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Tafrock

I also kept tab on my usage. Which to be honest stays pretty constant. Monthly cost increased. Usage not so. So I ditched powershop

fewkeste

Quentin wrote: »

And not having to do that advanced mathematics described in #1314 every month has got to be worth another 41 p at least every month!

It takes less than a minute:D

Tafrock

Today my new symbio bill arrived. A pleasing £22.86 for 188.7kwh. An effective cost of 12.12p per kwh This time last year my bill with powershop was 21.19 for 168 kWh slightly dearer but comparable at 12.61p per kwh. This was prior to being baselined

My final bill with powershop was 33.91 for 240 kwh. If I simply divide the cost by units that calculates to 14.129p per unit (including standing charge)

I think this illustrates why I had to leave

KTF

Quentin wrote: »

Doesn't really prove much! Monthly DD cost is not the bench mark

All depends on useage

If you use less you will save some more!

And not having to do that advanced mathematics described in #1314 every month has got to be worth another 41 p at least every month!

I use my annual consumption figures to do the comparison then see how that breaks down on a per month cost.

Tafrock

That's the way to do it ktf. As I said above I set a monthly limit. If my consumption costs went above that I would leave. They did. I left. The limit I set was £32

fewkeste

KTF wrote: »

I use my annual consumption figures to do the comparison then see how that breaks down on a per month cost.

Does that mean you have to wait for your annual anniversary to calculate if you are losing out or saving?

I used to calculate my % saving each month from my bill and compare that to the % discount that Top Shopper Tariff gave me over Baseline Tariff for the year. i.e. For my annual consumption I'd calculate what my annual bill would be on my Baseline Tariff, what my annual bill would be at the Top Shopper Tariff rate and then what % discount the Top Shopper Tariff is equal to. I'd do that calculation once a year then each month compare what discount I'm achieving relative to the Top Shopper discount.

In the winter months I bettered the Top Shopper discount, but I estimated that once the Spring, Summer and Autumn months and associated Powerpacks came along, I would not be able to beat the Top Shopper discount so I left.

It literally takes seconds to calculate what % discount you've achieved each month from the figures in your monthly bill as follows:

Monthly % discount achieved = amount saved by Powerpack purchase/(discounted bill + amount saved by Powerpack purchase) and then when you've done that, multiply it by 100 to express as a %.

Another simpler way of expressing it is (amount of discount/undiscounted bill) X 100

Simple!

No need to wait for a year to elapse to find out if you're winning or losing.

KTF

Every month I calculate the discount as they give you both figures on the bill anyway.

Then I have a rolling average to give me an idea of the annual usage. The estimated annual usage figures they provide are reasonably accurate as well if you give them regular readings.

For my usage, powershop is still the cheapest (in the past year) for me. Now I have moved to their no longer a new customer tariff I will see how this year goes.

fewkeste

KTF wrote: »

For my usage, powershop is still the cheapest (in the past year) for me. Now I have moved to their no longer a new customer tariff I will see how this year goes.

I was able to stay with PS longer into the uncompetitive pricing time period because I had a good stock of high discount credit to work through. Once I could see that I was not going to be able to buy sufficient Powerpacks at a discount equal to or exceeding the Top Shopper discount rate, I worked out my good discounted credit 'burn rate' and then planned my move away to coincide with running out of discounted credit.

I still bought Powerpacks when they exceeded the Top Shopper rate as I knew they were effectively displacing lesser discounted Powerpacks sitting on the account that were ultimately (and quickly I must say) refunded.

So, towards the end of my time with PS I was effectively 'coasting' downhill and my rate of purchase dramatically slowed down.

Tafrock

Same experience as I had fewkeste

griffb

Good to see PS is still as labyrinthine as it was when I left! I'm now coming to the end of a very good 15 month Utility Point contract, but needless to say, their renewal offer is not the best. Currently looking at Orbit, Green, Igloo, with Bulb as a backstop if I get cold feet on the others (and assuming Bulb's £50 referral bonus is still available).

Downside is they are all variable, there's not much around in the way of decent fixed deals. But no exit fees so easy enough to jump ship


Couple of weeks to decide.......