Electricity and gas during building work - moving out for several months

martindow

I have decided that during refurbishment and extending the house I am going to move out soon for about 30 weeks over the winter and into spring.

What should I do about electricity and gas? The builders will be using some electricity but no gas apart from commissioning the boiler.

I'm currently with Npower but not tied into a contract. Is it worth moving to a different company or tariff with a low standing charge? Can anyone make any suggestions please?

CashStrapped

I would consider moving the supply to one without a standing charge. The rate of gas and electricity on these types of tariffs are usually much higher, but if you are not using much, then it should save as you will only pay for exactly what is used.

Most tariffs apply a standing charge where you are charged a small fee everyday regardless of what you use. They only make sense if you are in the property most of the year.

I just entered some very low figures into a comparison site, to simulate one year’s worth of very low usage from an empty house. Maybe one months of low usage over the period of year. The cheapest that came back was Ebico EquiDual, a tariff that has no standing charge.

There were a few with standing charges that are still quite cheap, so the argument does not always hold up. You may not want the delay of switching supplier so look on the comparison sites to see if your current supplier comes up with a decent option. Then ring them as they should be able to switch you immediately. But just play around with figures on comparison sites and see.

Mallotum_X

Dont forget when its really cold to still heat the house - obviously not too much - to avoid pipes freezing etc.