Help finding new tariff

GalaxyStar

We bought our house over a year ago, and our tariff is ending in September, and to be honest I found finding a tariff easier when we had no idea the amount of energy we'd use when we got the house!

We are currently with First Utility. We are in a 3 bed semi detached, just the two of us living here. On the "iSave Fixed v27 September 2015 Direct Debit ebill" We started off paying £63 then they bumped us up to £70 as they didn't think £63 would be enough over the year. This was due to redecorating the whole house though so it'd kind of screwed our whole readings as we used the steamer etc for a long time.

We are currently £233 in credit. I cannot find a good deal and I'm getting confused with it all. I've gone through ur bills and added together the electricity kwh and gas m2 we've used (monthly meter readings done) and i comes to 1580kwh electricity for the year and 662m2 for the year gas. Gas central heating.

Can anyone advise on a better tariff? Or if I've even done the calculations right?

Nada666

The kWh electricity readings are as used in the sites.

The gas meter reads have to be converted to kWhs. Multiply the metric meter units by 11.2 - 662 x 11.2 = 7,414 kWh.

Note it is much easier to just do a single subtraction of two readings about a year apart rather than mess about adding up things from four or more statements.

Nada666

(And as it is ending just look at the total cost of the new tariffs - the results will be in order but the savings will be wrong.

For a usage of 7,500 and 1,600 kWhs you will be looking at new tariffs from £600 per year - about the same as your current tariff, not £125 cheaper.)

modsandmockers

Now that you know your last year's consumption in kWh, you can do your own sums. Put your kWh's into a comparison site, and have a look at the top few recommendations. Do the same thing separately for dual-fuel, electricity only, and gas only. Ignore the nonsense about personal projections and estimated annual/monthly costs, what you need is the tariff prices so that you can work it out for yourself. Every tariff has a daily standing charge for each fuel, and then a price per kWh (also for each fuel), so it's really easy to convert your last year's consumption into next year's costs.

The hard part is finding out the tariff prices. Some comparison sites include the tariff prices under their 'more information' button, but sometimes it is hard to know about any discounts which might be available. If you can't find out the tariff prices (which will be itemised on the 'Tariff Information Label'), then ring the company and ask them.

victor2

GalaxyStar wrote: »

We are currently £233 in credit. I cannot find a good deal and I'm getting confused with it all. I've gone through ur bills and added together the electricity kwh and gas m2 we've used (monthly meter readings done) and i comes to 1580kwh electricity for the year and 662m2 for the year gas. Gas central heating.

You would expect to be in credit on a monthly DD account at this time of year, as it's just before the more expensive winter period, when your monthly payments are likely to be less than the cost of your monthly usage.
As already explained, use your annual kWh usage and plug those into a comparison site, such as uSwitch. The forecasted costs with new suppliers are usually pretty accurate, the ones to ignore are the predicted future cost with your current supplier, as they tend to make unrealistc costings.
When you have a few shortlisted, consider their reputations and customer feedback, rather than just picking the cheapest.
You're currently on a fixed rate tariff, so would presumably like to do the same again? They're the easiest to cost, but do consider any early termination, or exit, penalities. Many suppliers don't have them now, making it easy to move before the contract ends, should you wish.
Could also be worth looking at cashback deals for switching. Consider them a bonus if you get them, but still can be nice.

Skools_Out

GalaxyStar wrote: »

We bought our house over a year ago, and our tariff is ending in September, and to be honest I found finding a tariff easier when we had no idea the amount of energy we'd use when we got the house!

We are currently with First Utility. We are in a 3 bed semi detached, just the two of us living here. On the "iSave Fixed v27 September 2015 Direct Debit ebill" We started off paying £63 then they bumped us up to £70 as they didn't think £63 would be enough over the year. This was due to redecorating the whole house though so it'd kind of screwed our whole readings as we used the steamer etc for a long time.

We are currently £233 in credit. I cannot find a good deal and I'm getting confused with it all. I've gone through ur bills and added together the electricity kwh and gas m2 we've used (monthly meter readings done) and i comes to 1580kwh electricity for the year and 662m2 for the year gas. Gas central heating.

Can anyone advise on a better tariff? Or if I've even done the calculations right?

If you found it easier to find a good tariff without knowing your annual consumption, why not ignore any consumption data you may now have and the complicated calculations you are striving to achieve, and just use the same method as you did last year?

System

GalaxyStar wrote: »

I cannot find a good deal and I'm getting confused with it all. I've gone through ur bills and added together the electricity kwh and gas m2 we've used (monthly meter readings done) and i comes to 1580kwh electricity for the year and 662m2 for the year gas. Gas central heating.

Can anyone advise on a better tariff? Or if I've even done the calculations right?

Two points:

1. There is no such thing as a good deal. Your good deal may not be my good deal for the reasons given above.

2. To keep things simple, why don't you use the consumption figures given above (7500 kWh for gas and 1,600 kWh electricity).

If you use less, then your monthly DD payment will be reduced on the basis of the actual meter readings that you need to provide on a regular basis.

If I punch the above into a comparison site - based on my regional location - I get the following results:

ExtraEnergy Fixed Price Nov 2016 v3 at £516.51 annual cost. (scottish Power, FlowEnergy, Coop Energy, GBEnergy are all similar). I would probably choose GB Energy as its fixed tariff is rolling and it has no exit fees if energy prices fall in the coming months.

Pincher

Be careful not to get locked in for another year.
They will probably call you up, and you are signed up before you realise. With the oil price collapsing, I am hoping for a bumper crop of cheap one year fixes soon.