Eon changing heatwise plan

Ros8

Hi, would really like some help, I live in the east Midlands and have electric night storage heaters as only source of heating. When I moved into this bungalow the electricity was supplied by EON on their Heatewise Energy 6 dual meter plan. My bills are astronomical. Last month I received a letter from EON informing me that they were no longer providing the Heatwise Energy 6 tariff and that this would mean my annual bill will increase by around £1300. EON say they are putting me onto their standard E.ON Energy Plan. I have tried 3 times to switch to another supplier but EON keep refusing the switch despite EON having confirmed in online chat that there is no reason why I can't switch. All bills are up to date paid on time etc., so no reason to stop me switching.
My 2 main queries are
1. Can EON really just stop supplying this Heatwise tariff when it will result in an increase of £1300 per year???
2. Surely EON cannot prevent me from switching to another supplier.
VERY WORRIED ABOUT FUTURE COSTS, please advise if anyone knows of an alternative supplier who offers the cheap night rate (like economy 7).

matelodave

Eon probably aren't stopping you from switching, it's more than likely that other suppliers don't want to take you on. Very few suppliers offer the sort of tariff that you are on and even the suppliers that do, want to get rid of it.

There are a lot of threads like yours https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5941236/electric-sse-to-bulb-2-mpans-for-night-storage-help-please mainly from Scotland where they also have complex metered supplies and you really need to get a lot more information about what is possible.

You will probably have to have some rewiring carried out and possibly a meter change BUT you really need to look at your energy consumption (in kwh) over a period across all the meter registers to understand your consumption and work out what might be the best solution for you.

The supplier is not obligated to sort out your wiring, that's down to you (or your landlord) but may only have to offer you a standard tariff unless you are prepared to get your meters changed.

Suppliers are supposed to a have a Restricted Metering Team to help and advise you so you need to contact team directly rather than the normal call centre.

See here for some info https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/Energy/Energy%20Consultation%20responses/Restricted%20Meter%20Good%20Practice%20Guide.pdf

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Ros8 wrote: »

Hi, would really like some help, I live in the east Midlands and have electric night storage heaters as only source of heating. When I moved into this bungalow the electricity was supplied by EON on their Heatewise Energy 6 dual meter plan. My bills are astronomical. Last month I received a letter from EON informing me that they were no longer providing the Heatwise Energy 6 tariff and that this would mean my annual bill will increase by around £1300. EON say they are putting me onto their standard E.ON Energy Plan. I have tried 3 times to switch to another supplier but EON keep refusing the switch despite EON having confirmed in online chat that there is no reason why I can't switch. All bills are up to date paid on time etc., so no reason to stop me switching.
My 2 main queries are
1. Can EON really just stop supplying this Heatwise tariff when it will result in an increase of £1300 per year???
2. Surely EON cannot prevent me from switching to another supplier.
VERY WORRIED ABOUT FUTURE COSTS, please advise if anyone knows of an alternative supplier who offers the cheap night rate (like economy 7).

Hello Ros8 and welcome to the Forums.

I doubt we'll be stopping you from changing supplier. With no debt, I suspect the issue is with the meter technical details.

Heatwise meters have two Meter Point Administration Numbers (MPANs) or supply numbers. These are unique numbers that identify the electricity supply at individual properties and can be found on your bills. The supplier of your choice needs to apply for both numbers. Usually they only apply for one number and this causes the switch to be rejected. Please ask the supplier to apply for both numbers and then all will go through.

We're phasing out old meters like your Heatwise set-up as we're no longer able to support them. We wrote to our Heatwise customers earlier in the year to let them know and outline various alternatives. As matelodave says, we've a specialist team who will be happy to talk about these alternatives and the implications on heating arrangements of each option. This is our Simpler Metering team and their contact details are on the letter we've sent.

Heatwise meters were designed mainly for all electric properties with storage heaters and water immersion heaters. They were set-up to give 10 hours of cheaper off-peak electricity during every 24 hours for heating and hot water. This is split into three time slots during the afternoon, in the evening and at night. To work, meters are wired directly into the heating/hot water circuits.

One of the options is for a meter exchange to either Economy 10, Economy 7 or single rate. Economy10 is usually closest to existing set-ups; whilst the others give access to more tariffs both with us and with the other suppliers. As matelodave mentions, some rewiring might be necessary depending on the individual circumstances at properties. We don't charge for meter exchanges carried out under this scheme.

Hope this helps point you in the right direction Ros8. Please let me know if you need any more information as happy to help.

Malc