Energy tariff comparison, help understanding.

DogTailRed2

Can someone explain the following.
My supplier sent me a letter advising me of a cheaper tariff I could switch to, and here is the tariff in brief (please excuse the format).

Product Expiry Date Early Termination Fee

Personal Projection* Tariff Comparison Rate *
31/08/15 No
£816.00 13.73p per kWh: electric

31/08/15 No £456.00 4.49p per kWh Estimated annual savings £184.08

But when I check the Kwh on my current tariff it shows;
13.3kWh Electric and 3.884kWh for gas.

So how can they project a saving on this new tariff if my current bill shows a lower kWh rate??? Confused, yes, totally :rotfl:

Nada666

What are the standing charges? kWh prices mean nothing by themselves.

Do both unit prices include VAT?

Are you on a fixed tariff nearing its end? Projection may include cost of you moving to the standard tariff at the end of the fix. (No, that is not happening in your case, just noticed the dates.)

Nada666

Also are you confusing the Tariff Comparison Rate average price per kWh incl DSC with the unit price per kWh?

The TCR is a number which adds the standing charge to the cost of usage and divides both by the number of units to give a higher cost per kWh, not the price of each unit.

Typically includes an extra ha'penny on the gas and thruppence on electricity.

DogTailRed2

Thanks for the replies.
I'm currently on a standard tariff with no expiration date.
"Also are you confusing the Tariff Comparison Rate total price per kWh with the unit price per kWh?", yes, possibly.
What should I compare to see if this tariff is better or does the law dictate that they can only offer me better tariffs? (that's a little naive but these bills are so darned difficult to understand)
I'll check the standing charges to see what they are and report back.

Nada666

The TCR is useless - it is a scam by Ofgem.

Look at the Tariff Information Label which includes the base - I mean, still non-base-prices. Even those prices will be complicated by including some discounts.

Easier to just use a comparison site and check the total costs of your typical annual consumption.

faineant

You seem to be on an EDF tariff and they are telling you that if you switch to their fixed tariff ending 31/08/2015 you could save. EDF are usually good at letting you know these things and it is very, very, easy to switch an EDF tariff to another EDF tariff online. This particular fixed tariff has no exit fees so you get the benefit of fixing against any future increases up to the end date but are not locked in and free to move at any time, even to another EDF fixed tariff if / when one becomes available. A lot of people recently signed up to EDF fixed to June 2015, then switched to their July 2015 and to their Aug 2015 fixed tariff as and when these were announced.