Should we be switching more than once per year?

Petriix

I've always looked at my annual usage in kWh and switched to the 'cheapest' supplier based on my total consumption. However, my usage is incredibly much lower in the summer half of the year. This is amplified by having solar PV and generally low usage.

I suspect many/most households have a similar seasonal variation. Surely there's money to be saved by switching to suppliers with lower standing charges for the summer months?

There are a number of issues with the idea:

1. Exit fees would limit the range of deals that could be considered or potential savings would be wiped out.
2. Comparison sites can't accurately calculate comparisons.
3. Working out the correct timings for switching would be challenging.

Here's my idea: split my kWh usage for the lowest 6 months (I guess April to September, but could be better mid April to mid October) and highest 6 months and double each figure to establish the (pretend) annual totals. Then run a separate comparison for each to see the difference; remembering to halve the totals again.

Of course the problem is that you can't know what deals will be around in 6 months and there's a real danger that suppliers put prices up in the autumn. Still, it seems like a sensible question to ask.

Are we missing a trick by only thinking annually?

brewerdave

I do comparisons every couple of months - I've switched my leccy suppliers 5 times in 20 months (once was enforced when One Select went bust!) - and on my 4th gas supplier in the same period. Each time involves an estimation of savings on the extra months gained vs the early leaving charges. I suspect many others on this forum are doing the same , or even more often !!

Talldave

A very interesting thought, but I suspect exit fees would be the killer.

For electricity, our winter increase isn't massive and ironically, we're shortly coming  off a Symbio 12 month fix and will pay slightly less on their variable tariff. 

For gas, our consumption varies from 50kWh a week at the moment to 1500kWh a week in deepest winter, so "splitting" the year might prove interesting. 

Sadly, comparison sites won't even automatically flag when separate suppliers are cheaper so I think a "Next Generation" comparison site that could do this kind of analysis is just a dream....

My future vision is one where you can have multiple suppliers a day, so that before charging the car you shop around for tonight's best deal and set the hours you want to switch for.

brewerdave

Talldave said:

My future vision is one where you can have multiple suppliers a day, so that before charging the car you shop around for tonight's best deal and set the hours you want to switch for.

Don't think I could build a spreadsheet for those scenarios........

Petriix

Ok, I've run some numbers through the Citizen's Advice comparison... It turns out the Outfox the Market Fixed 20 9.0 deal I'm on is pretty hard to beat no matter how far I swing things. I use around 6750kWh of gas (900kWh in the summer) and 1800kWh of electric (600kWh in the summer); in the Eastern region.

If it were possible to switch to the Ebico 12M Summer Saver tariff for only 6 months starting in mid October (or whenever I turn the heating on) then I could save around £9 on gas; but the £30 exit fees would rule that out totally. If I switched for the full year I would be around £15 down (roughly £50 more in standing charge vs £35 less in unit costs).

For electric, the only thing that comes close is the Outfox the Market variable tariff where I could maybe save £1 over the summer, but there's no comparable tariff for my winter electric usage. So I'm better sticking with the 12 month deal for now.
I will keep looking as we approach the autumn and see if a particularly cheap deal (with low or no exit fees) turns up based on my winter usage.

Talldave

brewerdave said:

Talldave said:

My future vision is one where you can have multiple suppliers a day, so that before charging the car you shop around for tonight's best deal and set the hours you want to switch for.

Don't think I could build a spreadsheet for those scenarios........

I can imagine a niche little website where you'd upload your "order" and suppliers would bid downwards in price to tempt your business their way. Big savings to be made if you had a couple cars and a powerwall to fill up.

PixelPound

Your usage would have to be markedly different - I took the cheapest tariff and then compared it to one with a low SC, and my use would need to go to about a third before the lower SC tariff was cheaper.

The farce that sometimes happens changing suppliers I can't see the benefit until the whole system changes. It's like sometimes taking 21 days to switch. Everything could easily be done in a couple of days, but because of the 14 day cancellation policy they wait until that has gone.

Maybe in the world when everyone has smart meters with live readings it could be done.

MalMonroe

I have switched a few times and each time my bill has got bigger and bigger so I'm thinking that I should stop switching altogether because what I've learned from all the negative experiences I've had is that NO energy company is really cheaper. NONE. 

I always have dual fuel and I switched last year to EON. They said they could save me an absolute fortune and I'd only have to pay £50. I had given them my exact usage figures so they could work this out. Next thing, three months later, they said I needed to pay £210 per month. On paper (or online as it is), the figures work out but how on earth can they go from £50 to £210 in three months? 

I realise now, having learned the hard way, that my dual fuel consumption for a tiny two bed ground floor flat is, give or take, £90 pcm. That's what I need to pay to stay on the straight and narrow. 

I started out really eager to keep switching and swapping every couple of months or whatever but it doesn't save me any money whatsoever, just raises my blood pressure every time I login to my energy account.

So I'm waiting until I don't have to pay any exit fees, then I'm going to switch to somewhere, who knows where, and insist on paying £90 per month. Even if I'm told that will be overpaying. Because I know what we use, and that's the amount we should be paying. 

And I'm not going to use one of those companies who switch for you, either, whether they've been on Dragons' Den, or not!!

Everyone just wants our money, time we all woke up and realised it.

Talldave

@MalMonroe if you give up on dual fuel you might find better deals. It's at least worth taking a look.

Always ignore "save £nnn" figures on comparison sites - they're based on an illogical calculation that uses an expensive standard tariff for part of a year and can easily mislead you into thinking you could save money switching to a more expensive tariff. 

brewerdave

MalMonroe said:

I have switched a few times and each time my bill has got bigger and bigger so I'm thinking that I should stop switching altogether because what I've learned from all the negative experiences I've had is that NO energy company is really cheaper. NONE. 

Well all I can say ,is that I'm paying less now for both leccy and gas ,than I was paying in 2011 to EDF on various switch site deals eg EDF Blue Promise - both p/kwh AND s/charge are less.
Just looked back thru 12 years of spreadsheets and on only a couple of occasions ,have I found cheaper rates for leccy and gas has never been cheaper than now.

Talldave

There are deals out there today with electricity at 10.9p/kWh and gas at 2.027p/kWh - that's pretty good going. @MalMonroe what are you paying?