heatwise difficult to switch or compare prices

smifco

I keep hearing about switching suppliers to save money but I am on heatwise which most suppliers cant or wont touch. my current tariff is as follows
daily standing charge of 10.95pence per day
my first 225kwh @ 23.657pence per kwh (per quarter)
my normal day rate @ 12.453 pence per kwh (cooker, hobs, washer, fridge, freezer, lighting, kettle, toaster etc)
my off peak storage heaters and immersion heater 6.94pence per kwh(available 1pm-4pm, 8pm-10pm, 2am-7am)
booster rate heating and immersion heater 15.59pence per kwh (anytime)
my quarterly bill averages £270 as my wife is disabled so were in 24/7
I think this is a bit high for a 2 bed flat which is modern and well insulated, my upstairs neighbour who is single and out all day 5 days a week has had a pay as you go meter fitted and spends less than £160 per quarter and has an identical flat.
would I be better off having a pre pay meter fitted can anyone advise me
I used a total of 1871 ( I presume kwh) this figure taken directly from my meter being the difference from the last reading to the last one.Can anyone tell me what this reading would have cost on a pre payment meter?
Any advice will be gratefully accepted
thanks
smifco

rogerblack

Where are you?
It's unfortunately bloody complex.
To have a hope of guessing - we'd need to know the breakdowns of units.
Do you have how many units at each rate you've used last year?

Do you have storage heaters?
These will need upgraded at least to cope with storing heat for 18 hours, not 8, which will be a not inconsiderable cost.
Heating using non E7 rates will be _considerably_ more expensive.

Your rates are not especially different from mine, for day rate.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi smifco

I see from some of your other posts you're an E.ON customer and Helena's advised you before so thought I'd just pop on with a bit of info. Hope you don't mind.

There is a prepayment version of Heatwise meters. However, the unit prices are virtually the same as the credit meter version.

The prices you've quoted for day usage are for a single rate, unrestricted tariff. As rogerblack says, there may be some benefit of switching to Economy 7.

With Economy 7, though, the day rate is charged at a premium. Therefore, you need to use approx 40 to 50 per cent of electricity during the 7 off peak hours. This will be for your non-heating appliances like washing machines, tumble dryers, lights etc.

Usage for your heating/water heating will continue to go through the Heatwise circuits and be charged as now.

I'd suggest talking to our Energy Efficiency guys. Tell them about your property and appliances. They'll be happy to advise of ways you may be able to cut back.

They'll also be able to give more info about Economy 7.

Hope this is of use smifco. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc