falls when appliances used, but can't be accurate because of 2-rate tariff.)

I am getting ready to research prices. Scottish Power has given us lots of data that we can use to determine kwh used daytime and night time.

1)As our meter has two difference readings for daytime and econ7, do we need a new meter if we switch to a one-rate tariff?

2)Any tips on anything we should consider?

Thanks in advance,

penrhyn

If you are using electric storage heaters then Economy 7 is probably the best when more than 20% of your electricity is consumed overnight.

Most providers offer E7 rates.

If you change to single rate some companies will change the meter others will simply add the two readings together.

Premier_2

mhep wrote: »

We have Econ-7 with Scottish Power. I have read that Econ-7 is not such a great deal in that daytime rates are much higher than one-rate tariffs...

Unfortunately this is a lot of mis-information posted on t'internet, so:

Any information should be considered in regard to specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research

E7 is not usually "much higher than one-rate tariffs" but is typically about 10% higher for normal units - something that has happened for at least the last 20 odd years, perhaps longer.

However, it does vary buy supplier and tariff and region, and there are certain circumstances (especially with Scottish Power, your supplier) where E7 normal rates are cheaper than the comparable single rate tariff.

As penrhyn rightly says, as you have storage heaters, you presumably use a lot of cheap rate electricity anyway so E7 is the right tariff for you; cheap rate being typically about 30% -50% of the normal rate.