Official MSE Economy 7 Guide discussion

pineapple

Cardew wrote: »

You said in an earlier post 'But the energy company just told me that the 7 hours are split - ie 9.30pm to 11.30pm and 1.30am to 6.30am.'


I assume 'am' is correct??

Sorry I should have gone to Specsavers. :mad:
This is what the email actually says
To help you control your energy and save some money, we're writing to tell you the times of day that you get cheaper electricity.
You benefit from a cheaper electricity rate between:
9:30pm to 11:30pm and 1:30am to 6:30am in summer (BST)
10:30pm to 12:30am and 2:30am to 7:30am in winter (GMT)
This means two distinct periods for 2 and 5 hours does it not? When I 'phoned them they confirmed this is what it means.

Just been checking with my next door neighbour.
She says she used to be on a solid 7 hours with the same supplier till she had meter problems after a long power cut. A new meter was fitted and she was told she would now be on two separate periods for 2 hours and 5 hours. She complained that she preferred 7 hours solid but they wouldn't change it.
PS I have found a forum discussion about a similar issue and it seems some E7 meters are set up to provide two separate periods. Apparently it is down to the type of teleswitch. My property was a family holiday cottage for 25 years so not occupied full time. I wonder if this means the meter was not updated at a time when others in the area were but the supplier assumes it was.
But also my property backs onto this neighbour's property and maybe my property is showing as on her site plan and having the same type of meter.

Cardew

pineapple wrote: »

Sorry I should have gone to Specsavers. :mad:
This is what the email actually says
To help you control your energy and save some money, we're writing to tell you the times of day that you get cheaper electricity.
You benefit from a cheaper electricity rate between:
9:30pm to 11:30pm and 1:30am to 6:30am in summer (BST)
10:30pm to 12:30am and 2:30am to 7:30am in winter (GMT)
This means two distinct periods for 2 and 5 hours does it not? When I 'phoned them they confirmed this is what it means.

.

Admittedly it is ambiguous, but it doesn't state it is in 'two distinct periods'.

It can mean you get 7 hours off-peak starting between 09:30pm to 11:30 pm and finishing between 1:30am and 06:30am in Summer i.e. 7 hours in a 9 hour period.

Obviously that is incorrect timings for your property.

Eon of course do not have any control of your timings; they will be the same regardless of which company who supplies electricity. See post#2 in this thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/65254695#Comment_65254695

pineapple

Thanks Cardew.
It is meant as two distinct periods. They said so on the 'phone.
Plus my neighbour (also with Eon) is on that arrangement and does a load of heavy duty electrical stuff in the late evening slot. The cheap rate then goes off and comes back on in the early hours.
She went from 7 hours solid to that when her meter was changed and she wasn't happy at the time.
Actually I would prefer it. Eon is looking into it and hopefully will arrange for whoever is responsible to come and check.
I understand that Eon is not responsible for timings. But if they are sending out misinformation to individual accounts, it needs to be sorted as somone new to a property or who doesn't do their own checks could end up really out of pocket.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

pineapple wrote: »

The company is Eon.
Area Cumbria
Energy Fixed 1 year v 19.
Economy 7
Cheers
PS when I called Eon, it was suggested I need an electrician to sort the timing but the heaters don't have inbuilt timing. They are controlled by a teleswitch. Checked as I don't usually use the heaters at this time of year but if switched on at the wall, they currently draw power from 1.16am to 8.16am. Been doing a bit of digging online and found a post from someone who had been given a different teleswitch and the off peak timings had gone from a solid 7 hour period to a split 7 hour period so I'm wondering if I have the wrong teleswitch fitted. I would prefer the split schedule..
Update just checked the meter during this period and yes the time to 8.16 am is being recorded as low rate. Not only that but the clock is showing over an hour out.

