Thinking about EBICO for Electricity only (low user)

Cavemanu

hi there, we currently have a property that is now in the process of being renovated. It is not frequently occupied, it is electricity only. As a result, annual consumption is pretty low at around 1000-1400kwh per year.

There is no requirement for heating as that is provided separately, just a fridge-freezer running plus a few electrical appliances that are now unplugged unless we are staying there.

Thinking about EBICO (Equipower) as there is no standing charge and low consumption. Currently on EON Standard Energy Plan with no standing charge. We have a regular meter and pay monthly by direct debit budget plan but as you can imagine, most of our units are at the highest rate. EON have proposed a slightly lower fixed price plan which is a standing charge product, that is currently £2 a month less than our current product. Have done a price comparison and EBICO looks to make a saving of around £37 a year based on our consumption. Whereas EON offer a 6% direct debit discount and a £19 electricity only discount.

Would be interested to hear from those who are EBICO customers about whether they are happy with the service they've received, also could not find much info about whether EBICO prices are due to rise but mindful that EON prices may rise in Jan 2013. I like the idea of EBICO not for profit approach Is it worth us switching?

thanks

Kev27

Im a low Careful user and transferred from E.on to Ebico about 9 months ago and im saving about £6 a month on my electric (now paying £13 a month) im also saving on my gas but that's irrelevant to you.
Just wish i had transferred sooner, also their online service is brilliant for giving them readings etc (its the southern electric website but as you probably know ebico piggy back off them) Anyway i would transfer asap if i was you, and remember with ebico, you only pay for what you use.

P.s ive always got the kettle on (3kw kettle) but i just fill the cup with water then pour it into the empty kettle so that it boils the correct ammount and quickly.

Wywth

Cavemanu wrote: »

hi there, we currently have a property that is now in the process of being renovated. It is not frequently occupied, it is electricity only. As a result, annual consumption is pretty low at around 1000-1400kwh per year.

There is no requirement for heating as that is provided separately, just a fridge-freezer running plus a few electrical appliances that are now unplugged unless we are staying there.

Thinking about EBICO (Equipower) as there is no standing charge and low consumption. Currently on EON Standard Energy Plan with no standing charge. We have a regular meter and pay monthly by direct debit budget plan but as you can imagine, most of our units are at the highest rate. EON have proposed a slightly lower fixed price plan which is a standing charge product, that is currently £2 a month less than our current product. Have done a price comparison and EBICO looks to make a saving of around £37 a year based on our consumption. Whereas EON offer a 6% direct debit discount and a £19 electricity only discount.

Would be interested to hear from those who are EBICO customers about whether they are happy with the service they've received, also could not find much info about whether EBICO prices are due to rise but mindful that EON prices may rise in Jan 2013. I like the idea of EBICO not for profit approach Is it worth us switching?

thanks

No problems with Ebico, especially for low users like yourself.

A comparison site should include all the applicable discounts, so if Ebico are coming out tops, then switch to them (at least for the period you remain a low user)

It is true that neither Ebico nor Eon have announced any price rises yet, but do expect Eon prices to rise early next year.

Whilst average price increases of 5 of the big 6 have been about 10% or less, ebico like most/all the other small suppliers have not indicated any price rises yet. This may be due to the fact they are not being forced to pay huge subsidies by the government to support emission reduction targets (e.g. CERT), something all the major suppliers are blaming in part for their recent price rises.

Cavemanu

I think I might give it a whirl but I have noticed a very recent post indicating that EBICO / Equipower prices will rise as of 2nd December. Mind you existing supplier EON's will probably rise on 1/1/2013!

thanks to everyone who has contributed

Wywth

Yes, since your original post Ebico have announced a price rise in common with many other suppliers. That price rise also includes the government imposed surcharges for environmental and social schemes the larger suppliers are obliged to implement, and because Ebico sources its energy from one of those larger suppliers (SSE) they too are hit.

Having said that, the Ebico increase is about 10% which is considerably less than the savings you previously indicated

Cavemanu

Just a quick update.

I finally bit the bullet once I received the EON electricity price increase notification letter in December 2012.

In my case, the introduction of the standing charge was the deal breaker. EON estimated my future forecasted annual bill to become £252 based on current levels of consumption (low at just under 1000kwh/yr which is just over the higher First Unit Rate of this 2-tier tariff (EON EnergyPlan) - no gas supply which amounted to £21/month (was paying £19/month)

EBICO are requesting £13 per month, so if consumption remains comparable I should be saving £8/month = £96 per year.

I have also swapped using WhichSwitch comparison site so hope to get £7.50 single fuel cashback.

thanks to all those who provided useful info to help me make my decision to switch. Hopefully the switch will proceed OK early next week, it has taken around 5 weeks to take effect

Wywth

I understood that the reason for your low usage was that the property was undergoing restoration and so not frequenetly occupied.

But that was 3 months ago. How long will restoration take as I think it only took about 3 months for the builder to build my home from scratch. Obviously when you fully occupy the property and so your uage increases, then the savings you are suggesting will no longer apply (and Ebico are unlikley to be the best supplier then).

I would have thought, what with having to pay to live elsewhere and the high cost of unoccupied property insurance, it wouyld be in your interest to get into your property as sooon as possible.

You don't say what supply region the property is located in, but using the Eastern Region as an example, Eon would only cost about £50 per year more than Ebico based on 1000kWh per year usage, and nPower would have cost less than Ebico (assuming this restoration is going to continue for a long time yet)

neil9313

[quoted text deleted by MSE Forum Team]


This post does not make sense, SSE and Ebico are
The same company.

macman

Ebico are an independent supplier. They buy their power from SSE.

Wywth

fred121 wrote: »

i moved from sse in October 2012 and went to ebico. what a mistake that was. my gas bill doubled in price and my electric went up by £30. ebico will be putting a standing charge on you in july 2013 so move now to cheaper priced caped prices [text deleted by Forum Team] so please take note and dont make the same mistake.
ebico is controlled by another company called sse and i have had nothing but problems [text deleted by Forum Team]. the only good thing that come out of all this was i moved. sse will be putting there prices up again in july 2013 so avoid them at all costs

Where do you get this information from?

As far as I know, Ebico have no plans to introduce any standing charge

I also know of no announcement by SSE to change prices in July 2013


Edit: Just 2 weeks ago (16 January 2013) on the Ebico facebook page, they posted:

...we’re determined to keep EquiGas and EquiPower standing charge-free.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ebico-Ltd/112467313920