Prepayment Meter Tarrif help

sharpshark

Hi, We are stuck with both as we rent from a Housing Associtaion, we have been with Ebico for both for a while now, but we are aware that they are no longer as competetive as the other suppliers don't penalise as much for these meters.

Ebico charge gas at Standing charge no standing charge and a flat rate (pence per kWh) 3.675p, their electricity is 13.440p per kWh.

British Gas also have no standing charge, their gas is two tier 6.615p for the first 670 kWh per quarter, and 3.045p thereafter, and their electricity is only 10.271p per kWh.

Which one would be cheaper? I have no bills to tell me how much I have used or spent on either, so its all estimated.

Electricity is a no -brainer, BG are the best.
Gas is a bit more complicated, 6 months of the year we use little to no gas, so any we use will be on the higher tier with BG, the other 6 months we use quite alot, around £30 - 40 per month.

Will the saving from elecy cancel out the higher tier for gas per quarter? I can't get my head round it without knowing exactly how much I use per quarter though a whole year, and I can't get that info.

Which supplier would be best? Stick with Ebico or change to BG?

Thanks.

mi_jardin

I think you'd soon get through the 670kwh for the gas especially if we have another cold winter.
I used to have a prepayment meter for electricity, is the box for gas the same as that? Becasue with mine if you pressed the button you could get readings which would tell you how much you have used since it was put in, then if you divide that by the number of years you've had it it would give you a rough idea.
hth

Premier_2

mi_jardin wrote: »

I think you'd soon get through the 670kwh for the gas especially if we have another cold winter....

But in using that 670kWh, you would have paid almost 80% more than you would have paid with Ebico.

In fact, in every quarter, you would need to use about 3800kWh before BG is cheaper ... that is almost £140 worth per quarter.

Premier_2

Regarding electricity, you appear to be comparing to BG Click Pay As You Go Energy. (actual unit price is 10.217p)

That tariff is only available to dual fuel customers, and customers must remain on dual fuel supply with BG to remain on that tariff.

Also, you appear to have forgotten to include the standing charge which is an additional £60.08 per year.

There is, however, a £15 annual discount off your electricity for dual fuel (not sure how that is actually given for a pre-payment customer)

That means it's not quite the no-brainer you thought.
You need to use more than £250 per year in electricity before BG becomes cheaper. Granted, you probably may use more than that, but remember it's only available with the BG gas which you will be paying a premium for unless you use over £560 per year of.

If you want to keep with Ebico for the gas, then your option with BG electricity is their standard tariff which is 24.413p per unit for the initial 125kWh per quarter and 11.109p for the remainder. This means you would have to use over about £400 worth of electricity per year with BG before they come cheaper than Ebico ... and there may possibly be cheaper suppliers/tariffs available if you use more than that.

I hope from this you can see how important it is to have your usage (in kWh) to compare tariffs. What is cheapest for one level of usage may be more expensive for another.
If you don't know your annual usage, give your supplier a call and ask them to provide you with your annual usage in kWh and use the comparison sites in the resource bar above to check out the best deal for you