MSE News: This year's cheapest energy tariff launches - is it right for you?

NPowerUser

Good morning Kitchen Sink

Daligas would have been cheaper for gas and isupplyenergy for electricity (for my region) based on my average consumption, but both their responses to emails were very slow, not a good sign for future customer service.

Isupplyenergy wanted to process everything on line and wouldn't allow me to have the account in my name and the DD in my wife's name.

If we are being pedantic MSE could have mentioned that it was the cheapest duel fuel deal around as opposed to separate suppliers.

Some of the independent suppliers don't participate in cashback so again any savings gained by me potentially taking Daligas & Isupplyenergy would have been wiped by losing up to £40 cashback.

AbbieCadabra

East Mids, via energy helpline, just checked & ExtraEnergy still come out cheaper for us, Ovo are £20 more.

when i checked/started the switch to Extra on 03.04.14, Ovo weren't even in the top3 cheapest for us.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

And of course, to carry out a Personal Projection we should go to energylinx? And also put "No" to the "Show me tariffs I can switch to today" to get the real best deals. Quite annoying how the default scenario on your website is often the one that makes you money, but I don't save as much as I can.

A question for you, if people switch to from DF to separate suppliers, do you get more commission in general?

ConfusedofYorkshire

Kitchen_Sink wrote: »

As you say, prices do vary by region, but I've just done some comparisons for some of the regions and got some interesting results based on average consumption figures (which I believe are 13500kwh p.a. for gas and 3200kWh p.a for electricity)

East Anglia (where I live)
Cheapest dual fuel: ovo: £963pa, first Utilty: £965pa
Single Fuel: gas zog £513pa, elec FU £419 Total: £932pa
Saving over Ovo dual fuel: £33pa (3.4%)

East Midlands
Cheapest dual fuel: ovo: £977pa, Flow Energy: £983pa
Single Fuel: gas zog £511pa, elec Extra Energy £413 Total: £924pa
Saving over Ovo dual fuel: £53pa (5.4%)

West Midlands
Cheapest dual fuel: ovo: £983pa, Flow Energy: £992pa
Single Fuel: gas zog £513pa, elec Flow Energy £426 Total: £939pa
Saving over Ovo dual fuel: £44pa (4.5%)

London (Where MSE is based)
Cheapest dual fuel: ovo: £986pa, first Utilty: £987pa
Single Fuel: gas daligas £516pa, elec Extra Energy or Ovo £423 Total: £939pa
Saving over Ovo dual fuel: £47pa (4.8%)

Yorkshire
Cheapest dual fuel: ovo: £974pa, first Utilty: £978pa
Single Fuel: gas zog £510pa, elec First Utility £427 Total: £937pa
Saving over Ovo dual fuel: £37pa (3.8%)

Norweb
Cheapest dual fuel: ovo: £997pa, first Utilty: £998pa
Single Fuel: gas Daligas £516pa, elec First Utility £445 Total: £961pa
Saving over Ovo dual fuel: £36pa (3.6%)

(Source: energyhelpline.com, except London & Norweb regions which were sourced from energylinx.co.uk)


Got bored at that point, but I think you can see the emerging pattern.

So was this just lazy journalism by MSE?
Or perhaps clever journalism to promote Ovo who pays MSE referral fees for anyone using the MSE affiliate link in that article?

:cool:

I'm an idiot. i always assumed dual fuel was cheaper!

Kitchen_Sink

NPowerUser wrote: »

...
Some of the independent suppliers don't participate in cashback so again any savings gained by me potentially taking Daligas & Isupplyenergy would have been wiped by losing up to £40 cashback.

Both Daligas & iSupply offer cashback if you look carefully
(via some comparison sites - maybe a comparison site via TCB/quidco. etc))

Gratis

For my own family’s domestic consumption (G:23,500 + E:10,300), Extra Energy remains a cheaper dual-fuel option, at £2,108 per annum, than this new, much publicised Ovo offer at £2,120 per annum.

The same is true for electricity-only: £1,215 for Extra Energy, £1,233 for Ovo.

Extra Energy’s fix, moreover, is for 5 months longer (30th September 2015) than Ovo’s 12 months and its early termination penalty would be £25 per fuel, compared to Ovo’s £30.

Interestingly, since the article refers to the “Costly standard tariff” (sic), Extra Energy’s current Standard Variable fee for electricity-only is £16 per annum cheaper (£1,199) than its fix (£1,215).

Of greater appeal, anyway, than Ovo’s new £2,120 per annum dual-fuel 12 months fix with early termination penalties is an unmentioned new offer from Scottish Power – £2,148 per annum for 15 months (to 31st July 2015) with no early termination penalties.

That’s just £28 more, per annum, than Ovo, yet its fix is for 3 months longer and Ovo levies a £30 early termination penalty of £30 per fuel (so, £60 for both).

Ovo's new, improved 12 month fix offer still doesn't cut the mustard for my family.

Hats off to Scottish Power, though, for removing early termination penalties from its own new, and very competitive, offer. :T

NPowerUser

Kitchen_Sink wrote: »

Both Daligas & iSupply offer cashback if you look carefully
(via some comparison sites - maybe a comparison site via TCB/quidco. etc))

Neither company is recognised by searching for them via TCB or Quidco

I liked the idea of the Ovo 12 month fix as in addition to being cheapest for me once taking the £40 cash back into account, the 12 month fix will finish just after the May 2015 general election.

If wholesale prices continue to fall and Labour get really desperate, I am hoping that May 2015 will be a good time to switch once the incentives or bribes have been highlighted.

Kitchen_Sink

NPowerUser wrote: »

Neither company is recognised by searching for them via TCB or Quidco...

No, I don't think Ovo do either do they?

The cashback for switching to Daligas or iSupply comes via various comparison sites, like I said

And as Martin says, never base your decision on the possibility of cashback. Cashback is not guaranteed until it actually lands in your account ... and that may be many months later, if ever.

Bark01

NPowerUser wrote: »

Definitely right for me.

According to the Daily Mail :-

"Ovo Energy said it was cutting prices for the fifth time since the autumn because the wholesale price of gas has fallen by 9.5 per cent"
?

Energylinx wrote: »

OVO Energy's price reduction

OVO have not reduced prices they have released a new product that is cheaper than there last product, most suppliers are doing this. Yet OVO are the only ones marketing it as a price change.

Whilst cheaper prices are obviously a good thing. Only new OVO customers will see these prices, current customers will only see these prices if they pay the cancellation fee on their current tariff. So can we stop letting OVO make it sound like these changes are something they are not.

NPowerUser

Kitchen_Sink wrote: »

No, I don't think Ovo do either do they?

The cashback for switching to Daligas or iSupply comes via various comparison sites, like I said

And as Martin says, never base your decision on the possibility of cashback. Cashback is not guaranteed until it actually lands in your account ... and that may be many months later, if ever.

I would never base any decision on whether I get cash back, its just under my circumstances, with the cash back, I am better off with Ovo.

If you read through my previous postings, Isupply cannot set up a DD in my wife's name, so regardless of whether I want to switch to them I can't.

It can't land in my account as I don't have an account