Discussed with neighbour who is also with Eon on Economy 7. She had a new meter fitted a while back and was told at the time that she is on a split 7 hour schedule. She has been trying to fit her electriclty usage accordingly but is now double checking. Her bills these days are quite high. She will be a bit cross if she has been given wrong information!
I'm wondering if this is down to the people who fit the meters rather than Eon?

pineapple wrote: »

Sorry I should have gone to Specsavers. :mad:
This is what the email actually says
To help you control your energy and save some money, we're writing to tell you the times of day that you get cheaper electricity.
You benefit from a cheaper electricity rate between:
9:30pm to 11:30pm and 1:30am to 6:30am in summer (BST)
10:30pm to 12:30am and 2:30am to 7:30am in winter (GMT)
This means two distinct periods for 2 and 5 hours does it not? When I 'phoned them they confirmed this is what it means.

Just been checking with my next door neighbour.
She says she used to be on a solid 7 hours with the same supplier till she had meter problems after a long power cut. A new meter was fitted and she was told she would now be on two separate periods for 2 hours and 5 hours. She complained that she preferred 7 hours solid but they wouldn't change it.
PS I have found a forum discussion about a similar issue and it seems some E7 meters are set up to provide two separate periods. Apparently it is down to the type of teleswitch. My property was a family holiday cottage for 25 years so not occupied full time. I wonder if this means the meter was not updated at a time when others in the area were but the supplier assumes it was.
But also my property backs onto this neighbour's property and maybe my property is showing as on her site plan and having the same type of meter.

pineapple wrote: »

The point is they sent me an email saying my cheap rate was between 9.30pm - 11.30pm and 1.30pm - 6.30pm.
But this doesn't reflect the time my storage heaters start drawing power. When I phoned them they said the times stated were correct and suggested it was a domestic/storage heater issue and I needed to consult an electrician. In retrospect this is nonsense but I then wondered whether I needed to reorganise my schedule according to the cheap evening period and whether I had been missing out/paying over the odds.
But I have since done a check and it shows on my meter that the cheap rate does go on and off between 1.16 and 8.16am.

I phoned Eon again today and someone from another department said the email was misinformation. He said they don't set the times and that my storage heater period is roughly in line with the low rate set for the area which is 1.30 - 8.30.

If they are sending out wrong information to their customers and people aren't double checking, it could cost them dear. It's not just a matter of getting cheaper electricity at certain periods - the 'normal' rates are hiked.
If I had moved in this summer I wouldn't have known about the storage heaters and would have assumed the information given by Eon was correct. I would have been doing all my high energy things in the evening and setting things with timers accordingly. You should be able to trust that your provider is giving you correct information.

I'm also concerned that they are contradicting themselves and not making any attempt to get to the bottom of it.
It's not just a matter of minor variation in timing. Someone in Eon is getting it wrong and it does need sorting imo.

Hello pineapple and sorry for the confusion. You've certainly received the wrong information from one source, either the email or our advisor.

As Cardew mentions, meter switching times are set by the regional electricity distributor and are linked to meters to come on at set times. Recently, we've been contacting customers with certain multi-rate meters like Economy 7 to let them know when their off peak rates are active. This is the email you've received.

Although rare, I've come across split time Economy 7 set ups before. If you drop an email with your details to the address in my Profile, I'll be happy to check your times. If possible, please include a copy of the email, the meter serial number and up to date readings. This will help me do a belt and braces job to find out where the duff information is coming from.

I wouldn't worry too much about your neighbour's set up. Switching times can vary between properties even those close together. You also mention your neighbour has had a meter exchange. This could've have effected their switching times. Not saying this for certain but possible.

Sorry again for the conflicting information pineapple.

Malc

Cardew

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Although rare, I've come across split time Economy 7 set ups before. Malc

Malc,

The South East area have split time E7 set ups.

See the map in post#2 of this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/65254695#Comment_65254695

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Cardew wrote: »

Malc,

The South East area have split time E7 set ups.

See the map in post#2 of this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/65254695#Comment_65254695

Thanks Cardew. I know they exist, just don't come across them very often these days.

Malc

pineapple

Thanks Malc. Will do!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

You're welcome pineapple. Glad to help.

Malc

pineapple

Just bumping this thread to say it is all sorted now thanks to Malc the Eon rep. It turns out that the meter details originally given to Eon were incorrect and the meter is indeed timed for a continuous 7 hour low rate period and not a split 7 hour schedule.
Well done Malc - what a star! :beer:

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Thanks for that pineapple. Happy to help. :T

Malc