OVO PAYG+ Electricity hefty price increase 9th March 2016

Lucee

Hi All

I've recently had the following email and just wanted to warn other people of the impending price increase especially if considering switching to OVO as after 9th March 2016 it may not be the cheapest PAYG tariffs, and personal experience tells me that once you have one if their smart meters installed it's difficult (but not impossible) to move.

"You're currently on our SMART PAYG (all online) variable rate plan so, as you know, your rates can vary from time to time. We're making a few changes on 9 March 2016 that you need to be aware of.

Changes to your electricity prices

Whilst the cost of wholesale electricity has been dropping recently, the cost of transporting it to your home and other industry charges are going up. As a result, we're increasing the unit price of electricity by 26%. At the same time, we're reducing your electricity standing charge by 32%."

Old Electricity unit rate (per kWh). 12.19p

New Electricity unit rate (per kWh). 15.36p

Old Electricity standing charge (per day) 34.52p

New Electricity standing charge (per day) 23.43p

As quite a high user of electric this actually means a 16%, or around a £120 increase for me. Lower users may benefit from the savings on the standing charge and their actual increase in be smaller.

I inherited this smart PAYG meter when I moved into the property but this email has given me the kick I needed to change supplier and move to a credit account (OVO said their system is unable to accept a change to credit from PAYG).

L x

[Deleted User]

You have to find a supplier who can accept that smart prepay meter ( Liberty Secure ). Utilita run that meter in smart prepay mode.. Those rates are awful. Maybe the best solution is to rid your self of Ovo and their meter and switch to a supplier who is prepared to remove the meter and get you on a credit meter. I m really surprised that Ovo say their system cannot switch you to credit mode. That is one of the reasons I m a smart meter fan, that they re easily switched from credit to prepay or vice versa.

poppellerant

I'm expecting a letter or email from OVO soon, as my tariff expires soon. I hope for their sake it doesn't carry a similar tone, or I will be moving away from them.

There's only so much I'll pay for good customer service and I'm getting the impression that OVO are just creaming off the profits now.