Single rate tariff / 2 rate digital meter / stuck with EON

SteveNotts

Hi

I have been with Eon for a number of years but their tariffs are now among the most expensive so its time for a change.

However, I have hit a big snag. I have a digital Siemens meter (fitted by eon a few years ago) which is a 2 rate digital meter.

Eon allow a single rate tariff on this meter by adding the two together but it appears no one else does!

I have asked Eon for a price to change or even reprogram the meter but they cant help as there is ony one person in the meter department, their computers are down and I have been told to call tomorrow!!!

I really want to get things moving (EDF & Scottish Power are my choices).

Can anyone help/advise me please?

Thanks in advance.


Steve

Wywth

SteveNotts wrote: »

Hi

I have been with Eon for a number of years but their tariffs are now among the most expensive so its time for a change.

However, I have hit a big snag. I have a digital Siemens meter (fitted by eon a few years ago) which is a 2 rate digital meter.

Eon allow a single rate tariff on this meter by adding the two together but it appears no one else does!

I have asked Eon for a price to change or even reprogram the meter but they cant help as there is ony one person in the meter department, their computers are down and I have been told to call tomorrow!!!

I really want to get things moving (EDF & Scottish Power are my choices).

Can anyone help/advise me please?

Thanks in advance.


Steve

Some other suppliers will allow you a single rate tariff with a dual rate meter, and those that don't will happily arrange a meter change if you want to retain a single rate tariff.

Give the supplier of your choice a call and see what they can do for you.

There really is no necessity to stay with Eon if you don't want to

Both EDF and SP will require a meter change - there is no charge with EDF, SP will charge about £50

Terrylw1

It sounds like Eon have made a mistake and added rates together when they should have changed the meter.

Not all E7 meters are allowed to operate on single rate but where they can, they still have to record as 2 rates but the supply can choose to show 2 readings but add the kwh advances together.

When doing this, the supplier must update the distributor to reflect how your meter is operating. This then helps you when you transfer.

So, ask Eon to confirm they have updated the Distributor and their Data Collector to change your Profile Class (PC) from 02 which is E7/off peak to 01 which is unrestricted/single rate.

If they haven't, ask them if they can. If they can't, they have not followed the correct industry process and should have had your meter changed.

Some suppliers have done this and it saves them costs in engineer calls but if your meter can't operate as PC01&02 in the industry Market Domain Data (MDD), they have acted in a non compliant manner and they should correct this by changing the meter at your cost.

If it turns out, they have done the correct updates, the new supplier can do it as well. Some quote they need a meter change attempting to get you to pay for it assuming you won't understand the correct industry process. Don't stand for it!

redfrock

Thank you for the OP and the subsequent replies. I am currently with Eon and am in the process of moving to SP. My property also has a digital E7 meter (in the property when I purchased it 18 months ago) and I am charged a single rate. Based on the info above (which to be honest I only have a basic understanding of), I have sent Eon the folding email

"Please can you confirm the following regarding the E7 meter at my property; if the Distributor and their Data Collector have changed our Profile Class (PC) from 02 which is E7/off peak to 01 which is unrestricted/single rate.

The meter appears to have been installed by EDF prior to us purchasing the property. It states it is a multi rate single phase watt hour meter, March 2004 certified, type 5196d

If this is not the case please can you arrange to change the meter to a standard digital meter rather than the E7 digital meter we currently have"

Wywth

You may find this previous response by Amy, the Eon Rep helpful:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=32972189&postcount=12

ETA: Or maybe it was Brian? :huh: Anyway, an Eon rep all the same.

Terrylw1

redfrock wrote: »

Thank you for the OP and the subsequent replies. I am currently with Eon and am in the process of moving to SP. My property also has a digital E7 meter (in the property when I purchased it 18 months ago) and I am charged a single rate. Based on the info above (which to be honest I only have a basic understanding of), I have sent Eon the folding email

"Please can you confirm the following regarding the E7 meter at my property; if the Distributor and their Data Collector have changed our Profile Class (PC) from 02 which is E7/off peak to 01 which is unrestricted/single rate.

The meter appears to have been installed by EDF prior to us purchasing the property. It states it is a multi rate single phase watt hour meter, March 2004 certified, type 5196d

If this is not the case please can you arrange to change the meter to a standard digital meter rather than the E7 digital meter we currently have"

Its the settings that are installed on the meter, these are published in the industry Market Domain Data (MDD) files which are on Elexon's website.

From what you have said, they should understand it.

If they tell you they have updated your PC to 01, did you know you can easily check?

