Find The Cheapest Gas & Electricity Plus Cashback Article Discussion

JohnDinton

jemma123 wrote:

Does anyone know whether uswitch has updated Ebico prices yet... they are coming in at £120 cheaper than the next best provider for me

Energyhelpline has and is using the new prices, so you could check on there. What figures did you put into uswitch to get EBICo to come out top? When I tried comparisons where EBICo ought to have been top, it didn't appear anywhere on uswitch.

bassman

JohnDinton wrote:

On 18th August Martin sent out an email saying it was now time to switch gas and electricity suppliers. He included a warning that a price rise was expected from EBICo which, since it had not been announced, was not included in the comparisons. He suggested that the second choice should be used where EBICo came out top. I think it is time to withdraw that warning.

Earlier in the week I telephoned Energyhelpline with another query, and was told that EBICo had announced its price rise. I thought the new tariffs could not yet be in Energyhelpline's comparison as Equigas came out top in one I had just done, but when I checked I found that the new tariff had indeed been used.

Equipower and Equigas have a flat-rate tariff, and so are the cheapest for low users. npower is the generally the cheapest for higher users. Excluding any dual fuel or direct debit discount, even with the price increase, Equigas is cheaper than npower for anyone using less gas than 6016 kWh/quarter, which probably covers most small houses and flats. It would be a shame if anyone missed out on the saving because of the warning. npower is cheaper for usage more than 6016 kWh/quarter.

With electricity there is a regional variation in price. For the Southern region, one of the most expensive, Equipower is cheaper than npower for anyone using less electricity than 850 kWh/quarter. In this usage range some other suppliers are competitive, but for anyone using less than 600 kWh/quarter Equipower is cheapest because of its flat-rate tariff.

Energyhelpline has reservations about EBICo's service as it is a small company, which seems rather strange as EBICo's agent Southern Electric rates ***** while EBICo rates only **.

Caution is needed when Countrywide Farmers comes out top, as the tariff quoted by Energyhelpline is a lot lower than on Countywide Farmers' website, so a price increase may have been missed. Energyhelpline is also including Basic Power in its comparisons, whose website says its supplier has gone into administration so it is not taking new customers and its existing customers are being transferred to EDF. Some of the calculations for British Gas Regional Discounted Electricity seem a bit awry.

There is another problem with uswitch which Martin might like to take up with it, as it has ignored my email. As I understand it he has recommended uswitch not just because of the champagne, but because it includes EBICo and the other smaller suppliers in its comparisons. Indeed that is what uswitch says on its website. I have run comparisons on uswitch where EBICo comes out top on Energyhelpline, but EBICo does not even get a mention on uswitch. I have even put in a 1 bedroom flat with 1 person using 100 kWh/year gas and 10 kWh/year electricity. EBICo must win hands down with its flat-rate tariffs against everyone else's two-tier tariffs, but it does not show up on uswitch. When I emailed uswitch I thought the explanation might be that EBICo had been embargoed because of the expected but unannounced price rise, but there is no reason for uswitch to exclude it now.

(After writing this post I thought I ought to check that last comparison with my bold conclusion on Energyhelpline. It showed if my usage were that low British Gas and others would pay me, which I don't think can be right!)

Does Ebico not show up as Equigas and Equipower on Uswitch??

Just checked...it shows up as Ebico for me now....Maybe its not available in your area.....as a test, change your area to Northern and try.

And another "edit" are you ticking the box that says "Include social tarrifs"

espresso

bassman wrote:

Does Ebico not show up as Equigas and Equipower on Uswitch??

Just checked...it shows up as Ebico for me now....Maybe its not available in your area.....as a test, change your area to Northern and try.

And another "edit" are you ticking the box that says "Include social tarrifs"

Or better still, simply don't bother with uswitch and use a much better maintained and simpler site to use like ukpower.

:rolleyes:

r-ingram

I want to switch, but my current gas supplier (Powergen) has just read my meter for the first time in 2 years, and my monthly payments have left an outstanding balance of £180.

Do I have to clear this before switching, and / or do I get a final bill for this amount upon switching?

Also, cheapest for me (dual fuel) appears to be "Atlantic Electric & Gas - Internet Direct No Standing Charge", service rating is 4*, has anyone experience +ve or -ve, or cautions?

Many thanks

bassman

mail&#64 wrote: »

I want to switch, but my current gas supplier (Powergen) has just read my meter for the first time in 2 years, and my monthly payments have left an outstanding balance of £180.

Do I have to clear this before switching, and / or do I get a final bill for this amount upon switching?

Also, cheapest for me (dual fuel) appears to be "Atlantic Electric & Gas - Internet Direct No Standing Charge", service rating is 4*, has anyone experience +ve or -ve, or cautions?

Many thanks

Hi, I didnt clear my balance before switching, and just paid it when they realised I had switched.....

Beware of thinking that Atlantic are the cheapest.....they last increased their prices 4 months ago, and could be in line for a further increase as it was so long ago.

Bisoy

Thanks for the warning bassman. I am currently searching for a new provider as my current provider which is powergen has increased my monthly DD effective 01/08/06 to £78 from £36. Shocking isn't it. I went to energyhelpline website and Southern Electric came out the cheapest. You were right that the last time they have increased their price was about 4 months ago. Are they likely to increase prices again? How many times a year does these companies allowed to increase their prices?

Cheers

bassman

Bisoy wrote:

Thanks for the warning bassman. I am currently searching for a new provider as my current provider which is powergen has increased my monthly DD effective 01/08/06 to £78 from £36. Shocking isn't it. I went to energyhelpline website and Southern Electric came out the cheapest. You were right that the last time they have increased their price was about 4 months ago. Are they likely to increase prices again? How many times a year does these companies allowed to increase their prices?.....I think they can change their tarrifs whenever they feel the need.


Cheers

Have a look at (believe it or not) British Gas Green Policy....This tarrif comes out about 6th in the chart for me, but the ones above it (Atlantic, Southern, Scottish Hydro and a couple of others) last increased their prices 4 months ago in May...so could be due for another rise. British gas however have just increased theirs. At £100 quoted saving, I might just settle for that, rather than better savings which look as though they could be shortlived. I am in the Northern region where my secondary electric price has just risen 46% with Powergen Online.

Bisoy

So you mean to say that there is no regulation as to how many times these companies increase their tariffs in a year? To increase once is unforgivable, twice in a year is unimaginable and surely 3 times in year that's daylight robbery on it's customer isn't it?

bassman

espresso wrote:

Or better still, simply don't bother with uswitch and use a much better maintained and simpler site to use like ukpower.

:rolleyes:

I've tried half a dozen times to get a result from this site(on different days).....but it always comes up saying all other tarrifs are @£300 more expensive.(nothing is ever cheaper)......that can't be right, so I dont know whats wrong...........

bassman

Bisoy wrote:

So you mean to say that there is no regulation as to how many times these companies increase their tariffs in a year? To increase once is unforgivable, twice in a year is unimaginable and surely 3 times in year is daylight robbery on it's customer isn't it?

Have a look here...it shows the recent increases, and the amount of them.

http://www.uswitch.com/Energy/Price-Rises.html?ref=champagne~mse~chd_switchNowRight_Energy&ReturnURL=%2fEnergy%2fE_HelpLanding.asp%3freturnPage%3d%2fenergy%2findex.asp%26sessionid%3d26570059%26ref%3dchampagne~mse~chd_switchNowRight_Energy