New Flat - Tariffs

millertime_2

ive got storage heating and water heating which come on at "random" times in the night on my off-peak meter and a peak meter for everything else. it's called comfort extra control apparently.

this means my everyday things like lights, tv, washing machine, fridge etc are always peak prices.

now...the cost of this is:

34p a day charge, peak rate of 11.49 and off peak of 4.91.

this seems really high to me and is costing me about £110 a month on electricity, which is way more than i bargained for.

i phoned e-on to talk about it and they just confused me with jargon. can anyone here help?

its more complicated because of the fact i have an extra meter for water and heating, isnt it?

any help much appreciated

thanks

Premier_2

Unfortunately there won't be a lot you can do about it unless you are prepared to pay for significant electrical changes.

It's unlikely you'll find other supplier willing to take on the existing set-up - although some sales people wishing to pocket their commission may tell you otherwise ... but any attempt will usually end in tears.

JasX

Premier wrote: »

Unfortunately there won't be a lot you can do about it unless you are prepared to pay for significant electrical changes.

It's unlikely you'll find other supplier willing to take on the existing set-up - although some sales people wishing to pocket their commission may tell you otherwise ... but any attempt will usually end in tears.

utter garbage,

do a forum search on here and you'll find which suppliers CAN put you on a standard/online tariff and simply add up the readings from your on/off peak meters and which will not.

Use comparison websites but run the comparison twice -once telling it you have on/off peak meters the other telling it you have a a standard meter and see which comes out cheaper, but bear in mind on the standard tariffs you'll have to ignore the providers that can't cope with separate meters.

millertime_2

thank you.

to be honest, id happily switch to the one meter system...but as i have storage heaters and water that heats up during the night...is that not a possible for me?

ive went onto confused.com, but they dont have my "comfort extra control" tariff as an option in their dropdown.

EDF came out at 220 cheaper a year, but only gave me one unit price of 6.9p...

JasX

EDIT: I think eon and BG are suppliers who can add separate meters together without physical changes, npower alegedly can but will probably screw it up and have nightmare customer service

most suppliers will be able to physically change the meters for you but costs will vary, at least the above method is free and you can switch back at any time

Premier_2

JasX wrote: »

utter garbage,

....

Is the wrong answer!

You may be able to do what you suggest to move from E7 to a single rate tariff ... but not with the tariff the OP has.

The dual MPAN the OP will have will mess things up if a switch is attempted. Most suppliers are not able to handle dual MPANs on their system.

Premier_2

millertime wrote: »

...ive went onto confused.com, but they dont have my "comfort extra control" tariff as an option in their dropdown...

No you won't find it on any comparison site.

As it's not a generally available tariff that you can switch from/to, it is not shown on the comparison sites.


Edit: Are you sure you the tariff is called Comfort Extra Control???
Scottish Power have a tariff called Comfort Plus Control
E.on (the supplier you called) I thought called their tariff Heatwise or just E10.
Either way, you're still probably stuffed. Although if you are with SP, E.on have previously suggested they may take on such a supply (not sure how successful / stressless that is) ... but you've already spoken to them anyway.

millertime_2

sorry comfort plus control yeah!

ok latest is...EDF cant take me on, as i have the 2 meter system. i'd need to get e-on to change me to the comfort 7 tariff and meter set up, then go back to EDF and they'll take me on. apparently theres a lot of re-wiring to be done which they dont do

seems a lot of stress, but maybe thats what ill need to do.

just irks me that im paying peak prices for my electric all the time.

is what im paying just now...34p a day charge, peak rate of 11.49 and off peak of 4.91...as steep as i think it is?

KimYeovil

No, that is not particularly steep. Not the cheapest, but there are plenty of normal tariffs where the tier 2 price is in double figures.

millertime_2

ok well im lost!

whats my next step..?

the comparison sites dont have my tariff to compare?

do i need an electrician to install 1 meter before i do anything?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

millertime wrote: »

ive got storage heating and water heating which come on at "random" times in the night on my off-peak meter and a peak meter for everything else. it's called comfort extra control apparently.

this means my everyday things like lights, tv, washing machine, fridge etc are always peak prices.

now...the cost of this is:

34p a day charge, peak rate of 11.49 and off peak of 4.91.

this seems really high to me and is costing me about £110 a month on electricity, which is way more than i bargained for.

i phoned e-on to talk about it and they just confused me with jargon. can anyone here help?

its more complicated because of the fact i have an extra meter for water and heating, isnt it?

any help much appreciated

thanks

Hi Millertime

I'm sorry for the delay replying.

As Premier says, this is a bit of a hybrid tariff and I must admit to not knowing a great deal about it Therefore, I've been doing a bit of research and thought it might help if I posted a few of the details I have discovered.

From E.ON, it is only available in Scotland where customers already have this type of metering set up installed at their properties.

The product has a daily standing charge, a lower rate for heating and a higher rate for other appliances.

It is generally for properties with electric storage heaters and water immersion heaters. These items are specifically wired into a controlled circuit.

The circuit is energised at particular times of the day at the discretion of Scottish Power (the distributor for the area). This is based on the forecasted weather conditions expected the following day.

I believe the intention is for customers to be able to leave their storage heaters switched on with their charge controllers set to maximum. This is to obtain a constant daily average indoor temperature in each heated room throughout the year.

All electricity going through the controlled circuit to the storage and water heaters is charged at the lower rate. All electricity used for other purposes, including any space and water heating not supplied by the appropriate circuit, will be charged at the higher rate.

The range of tariffs available to customers with these types of meter is limited and will not appear on the comparison sites.

I'm afraid, as far as E.ON are concerned, it is not possible to add the individual rates together and charge on either a single rate or Economy 7 tariff.

It may be possible to change the meter to a standard type but I would strongly recommend you arrange for a qualified electrician to check out your set up before doing this.

As I say, these meters are wired directly into the heating/water circuits at individual properties. Changing the meter might lead to difficulties/complications within these circuits.

Scottish Power, as the regional distributor and meter operator, will probably have a suitable tariff available. I would have a word with them as it may well be more competitive than ours. Not sure about other suppliers; you will need to ask them individually.

I'm sure Colin, the Scottish Power rep on here, will be able to advise about this as well as providing a more in depth overview of the system in general.

Please accept my apologies for the lack of help you received when you called us Millertime. I suspect the agent you spoke to doesn't deal with these meters very often.

If you need any more details I would suggest calling our specialist metering people rather than a call centre. Alternatively, let me know and I will do my best to find out what you need to know.

Anyway, hope this is not too vague and helps a little.

Malc