Economy 7 day rate cheaper than flat rate tariff?

lozzaman

I have been doing some energy comparisons and slightly surprised at the results. On a flat rate tariff I see the following costs

Standing charge 20.45p a day
(21.47p a day inc. VAT)
£74.64
Day rate 10.211p per kWh
(10.722p inc. VAT)

Yet on Economy 7 I see the following. Even the day rate is cheaper than the flat rate above. Standing charge is also cheaper on E7.

Standing charge 18.95p a day
(19.90p a day inc. VAT)
Day rate 9.361p per kWh
(9.829p inc. VAT)
Night rate 7.126p per kWh
(7.482p inc. VAT)

What gives? This is a first:utility tariff (iSave Fixed December 2016) but results are the same across many suppliers.

Cardew

Yes it does seem strange and was noted earlier with FU:

The cheapest dual fuel for me is First Utility(FU) fixed to 31/12/2016.

This applies for an Economy 7 tariff with my usage of off peak 25% or a non-economy 7 tariff.
FU electricity prices for my area(Midlands) on a non-economy 7 tariff are 10.722p/kWh and a daily charge of 21.47p.

On their Economy 7 tariff their prices are 9.829p/kWh and 7.482p/kWh with a daily charge of 19.90p

Note: gas prices are the same for both electricity tariffs at 2.748p/kWh and 21.47p daily. All above prices include VAT.

So we have the unusual situation where their 24/7 rate is considerably more expensive(9%) than the daily 'peak' rate on their Economy 7 tariff.


Admittedly their off-peak rate of 7.482p/kWh is poor. However for those of us on dual fuel with a E7 meter, and thus low off-peak usage, it is a no brainer to have their Economy 7 tariff.*

* It is only the horror stories that I hear about FU's billing service that deters me.

r2015

Do they not charge 2 standing charges because you have 2 meters?

Cardew

r2015 wrote: »

Do they not charge 2 standing charges because you have 2 meters?

No.


I have a single Economy 7 meter with two registers. One displays 17 hours peak and the other 7 hours off-peak.


I think most meters are similar.

lozzaman

Thanks. Actually was pretty much only by mistake I noticed as I don't have an E7 meter. Can I request one? The difference in energy costs mean it should save ~£100/yr so could be worth it.

lstar337

Do any of the switching sites flag an E7 tariff that has a lower day rate than your current flat rate tariff, or simply put the E7 tariffs in the results with a warning?

Cardew

lstar337 wrote: »

Do any of the switching sites flag an E7 tariff that has a lower day rate than your current flat rate tariff, or simply put the E7 tariffs in the results with a warning?

I use energyhelpline.com. They don't flag up that E7 peak rates are cheaper than 'normal' 24/7 rates, it is just shown in the details for each tariff.


If I enter annual consumption of 7,000kWh paying by DD I get:


£829 pa for FU(Dec 2016) on a normal 24/7 tariff.


£761 pa on E7 with 0%(zero) consumption at off peak rates


£720 pa on E7 with 25% consumption at off peak rates


Gas charges are the same for both an E7 tariff and non E7 tariff.