"Off-Peak" Electricity Tariff

Ids61

PoorPauly wrote: »

Thanks - that's very interesting. So did you have two meters like me? Do OVO supply to both your meters or did you have to have meter(s) changed?

Npower are now charging me (incl VAT) 9.47 for off-peak and 17.21 for standard.

Hi
I have one meter with two readings, this is shown on my bill as day any night readings. The rate charged is the same. I did not change the meter.
17.21 is very expensive for standard have a look on switching sites.

PoorPauly

Thanks to all for your interesting replies. I don't understand all the technical stuff but will research it!

Just to be clear on the metering - I don't have E10, or any other tariff, through a single meter. What I have is two separate meters each with it's own supply number. The 'off-peak' one is connected via a (tamper-proof) timer to a circuit which only supplies the central heating and hot water. The 'standard' one provides all other electricity and is always charged at the higher rate, no matter the time of day.

I don't understand is how Npower are able to increase my price by 16.5% when a) they announced 9ish and b) as far as my situation is concerned, they are a monopoly supplier.

PoorPauly

Long-term I'm planning major renovation to the house which will include a totally new heating system and solve my problem once and for all.

So I started another thread - number 4816764 in the diy forum (not allowed to post a link!) To ask 'What is the Best type of central heating system?'.

Be really grateful for any input on that as well.

Richie-from-the-Boro

PoorPauly wrote: »

Thanks to all for your interesting replies. I don't understand all the technical stuff but will research it!

Just to be clear on the metering - I don't have E10, or any other tariff, through a single meter. What I have is two separate meters each with it's own supply number. The 'off-peak' one is connected via a (tamper-proof) timer to a circuit which only supplies the central heating and hot water. The 'standard' one provides all other electricity and is always charged at the higher rate, no matter the time of day.

I don't understand is how Npower are able to increase my price by 16.5% when a) they announced 9ish and b) as far as my situation is concerned, they are a monopoly supplier.

Unless you tell me differently you are on an E10 tariff.

Tariff, what tariff do you think you are on ?

Two separate [MPAN] meters will incur two separate standing charges.

rogerblack

PoorPauly wrote: »

Long-term I'm planning major renovation to the house which will include a totally new heating system and solve my problem once and for all.

So I started another thread - number 4816764 in the diy forum (not allowed to post a link!) To ask 'What is the Best type of central heating system?'.

Be really grateful for any input on that as well.

I note that approaching it from the heating side may be the wrong way round.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63615902#Comment_63615902

PoorPauly

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

Unless you tell me differently you are on an E10 tariff.

Tariff, what tariff do you think you are on ?

Two separate [MPAN] meters will incur two separate standing charges.

No, it's definitely not E10, and yes, there are 2 separate MPANs, each with it's own separate supply number. Each does indeed incur it's own standing charge (but they're only a few pence / day). One is on Npower tariff "Standard", the other is on Npower tariff "Off-Peak".

jrawle

Why not look at your bills for the whole of the previous year, add the total number of units together, and put them into a comparison site to look at standard tariffs? If it works out at cheaper than you paid, it's clear what you need to do. The only issue you may have is if you rely on the meter timer to switch the heating on and off. If your new supplier insists on a single meter, and your heating system doesn't have its own timer, you might have to fit one. The advantage will be that you can have it on when you want, not just for 10 set hours.

If the standard tariff would be more expensive, you could look at E7, but obviously would lose the afternoon boost as others have discussed.

PoorPauly

jrawle wrote: »

Why not look at your bills for the whole of the previous year, add the total number of units together, and put them into a comparison site to look at standard tariffs? If it works out at cheaper than you paid, it's clear what you need to do. The only issue you may have is if you rely on the meter timer to switch the heating on and off. If your new supplier insists on a single meter, and your heating system doesn't have its own timer, you might have to fit one. The advantage will be that you can have it on when you want, not just for 10 set hours.

If the standard tariff would be more expensive, you could look at E7, but obviously would lose the afternoon boost as others have discussed.

Thanks. That's certainly worth looking at. The meter timer does switch the heating on and off, but, as you say, fitting a new timer, and having it on at the times I choose, would be a big plus.

How would I go about getting the meter(s) replaced? Do I have to contact my existing supplier / new supplier, or is it someone else? Any idea of the cost of that?

jrawle

Most suppliers will only let you use the standard tariff if you have a single meter. Some such as British Gas allow you to add together two readings and bill you at the single, standard rate. A company will only arrange a meter swap if you are their customer, so an idea might be to identify a couple of tariffs that seem good value, then contacting them to see what they charge to exchange the meter.

If you replace the meter with a single rate one, they will take the timer away too, so if you rely on this to activate the heating for limited hours, you will require a new timer.

sgun

Richie (post 25), its called Super Tariff and its a legacy tariff that you can inherit if you move into a house with it. Its similar to E10 but it isn't E10. Only Npower offered it and it was specifically designed for properties with storage heaters.

Pauly, mine has gone up by around 9.5%, maybe it is different in different areas. I have done many, many tedious calculations and I can't get electricity cheaper any other way (and I do like the afternoon boost for the heaters, I live in the North East). If I was planning on staying a good few more years I would get GCH but only for the convenience, not the cost, my storage heating and overall electricity costs are rather low.