Why are we on economy 7 and would it pay us to change?

Littlekittycat

We moved into our new house in February and when we got our first quarterly electricity bill we were surprised to realise that our meter is an economy 7 meter. The bill that we received seemed rather expensive compared to our previous supplier (we paid less and were in a bigger house) and are wondering whether it is the economy 7 that is costing us more. We don't have night storage heaters, and other than a pump for our pond (which we are going to get rid of) and security lighting, and fridge/freezer etc we don't use electricity at all overnight. We have oil-fired central heating. I don't really understand why we are on economy 7. Is it possible to change the meter, and how do I go about this? We are with Powergen at the moment but are sure that there must be a way of reducing our bills. Any advice would be great! Thanks!

BBB

With British Gas we'd just change the tariff and do a complete cancel rebill and from past experience when I've done this, it's worked out a hell of a lot cheaper. Give them a call and ask if they can do it for you

Mado

I discussed this with friends at the weekend who also advised me to stop the economy7 that has been in the house for as long as we have had it... I thought it was a reasonable deal and I try to run that washing machine overnight, but it seems that I was mistaken.

Cardew

Without storage heating it is very difficult, but not impossible to make Economy 7 pay.

The ‘break even’ point for Economy7(e.g. the percentage you need to use in the 7 hours) varies according to the part of the UK in which you live and the company you use, generally it is above 30%.

You need to do your own arithmetic – simple but tedious.

Some companies will change you from E7 without a problem; others insist you have a new meter fitted at your expense.

I was on E7 with BG but couldn’t make it pay so I changed to a ‘normal’ tariff without any charge. I retained my old meter but the two readings are added together. i.e. if the E7 reading is 200kWh and the daytime 1,000kWh I am simply charged for 1,200kWh at normal rates.

Some people with Oil CH have found that they can switch of the boiler during the summer months and by using an immersion heater on a timer, together with washing machine/dryer/dishwasher on timers they can make E7 work out financially. I suspect there is little in it though.

tripled

BG now discourages people from keeping their E7 meter if they want to go on a standard tariff, so you might find you have to have the meter changed. However it will probably save you money in the long run (especially if you then switch to click energy) if you can't make E7 pay.

If you decide to have the meter changed, BG may charge for this, so you will need to check. If they do, I believe there are some other providers who will do it free of charge.

Froglet

After monitoring my bills for a year i have decided to change to a normal tarriff as i reckon i use about 25% overnight and it would be easier not to try and get washing and ironing etc done before 8am!!

I am with Atlantic and they are coming next week to change the meter at no charge.

Cardew

Froglet wrote: »

After monitoring my bills for a year i have decided to change to a normal tarriff as i reckon i use about 25% overnight and it would be easier not to try and get washing and ironing etc done before 8am!!

Mine, with no attempt to try and use electricity at E7 rates, is 17% in the 7 hours.(averaged over a year) and we tend to get up early.

When on E7(I still have meter) it was about 25% like yours and needed to be about 30%. We have Gas CH.

Another couple of points against Economy 7.

Firstly we found we were putting on W/Machine & Dishwasher at night when they weren't full - to take advantage of the cheap electricity, - something of a waste.

Secondly, although it doesn't affect me personally, W/Machine & Dishwashers can create a considerable noise problem when coming on in the early hours. They are banned from this practice in some flats.