NPower SOL Tariffs ending - what im going to do.. nothing..

hubcap

I know a few people have posted about this already but here are my brief experiences.

Im a dual fule customer
Got the letter a few days ago saying SOL10 is finished. Your all moving to Standard Tarifs. OK, thats a bit annoying i guess. Turns out my SOL10 for elec was
14.02 and then 12.18 the new ones are 13.98 and 12.96 (so hardly any difference)
gas was
6.47 and then 1.95 the new ones are 7.39 and 2.38 (both a little higher, but not much)
So maximum (20%) increase in cost, that I understand. we are burning a finite resource after all !
SOL10 and the standard tariff both have £100 per year dual fule discount and both have no get out cost and both have no standing charge. So basically very little change.

I called up anyway, my 1 year anniversary was march. So thats good. I can leave with out effecting that. And I pay about 60 a month for gas and about 40 a month for elec (averaged out).

Now i know it can get a little complicated working out the 882 per month from Nov - Feb units at the higher rate etc, but rest assured the people working to screw us as much as possible through out the year have done their very best to make sure we spend the most when we need the heat the most and the least when we dont... in the summer.
anyway
SOL18 is the new option. £10 a month standing charge (30 a quarter they like to tell you) and then the new rates are a flat. easy to understand.
7.2 for elec and 2.205 for gas.
So electric is about half the price all year round and gas is up to 1/3 the price all year round... Sounds great...
£100 a month bill is now £20 (standing charge) plus half the original £100, which is £50 so totaling £70 per month... thats a £30 per month saving for switching.

All sounds good so far.. Except over the summer gas usage is a fraction with the CH completely off and just 2-3 showers a day and minimal lighting and dryer usage. That £20 a month minimum is going to start to be the majority of the bill. Like other people have mentioned... The best option seems to be to stick on Standard tariff till september/october (no later than november) when the CH needs to be on and then switch to SOL18 (or whatever is current). Switch all the plugs off, shower at work and tell the lodger not to let he boyfriend shower here every night after football... Jobs a winner... I think... Any comments ?

PNPSUKNET

Doesnt the tariff though have a 12 month term before a penalty?

hubcap

Yea, if you switch to SOL18 now and then move within the 12 months you would have a penalty and loose the 100 dual fule discount i guess..

Not sure if we let npower move us to the new standard rates and then i change to SOL18 or 19 in 6 months, if that will brake the 12 month discount... hmm. may need a phone call.. They did just send me a nice free home energy monitor which is interesting.

nPower

Hello hubcap,

Don't worry, you don't lose your discount if you switch between npower tariffs. As long as you continue to pay by direct debit, you'll still get your discount after 12 months.

Hope this helps

Kind Regards
Sally at npower