Your PC makes up part of the supply number on your bill. See this link.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_Point_Administration_Number#section_1

Your Profile Type, is the PC.

If it says 02 after they confirm they have done it, they are incorrect and you need to question them further.

Updating the distributor takes no more than 5 working days, so should have been done but if they say they will do it, you can at least check on the bills.

You can also ask them to confirm your supply number so you can check.

If you struggle, I can easily check this for. The data is all published in files and it relates to the settings, not the customer or address so its safe and cannot be used to switch anyone. The data item in question would be the Standard Settlement Configuration (SSC) and I would just need to no which old region you are and from there I can check if you can do this.

Terrylw1

Wywth wrote: »

You may find this previous response by Amy, the Eon Rep helpful:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=32972189&postcount=12

ETA: Or maybe it was Brian? :huh: Anyway, an Eon rep all the same.

Sorry Wywth, Eon's post is incorrect and the industry does not allow this.

Its all about the SSC on its ex regional board.

Many E7 SSC's are set up for E7 only hence the supplier knows they have to change the meter. Doing an internal fiddle means the distributor doesn't know and still charges the supplier at E7 rates (the values differ because the determined % per register is different) and when you switch, the new supplier won't honour it as they know its non compliant.

I know your intentions were good, I just want to point out the flaw in the Eon response.

redfrock

Thanks Terry. My supply number shows as S02

I am waiting for Eon to reply to my original email, but obviously need to give them time to!

SP replied immediately when I asked them about combining to units. They asked me to call them. I have just done so and am even more confused. They stated that following an Ofgen ruling (I think) energy companies ate no longer allowed to combine the two E7 rates to create a single rate. They asked for meter ratings and I had a set taken a fortnight apart. They said E7 time is generally midnight to 8am, and that given my readings - even though I am only running the fridge freezer and occasionally the dishwasher during this time and have GCH, that it is 15% cheaper pa for me to remain on E7. Now I am very confused! Does this sound correct to you?

redfrock

Btw - I have just used the Uswitch calculator to work out the cost of my tariffs if I have an E7 meter and the SP chap is right. My usage with Eon is cheaper by combining the units on the E7 meter to a single rate but with SP it is cheaper to keep it as an E7 meter and separate readings.

Terrylw1

Since your PC is 02, they have not followed the correct industry process to change it to PC01. The impact of this is that if you switch via a quote on single rates, the new supplier knows you should be E7 so may default you or if they are any good, call you to find out what the problem is.

Ofgem ruling...nope, its not actually that simple. The MDD is controlled by a different regulating party, known as Elexon. They are still sending the data out to all parties allowing for this. If Ofgem waded in and agreed this with Elexon, or by overriding them, it would force the data files to show end dates which would prevent them from being used.

You may find its either an incorrect advisor or a commercial decision to change the meters...most likely by charging their customers!

Since you are already billed this way, are they writing to you to change you back to E7? If the answer is no, the advisor was incorrect.

Since they have changed your billing to single rate, they need to send a data flow to the distributor changing your PC.

Ask them to tell you your Standard Settlement Configuration (SSC) and then tell me the first part of your post code or your Grid Supply Point (GSP) reference (shows as a letter with a leading underscore character) or the 1st 2 digits of your MPAN. From this, I can easily check if your meter can operate this way. The SSC is not part of anything that can be used to identify or switch you as you will share it with thousands of people in your region. It will take 5 mins to check that for you and at least then you will how to proceed.

In terms of adding registers together, the only show the advances together, they have to continue to show the readings as seperate per the industry data.

Your point over the cheapest tariff can only mean that your % split is very close to the expected values that are the threshold, thus they are very sensitive to the unit prices. For a normal E7 customer, they wouldn't get this outcome.

Wywth

redfrock wrote: »

... They asked for meter ratings and I had a set taken a fortnight apart. They said E7 time is generally midnight to 8am, and that given my readings - even though I am only running the fridge freezer and occasionally the dishwasher during this time and have GCH, that it is 15% cheaper pa for me to remain on E7. Now I am very confused! Does this sound correct to you?

As you already have a two rate meter, then chances are that your old eon bills show the actually recorded meter readings for both registries (but both charged at the same rate).
If they do, this will allow you to use an accurate annual figure to check whether E7 would be better for you or not.
This is presumably what you did when you asked Eon to supply you on a single rate all those years ago.
But the situation will differ both over time (as tariffs change) and with a change of supplier. It is very possible that an E7 tariff is cheaper for you.