Confused with Gas/Elec Tariff

LauraFoster

I just entered my meter readings online and was looking to see if im on the cheapest product with my provider (EON) for Winter.

*Note - Im only currently looking to change product - not switch providers at the moment

My current product offers a total of 26.7% discounts as its an online product, duel fuel and direct debit discounts.

Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
22.1865 pence

Normal units
10.71 pence per kWh


Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
6.5247 pence

Normal units
3.1584 pence per kWh




The other alternative product i was looking at has cheaper unit prices but 18.7% less discount.

Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
18.48 pence

Normal units
8.211 pence per kWh

Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
5.16075 pence

Normal units
2.92845 pence per kWh



Over the last quarter i used my readings increased by
Gas - 257
Elec - 1221


Im just trying to workout whether the new tariff is cheaper per unit than my existing one.

t0rt0ise

Use a comparison site which will work it out for you. I use uSwitch but there are others.

macman

It's no good using your last quarter's reading, for much of that the heating will not have been on, now your consumption will rise dramatically. You need to use your annual kWh consumption (from your last 4 bills, or phone eon and they will give you the figures).
if you are doing your own kWh calcs, you need to convert the gas units to kWh by checking if your meter is imperial or metric (it'll be marked on the front), then multiply by the relevant factor (approx 11.5 for metric and 31 for imperial).

lozzaman

Or just use the last few days usage (or next few days) and multiply it out? I would hope that the weather isn't going to get much colder.
Electricity usage won't change anything like as much as gas for a house heated with GCH.

macman

lozzaman wrote: »

Or just use the last few days usage (or next few days) and multiply it out? I would hope that the weather isn't going to get much colder.
Electricity usage won't change anything like as much as gas for a house heated with GCH.

That would then give an over-high consumption given the last few day's weather though.
You are correct about electricity usage, but it still goes up, as the lights are on for much longer in winter.

LauraFoster

macman wrote: »

It's no good using your last quarter's reading, for much of that the heating will not have been on, now your consumption will rise dramatically. You need to use your annual kWh consumption (from your last 4 bills, or phone eon and they will give you the figures).
if you are doing your own kWh calcs, you need to convert the gas units to kWh by checking if your meter is imperial or metric (it'll be marked on the front), then multiply by the relevant factor (approx 11.5 for metric and 31 for imperial).

My readings from last year will be useless to me. We were away for all of December and both me and my husband worked lots of overtime so our heating was on for a maximum of 2hrs per day.

This year however we have a baby and i am at home most of the day every day so completely different - hence why i am getting so confused.:rotfl:


I will have to try and write down what im using each week and work it out in a few weeks then.

macman

But the last few weeks your usage will have soared due to the weather and the clocks going back. So you will greatly over-estimate.
In that case use the average consumption for your type of property.
If you wait a few weeks to even start the process, then it will be too late to get much saving over the winter, when most of your heating cost is incurred. Remember that switching typically takes 4 to 5 weeks-so that would take you to the end of Jan if you sign up in late December.

LauraFoster

USwitch shows that my current provider (based on the tariff im already on) is still the cheapest provider, so i am not looking to switch.

I am simply trying to find out whether my existing product is better than the new one on offer.

macman

LauraFoster wrote: »

USwitch shows that my current provider (based on the tariff im already on) is still the cheapest provider, so i am not looking to switch.

I am simply trying to find out whether my existing product is better than the new one on offer.

So Uswitch should tell you that, as it should have both your existing tariff and the new one. If the new one does not appear then hit 'select all' on the results page and it will probably appear way down the listings.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

LauraFoster wrote: »

I just entered my meter readings online and was looking to see if im on the cheapest product with my provider (EON) for Winter.

*Note - Im only currently looking to change product - not switch providers at the moment

My current product offers a total of 26.7% discounts as its an online product, duel fuel and direct debit discounts.

Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
22.1865 pence

Normal units
10.71 pence per kWh


Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
6.5247 pence

Normal units
3.1584 pence per kWh




The other alternative product i was looking at has cheaper unit prices but 18.7% less discount.

Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
18.48 pence

Normal units
8.211 pence per kWh

Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
5.16075 pence

Normal units
2.92845 pence per kWh



Over the last quarter i used my readings increased by
Gas - 257
Elec - 1221


Im just trying to workout whether the new tariff is cheaper per unit than my existing one.

Hi Laura

From the figures posted, it looks as though you're currently on our Fixonline 8 tariff.

I know you're unsure about the amount of gas and electric you think you will use over the coming months. Therefore, I've done a rough approximation for you based on Ofgem's average consumption figures.

These are 3300 kWh for electricity and 20500 kWh for gas.

Using these figures, Fixonline 8 will cost approx £875 over a year.

I suspect the alternative tariff you're looking at is Saveonline 4. The unit prices match but the discount is 8 per cent not 18.7 per cent as posted.

On Saveonline 4, the discount for online account management is built into the unit prices. The additional 8 per cent is for Dual Fuel and payment by Direct Debit.

If I'm correct and it is Saveonline 4 you're looking at, this will cost approx £941 over a 12 month period. Again, this is based on Ofgem's annual consumption figures.

Both estimates include VAT.

One thing to be aware of; Fixonline 8 ends on 1 July 2011, whilst Saveonline 4 ends on 15 January 2012.

Going a stage further, I've calculated the actual unit prices with all discounts taken off and VAT added for both tariffs. These are as follows.

Fixonline 8.

Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
16.263 pence per kWh

Normal units
7.85 pence per kWh

Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
4.783 pence per kWh

Normal units
2.315 pence per kWh

Saveonline 4

Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
17.00 pence per kWh

Normal units
7.55 pence per kWh

Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
4.748 pence per kWh

Normal units
2.694 pence per kWh

As others have posted, a much fuller picture can be seen by using a comparison site. This will list all the options open to you, both with us and the other suppliers.

Hope this helps Laura. Give me a shout if you need any more info or if I've misunderstood the tariff you're looking at. Alternatively, drop an email to the address in my Profile if you prefer.

Malc

Airmike23

No tariff Eon offers at the moment is cheaper than Fix Online 8 if that is your current Eon product