How can they be cheeper

Darkstar

I have been looking to change supplier for both my gas and electric and according to several of the comparison sites Scottish Power will save me £90 over Scottish Hydro. Having checked their respective costs Scottish hydro still looks cheaper to me. Am I missing something.

Scottish Power
Gas Price Unit price 0-4572 kWh p per kWh 3.414 Unit price over 4572 kWh p per kWh 2.312 Standing charge £ 00.00 Discount £5.25 from total bill
Electricity Price Unit price 0-900 kWh p per kWh 13.014 Unit price over 900 kWh p per kWh 7.165 Unit price - Economy 7 p per kWh 2.977 Standing charge £00.00 Discount £10.50 from total bill Duel Fuel Discount £10.50 from total bill

Scottish Hydro
Gas Price energyplus Argos
Monthly Direct Debit Unit price 2.20p Standing charge 11.97p
Electricity Price energyplus Argos
Monthly Direct Debit Unit price 9.10p Standing charge 6.60p

Cardew

With any of these comparisons the quantity of gas/electricity you use is crucial.

Using the average consumption of 20,500kwh for gas and 3,300kWh for electricity I think(if my maths is correct) Scottish Power is about £20 cheaper.

Once the 'standing charges' of 900 units for SP have been 'used up' SP electricity @ 7.165p is considerably cheaper than S Hydro at 9.10p. So someone using a lot of electricity would be a lot better off with SP.

Consumption 2000kWh pa S Hydro costs £206. SP costs £197

Consumption 6,000kWh pa SHydro costs £570. SP costs £472

On the other hand SHydro is slightly cheaper for gas(2.20p v 2.312p) so if you use a lot of gas SHydro is cheaper.

It seems to me that the best option is have SP for electricity and SHydro for gas. The dual fuel discount is small.

Don't forget that these comparison sites have one objective - to get you to change supplier and get their commission - so if they can fudge figures to make it look like a change saves you money, they will.

Ken68

Hi Dark....it's the standing charge with Hydro. I presume they are per day and no dual fuel discount either.
The standing charge with Scottish power is hidden in the two tier tariff. On top of those savings is the cashback from the comparison site and/or Quidco and read somewhere else that Scottish Power transfers thru Quidco are paying £55, and dropping.