New tariff needed. Very low gas usage - does electric seem OK?

LondonLiz

Current fixed deal coming to end in early August.  I only use gas for the cooker hob as oven is electric.  Hot water is electric cylinder and heating is through the service charge.  Hot water cylinder has a timer & thermostat but since I've been stuck at him I'm not using it, just the smaller immersion heater which gives enough for a daily shower and a sink of dishes.

Gas use is about 10KwH a year (generously) and electric is about 3130 per year, more  if we have a cold snap in the months the block heating is turned off and I use and electric plug in radiator.   It's a 2 bed flat with only me in residence and working from home for last 15 months, which will continue for at least next 6 months as well.  We can't have smart meters in the block.

I've been paying £48 per month for a year with EON Next but all suppliers on the comparison sites seem to be coming back for duel fuel at much higher!

Does the electric use seem OK?  Other than hot water I can't see what the main expenses are - it's a very bright flat and I seldom have the lights on during the day & even in winter, not all day.  Don't have a tumble drier.  Normal TV and appliance usage.

And would you recommend having 2 separate gas and electric suppliers?  I'm finding it quite overwhelming trying to find all the costs for different tariffs with different suppliers.

JJ_Egan

Separate yes but depends upon prices .

Prices have risen this year .

Use a comparison site .

QrizB

3100 kWh per year for a gas-only flat sounds pretty reasonable, to be honest. And I once had a gas bill almost that low; just like you we had a gas cooker but electric everything else!

Using your consumption figures at my address, the best dual-fuel tariffs at Which Switch are with PFP; Green Variable s2 is £485/yr and Priced for Protection s3 is £565/yr fixed to Aug 2022.

Splitting gas and electricity between suppliers saves a little bit if I take variable gas with PFP and (variable or fixed) electricity with Symbio.

LondonLiz

Than you both.  Yes JJ I did look at comparison sites but felt inundated by all the information out there.  Plus it's hard to know if your usage is reasonable when on your own, as most of the info available for typical usage is for 'households'.

Thanks Quiz, I was trying too see where I might shave some usage but I already feel I am fairly frugal on power -  use microwave and a slow cooker quite a lot and my showers aren't long, rarely have a bath.  Nearly £50 per month for one person already seemed a lot so with prices increasing too it was a bit of a shock to see what it might go up too!  Feel sorry for big families.

I saw PfP & Symbio on the Which Switch site and did wonder as hadn't heard of them, thanks for the tip.

niktheguru

Pfp don't do single fuel gas. The comparison sites will quote it but when you try and switch they'll say it isn't possible. They only provide gas if you take electricity too.

Symbio is the cheapest electricity generally, but they have a complicated billing system where they charge a month instance and overestimate your usage....so although its cheap it's quite a high maintenance company so you have to be on the ball, and their customer services aren't great and are slow.

It's worth thinking about a fixed rate tariff as prices just seem to be going up at the moment.

When you're using the comparison sites make sure you input your actual consumption and not use any recommendations for household consumption. That way the quotes are realistic for your usage.
Click "all providers" and look at the total cost and not the "savings" check between duel fuel and single fuels. To be honest your gas usage is so low that it would probably be less hassle just to stick with duel fuel as you're basically only paying the standing charge anyway as your usage is so low.