Electricity only - Monthly DD vs Prepayment

JohnBravo

Hi All,

   What would you recommend regarding the electricity providers and contracts?

I am based in London and currently on a prepayment (key fob) meter but I was thinking about moving to a standard meter to get a better deal per kWh because I will be implementing an Aircon unit. I recently switched from Bulb to EDF after they announced another prepayment price increase.

I don't think Economy 7 tariff will save me money knowing the providers change rules so overtime you pay more until you decide to change the provider.

Unfortunately I cannot find any information about kWh rates on these Direct Debit contracts.

All the websites state figures in £, cheaper this, cheaper that, you can save £ with this provider, this provider is £ more expensive but I cannot get to the point.

It looks to me like a fool game played by providers on consumers.

My current rate per kWh is about 0.16p.

Is there any point switching to a standard meter knowing that the prices of electricity increased by about 70-80% in the last 10 years?

Please advise.

Thank you

Best regards

Gerry1

Start comparing credit tariffs with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch', entering your annual kWh usage derived from actual meter readings a year apart.  Just compare annual costs, always ignore all projections and savings claims.   Remember that separate suppliers are often cheaper than dual fuel, so do the sums for both cases.  Also have a look at the customer service ratings on Citizens Advice and the 'Add your feedback on energy supplier xxxx...' threads here on the forum: Symbio are cheap but might not be the best choice ! Neon Reef for electricity and Zog for gas might be good choices if they are near the top of the results lists.

Click through from the Citizens Advice results to find full tariff details (including kWh rates and daily charge) and Ts &Cs.

Then remember to send monthly readings, keep your own records and check that your DD payments are keeping up with your usage, it's not All You Can Eat: if you use more than expected your DD will be increased twice, once to reflect your higher usage and again to reclaim your arrears.

But you'll never beat a kWh rate of 0.16p, most quotations will be around 100 times more expensive !

JohnBravo

Apologies I should say it's 16.42p or £0.16 per kWh

Thank you Gerry

tastyhog

I mean cheapest rates are marginally cheaper, not by much, think symbio is currently the cheapest at arounf 12.8p/kw and 22p standing charge.

as you're with edf just request a smart meter from your online account, it'll be installed in prepay mode, then call them, and swap it over to credit mode over the phone, takes about a hour for the change over to happen, then switch to whoever is cheapest

JohnBravo

tastyhog said:

I mean cheapest rates are marginally cheaper, not by much, think symbio is currently the cheapest at arounf 12.8p/kw and 22p standing charge.

as you're with edf just request a smart meter from your online account, it'll be installed in prepay mode, then call them, and swap it over to credit mode over the phone, takes about a hour for the change over to happen, then switch to whoever is cheapest

I see Symbio does not support prepayment so I need to replace the meter.

Any direct benefits of smart over regular credit meter or they just don't install old meters anymore?

I also found London Power (established by GLC in 2019) does prepayment cheaply at about 14.7p/KWh and 23.68p per day standing charge but orders for prepayment fobs are taken by email.

ann_droid

Hi
With interest rates at zero on current accounts, it is dead money IMHO, so change to a DD system.
Now if you use a comparison website and view the details of the deal, drill down ignoring the invite to switch, and the details can be revealed.

devondiver

JohnBravo said:

tastyhog said:

I mean cheapest rates are marginally cheaper, not by much, think symbio is currently the cheapest at arounf 12.8p/kw and 22p standing charge.

as you're with edf just request a smart meter from your online account, it'll be installed in prepay mode, then call them, and swap it over to credit mode over the phone, takes about a hour for the change over to happen, then switch to whoever is cheapest

I see Symbio does not support prepayment so I need to replace the meter.

Any direct benefits of smart over regular credit meter or they just don't install old meters anymore?

I also found London Power (established by GLC in 2019) does prepayment cheaply at about 14.7p/KWh and 23.68p per day standing charge but orders for prepayment fobs are taken by email.

Do NOT switch to Symbio without reading the review sites first - unless you really want to enter a world of grief. The reviews are not all false - only the 5 star ones.

JohnBravo

I am in the process of switching to EDF from Bulb who is increasing electricity price again.
EDF is very slow in this. They say they supply my electricity from today but the fob can take up to a month to arrive.

Bulb was good in terms of prices for over a year but now they increase the price the 2nd time.

1st

from 13.662p to 16.160p per kWh

standing charge from 25.908p to 26.296p per day

2nd

from 16.160p to 18.386p per kWh

standing charge from 26.296p to 27.255p per day

EDF is only a bit better:

16.42p per kWh

27.26p per day

Bulb is unable to install smart meters at least not at my address or in my area (when I checked on their website last time)

I thought EDF can but when I check on their website I got something like:

"Sorry, we’re unable to offer you a smart meter appointment at the moment. This may be due to installer availability in your area or your meter type.

We’ve captured your interest in having a smart meter and we’ll be in touch as soon as we’re able to fit one. We’re working hard to reach you as quickly as possible."

Quite similar response to what I saw with Bulb. So it must be something to do with the property. I don't know.

In this case I can cancel the switch to EDF and move to London Power (this is fulfilled by Octopus Energy) which has better rates at the moment (14.7p/KWh and 23.68p per day standing charge) but the tariff is variable and can change anytime within 30 days.

I think the best option is to find the best rate, switch to that then top up as much as possible e.g. £300 and forget for another 6 months or £600 and come back to this game after a year.

JohnBravo

Am I thinking straight?

I reckon this property cannot be moved to a credit electric meter because the building and the whole estate is managed by One Housing.

The flat is not part of council housing but for instance gas for heating is delivered by Switch2 (gas from EDF) with their prepayment old-school smart meters that are topped up online and this cannot be changed. I think there is some mandate in place.

Gerry1

Sounds like you are in a building or district heating system, but I can't see why you shouldn't switch to an electricity provider of your choice.  You need to switch to a credit meter because pre-payment is more expensive.

MSE Prepaid advice

JohnBravo

Gerry1 said:

Sounds like you are in a building or district heating system, but I can't see why you shouldn't switch to an electricity provider of your choice.  You need to switch to a credit meter because pre-payment is more expensive.

MSE Prepaid advice

Ok so I should get a credit meter but is there any benefit pursuing a smart meter?

I have done some comparison of Direct Debit and I can definitely save on standing charge but per kWh is pretty much the same around 16p per unit unless I do something wrong.