Can't move away from Scottish Power - help please

Chris983

Hello. I have tried on a few occasions to move my electricity only flat from Scottish Power as any online comparison shows cheaper options available. However, after a few days, every supplier has come back to say they can’t deal with the type of meter I have. 

After looking into it, it appears I have an ‘off peak D’ meter which I suspect may be because the block of flats I live in had originally, underfloor heating. This system has long been removed and when I moved in, there are two Dimplex storage heaters, which are in working order. Those seem to be the only things which draw from the second off peak meter - and although there is a immersion water heater tank, that is operating during the night but from the peak supply. 

There is a very slight difference in the two rates I have with SP -  My current rates are - Day Rate: 14.918p Off Peak Rate: 13.646p Daily Standing Charge 37.320p 

After emailing SP - they said "you have a very unique meter arrangement that is directly linked to your heating. As far as I am aware Scottish Power is the only current supplier supporting this meter. Because the meter is linked to your current storage heaters the only way to change the meter is to also change the home heating in the property."

Can anyone offer me some advice on what options I have , perhaps to change to a new meter on a modern peak/off peak tariff or switching to a single 24hr rate by either a new meter or combining the two readings? Thank you


From Scottish Power 'Understanding your supply area and meter types' 

Off-Peak D  - This tariff was originally designed for low capacity storage heating equipment that has now been obsolete for more than 30 years. The Off-Peak D supply is made available for 24 hours per day on Saturday and Sunday and for periods at ScottishPower’s discretion totalling 16 hours on Monday to Friday. Some systems, e.g. under-floor storage heating, require long daily availability and if such a heating system is retained there may not be any realistic alternative to Off-Peak D. An exception to this is where substantially improved insulation has been fitted to a property since the Off-Peak D heating system was designed: in these circumstances a transfer to Off-Peak C may be preferred. Off-Peak D was occasionally used to supply medium capacity storage boilers: in such cases a transfer to Economy 2000 may be preferred. Off-Peak D 
For supplies of electricity at off peak rates made available for approximately 7hours or 8hours at night and 3hours during the day according to the following criteria: 
Either (a) 8 hours 23:00 to 07:00 (GMT) or (b) 7 hours 01:30 to 08:30 (GMT) 
And in addition either (c) 3 hours 13:30 to 16:30 (GMT) or (d) 3 hours split 11:30 to 13:00 (GMT) and 15:00 to 16:30 (GMT). 
The off-peak rate applies for storage heating and water heating. 

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.  This has been covered extensively - search this forum for RHT, Restricter Hours Tariff, THTC, E10, "Comfort Plus White Meter (and similar DTS experiences)" and suchlike.

Restricted Meter Good Practice Guide

Chris983

Thank you Gerry. I had read several threads and some which contained your advice. I can't see anything mentioning my specific tariff and Scottish Power. 

spiro

You need to consider if you use the storage heaters during the day period or could do without them. If you can then you may want to consider having an economy 7 meter fitted but this may also require some wiring changes. This will allow you to switch to nearly any supplier as they offer an E7 tariff.

macman

Unless you get a major benefit from the daytime boost, then it really is a no-brainer to switch to a standard single-meter E7 system which will give you a full choice of suppliers: only SP (the legacy supplier) will ever support your obsolete metering. At present, with only 2 NSH's on cheap rate, and the immersion wired to the peak-rate circuit (why the latter is wired that way, I cannot fathom), it cannot possibly be economic.
Your current tariff is absurd: you are getting a 'cheap rate' which is only about 1.25p per kWh cheaper than peak rate, and paying a huge standing charge, as a consequence of having dual metering.

macman

PS: this might also be the time to update your old NSH's to modern ones, which are not only more controllable, but also have a boost facility built in.

Gerry1

Try leaving the NSHs switched off except for the relevant E7 hours and see how you get on.  That should give you an idea about whether they are big enough not to get cool by the late evening.  If necessary, turn the input control to maximum and the output control to minimum, and turn the output control up if needed in the late evening.