Which Electricity supplier is the cheapest..?

sks9

Hello guys,

Next week, I will be moving to new property as a tenant - for minimum 6 months...

In which, the current electricity supplier is 'powergen' (no gas in the house).. But, I guess I can switch to another company..?

If I pay by direct-debit - powergen can give discount of about 10%... anybody better than this...?

Which company I should go for..? and to whom should I contact for the switch - new supplier or powergen..? I am completely new to these - so please suggest.....

Many thanks in advance..:)

lindens

If you go to a website called uswitch you type in your useage and postcode and they compare prices for you of all the different companies. If you join a website called Quidco first, and goto uswitch through them you will also get cashback if you switch companies:T .

However, you probably dont know your useage yet so maybe wait a couple of months, take weekly readings of your meters and then visit the sites above, to give a truer figure.
Also check your tenancy agreement as some landlords prohibit you from changing companies anyway.

Ken68

Do you have storage heaters Sks, and are you on E7 ?, otherwise you will be paying full wack for stand alone appliances such as bar fires or halogen.
If E7 you will need to quote a percentage figure, say 50% or more.

sks9

Ken68 wrote: »

Do you have storage heaters Sks, and are you on E7 ?, otherwise you will be paying full wack for stand alone appliances such as bar fires or halogen.
If E7 you will need to quote a percentage figure, say 50% or more.

Thanks Ken...

Yes, powergen guy confirmed that I am on Economic 7 plan.. but, I have no idea what it is..?

We have electric heaters at home - but, again I have no idea what you mean by storage heater..?

sks9

lindens wrote: »

If you go to a website called uswitch you type in your useage and postcode and they compare prices for you of all the different companies. If you join a website called Quidco first, and goto uswitch through them you will also get cashback if you switch companies:T .

However, you probably dont know your useage yet so maybe wait a couple of months, take weekly readings of your meters and then visit the sites above, to give a truer figure.
Also check your tenancy agreement as some landlords prohibit you from changing companies anyway.

Thanks a lot lindens.. I will stay with powergen for couple of weeks - nd then, check through Quidco regarding the switch....

Another question comes to mind is...
The property is only 4-5 years old.. so, I guess idea of having only electricty at house should save money in comparison of having 'electricity+gas'..?

loobylou2

I work for British Gas and would suggest that you think about the following things:

1: How will you be paying your bill, monthly direct debit is usually cheapest.

2: Would you like to manage your account over the internet. Internet tariffs are usually cheaper than standard tariffs and also if you have paperless billing you can get additional discounts as well.

2: How old are your appliances and radiators. Are they energy efficient?? eg AA rated. Do you have economy 7 storage radiators in the property because if this is the case you will pay less for electricity used during the night and more for what you use during the day so its a good idea to invest in timers for things like dishwashers and tumble driers etc.

3: I"d suggest you have a look at the www energy helpline website for tariff prices because they can vary considerably depending on what you want. A lot of people now seem to be going for "Green" tariffs.

4: Check things like insulation on your hot water boiler

5: It takes at least 28 days to switch so you"ll need to let Powergen know that you are living in the property as they will bill you until the switchover is finalised. Its not an instantaneous thing unfortunately we don"t have a magic button to press when customers request to change supplier!!!

6: Above all else make sure you take and keep a record of the meter readings on the date when you move in and when you change suppliers. This is really useful information to have in case of any future disputes.

7: BG Give 25 credit on electricity accounts if you change to them and remain a customer for 12 months!!

8: Good Luck!!!

Terrylw1

sks9 wrote: »

Thanks Ken...

Yes, powergen guy confirmed that I am on Economic 7 plan.. but, I have no idea what it is..?

We have electric heaters at home - but, again I have no idea what you mean by storage heater..?

E7 means that you have 2 rates, 1 day and 1 night. They are billed seperately on the meter and on your bill. The night rate is off peak and will be much lower, however your day rate will compensate by being much higher than a standard day rate on say a 1 rate all day tariff meter.

The night will switch over and activate attached appliances such as your storage heating from a set time. It is usually 12-7am or close to this. However, sometimes the meters can be set to incorrect times so this affects your heating. So, check the actual switch over time on the meter.

Ken, means be careful when assessing your tariff because if you have storage heaters you would benefit from a cheaper off peak night rate for them as opposed to an all day higher rate with a private timeswitch attached.