Changing to non Economy 7 meter

AKB100

British Gas has just informed me that they will charge £48 to switch to a non Economy 7 meter. I advised them that it is quoted on the MSE site that British Gas do not charge but they insisted that they have no knowledge of this. I don't have storage heaters and my night time usage is very low. Guess I'll just have to switch suppliers (again).

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Unless there has been a very recent change in policy by BG, you don't need a change of meter if you change from an Economy 7 tariff to a non-Economy tariff(i.e. single rate 24/7)

I am with BG and have an Economy 7 meter but am not on an Economy 7 tariff. All that happens is BG add the totals from the two registers together and I am charged at a single rate. e.g. If I use, say, 1,000kWh 'daytime' and 150kWh night time(E7) I am charged for 1,150kWh at a single rate.

Several other companies use this system(Eon, Ovo are two) others(SP) don't.

footyguy

I think the last post from Eon on this topic was they would charge £64.76 to change the meter
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=70962652&postcount=4

MSE site also indicates it's free
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/economy-7

Perhaps the moral of the story is to get your quotes direct from the supplier

footyguy

Cardew wrote: »

...
Several other companies use this system(Eon, Ovo are two) others(SP) don't.

Ovo said they don't, but that was 3 years ago now
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=65378152&postcount=90
Perhaps they've changed?

But most suppliers do not do this.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

footyguy wrote: »

I think the last post from Eon on this topic was they would charge £64.76 to change the meter
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=70962652&postcount=4

MSE site also indicates it's free
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/economy-7

Perhaps the moral of the story is to get your quotes direct from the supplier

That's right footyguy. We're currently charging £64.76 for non-essential meter exchanges. With us, though, there's no need to change the meter if a customer wants a single rate tariff but has a two rate Economy 7 meter. As Cardew says, we add the day and night usage together and charge it all at the one price per kWh.

Hope this explains.

Malc

spiro

Under one of the CMA remedies suppliers now have to be able to supply E10 etc metered customers on their single rate tariff without a meter change.

EachPenny

spiro wrote: »

Under one of the CMA remedies suppliers now have to be able to supply E10 etc metered customers on their single rate tariff without a meter change.

Has this actually been implemented, or is it still just a CMA recommendation? It would also appear to exclude E7 meters on the basis this is a common tariff so consumers aren't adversely impacted by lack of competition.

I'd love it if the regulations required the energy supply companies to take the meter readings at the end of the billing period and work out both the E7/E10 cost of consumption and the cost as if charged at the single tariff rate - and then bill the customer for the lower of the two. I do like having my cake and eating it

I'd love to understand the contemporary justification for charging a higher price per kWh for day E7 consumption compared to the price of a single rate kWh. In the early days there was a real additional cost to the electricity boards of installing and maintaining E7 meters/clocks. These costs must now be marginal, and with the roll out of smart meters you have to wonder if there is any increased cost of managing an E7 supply vs a single rate. The kWh I've used in the last hour cost the same to generate and transmit as the kWh my non-E7 neighbour also just used... so why did I have to pay more for my one?

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

AKB100 wrote: »

British Gas has just informed me that they will charge £48 to switch to a non Economy 7 meter. I advised them that it is quoted on the MSE site that British Gas do not charge but they insisted that they have no knowledge of this. I don't have storage heaters and my night time usage is very low. Guess I'll just have to switch suppliers (again).

Cardew wrote: »

Welcome to the forum.

Unless there has been a very recent change in policy by BG, you don't need a change of meter if you change from an Economy 7 tariff to a non-Economy tariff(i.e. single rate 24/7)

I am with BG and have an Economy 7 meter but am not on an Economy 7 tariff. All that happens is BG add the totals from the two registers together and I am charged at a single rate. e.g. If I use, say, 1,000kWh 'daytime' and 150kWh night time(E7) I am charged for 1,150kWh at a single rate.

Several other companies use this system(Eon, Ovo are two) others(SP) don't.

Hi AKB100, although there are sometimes charges for non-essential meter exchanges as Cardew advised in their post; you wouldn't need to change the meter to be charged on a single rate.
Please just call our Billing Team on 0800 048 0202 and we can amend your tariff to charge you on a single rate. Cheers, Matt

dogshome

EDF swap ECO7 meters for Standard one's, for free - They did my daughters a couple of months ago.

They will also 'Total' E7 readings and charge Standard meter rate, but this is is not without problems
1) When reporting readings on the website, the 2 boxes for entering Day & Night readings are untitled - it takes great care in comparing previous readings to ensure the new readings are entered the right way round
2) With 'Total' readings, it is not possible to use the online 'Change Tariff ' window

spiro

EachPenny wrote: »

Has this actually been implemented, or is it still just a CMA recommendation? It would also appear to exclude E7 meters on the basis this is a common tariff so consumers aren't adversely impacted by lack of competition.

I'd love it if the regulations required the energy supply companies to take the meter readings at the end of the billing period and work out both the E7/E10 cost of consumption and the cost as if charged at the single tariff rate - and then bill the customer for the lower of the two. I do like having my cake and eating it

I'd love to understand the contemporary justification for charging a higher price per kWh for day E7 consumption compared to the price of a single rate kWh. In the early days there was a real additional cost to the electricity boards of installing and maintaining E7 meters/clocks. These costs must now be marginal, and with the roll out of smart meters you have to wonder if there is any increased cost of managing an E7 supply vs a single rate. The kWh I've used in the last hour cost the same to generate and transmit as the kWh my non-E7 neighbour also just used... so why did I have to pay more for my one?

For suppliers with more than 50k customers it came into force in Dec'16.
Electricity is sold in half-hour time slots so the most cost reflective bill would be by that unit. This has previously not been practical in the home but E7 allow this to a limited extent.

Biscuit_Tin

spiro wrote: »

Under one of the CMA remedies suppliers now have to be able to supply E10 etc metered customers on their single rate tariff without a meter change.

So what are you suggesting? The OP moves to E10 instead? :huh:
They will need new metering for E10 anyway, so if they are wanting a single rate, probably best to get a single rate meter rather than complicate matters further.

That way, they will have the choice of all the market too. If they get E10, they will be stuck with that supplier.