Night time electricity - is it worth it? And can I get a rebate?

monobot

My electricity meter measures daytime and nighttime usage. The night rate is half the day rate. But the day rate is higher than for those with just a single meter. I understand that with my night usage about 20% of total usage I may not be using enough to make it pay. But it seems very difficult to find comparative figures from my provider (Scottish Power). I think I've been paying more than I need to. How can I get my provider to do an assessment of my last 12 months usage? With a view to repaying any over-payment?

Nada666

If you have night storage heaters it is worth it. If you have gas cooking and heating it may be worth it. If you are all electric but no storage heaters it is a bad idea.

No, you are not due a rebate. It is up to you to decide whether or not to stick with Economy 7 or to switch to a standard supply. The current price of current Scottish Power tariffs are on their website.

nickcc

We were unable to get the economy 7 meter as we didn't have night storage in our new property. In our previous house we had night storage, washing machine and dishwasher all programmed for the lower night time rate, its certainly more expensive in our new house now we have the one rate.

victor2

nickcc wrote: »

We were unable to get the economy 7 meter as we didn't have night storage in our new property. In our previous house we had night storage, washing machine and dishwasher all programmed for the lower night time rate, its certainly more expensive in our new house now we have the one rate.

Certainly more expensive to run what? Washing machine and dishwasher maybe, as they now run on your single rate, which probably falls between your old night rate and more expensive daytime rate. If your heating is now gas fired, I wouldn't mind betting it costs less than your night storage heaters used to, for a similar level of comfort.
With electricity typically costing 3 to 4 times as much as gas per kWh, electric heating is always going to cost more than comparable gas heating.

OP: As said, you will not be entitled to a rebate, just look for a better tariff.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Scottish Power presently have the best Economy 7 tariff for most(all?) areas, with the break-even point around 20% -25%.

Why would any company give you a rebate for a tariff you can chose to have, or leave?

If you are not on the optimum tariff for your mobile phone, internet, phone rental, house or car insurance; would you expect the various companies to give you a rebate?

If you shop for groceries at Harrods or Fortnums, are you aware that you can get many of the same branded goods cheaper at other supermarkets?

matelodave

If you read your meter regularly you can work out how much you use on each rate as you've actually got the information on how much you use during either the day and night already available to you. You can therefore work out whether a single rate would be beneficial

It's much harder to work out which is most economical if you've just got a single rate meter as you've got to try and estimate what proportion of your usage is covered by the night rate.

Richie-from-the-Boro

monobot,

- you are correct, you may not in these swelteringly hot stonky humid summer months
- but you as sure as hell will appreciate the cheaper night time supply of heat & water when the winter wind blows

Never calculate summer only, always divide your annual consumption of kW or costs by 12.

How can I get my provider to do an assessment of my last 12 months usage? With a view to repaying any over-payment?

- no comment !

I understand that with my night usage about 20% of total usage I may not be using enough to make it pay

- on the other hand even with all you summer needs and a tank full of boiling water you might break even

How can I get my provider to do an assessment of my last 12 months usage?

- your online account has a month by month breakdown or all your useage figures
- if you are not on an online account and paying by DD and putting your own meter readings in you are loosing money

Wywth

monobot wrote: »

My electricity meter measures daytime and nighttime usage. The night rate is half the day rate. But the day rate is higher than for those with just a single meter. I understand that with my night usage about 20% of total usage I may not be using enough to make it pay. But it seems very difficult to find comparative figures from my provider (Scottish Power). I think I've been paying more than I need to. How can I get my provider to do an assessment of my last 12 months usage? With a view to repaying any over-payment?

Give them a call and ask
(or you could calculate it yourself or use a comparison site)

No you will not get any repayment.

If you decide upon having a single rate supply, then you will need a new single rate meter if staying with SP. A charge will apply (I think it's currently £45.91, but SP will confirm that if you wish to take a single rate tariff)

JamesMason_2

Press them for a calculation. I did. Then factor in the charge they will apply to change your meter to single rate.

zomac

You don't need to change your meter from a 2 rate if you want a single rate tariff, you still give both reads for billing, but only get charges one rate for the usage.

molerat

zomac wrote: »

You don't need to change your meter from a 2 rate if you want a single rate tariff, you still give both reads for billing, but only get charges one rate for the usage.

Only if the supplier supports single rate tariff with a multi rate meter, many do not.