Is it worth changing supplier right now if I can save?

Bionik

Hello everyone,

PFP victim transferring to the ever wonderful British Gas. Definitely not looking good with 9 suppliers down.

My tariff with PFP was 12p per KWH with a 20p standing charge.

My British Gas transfer is now 24p per KWH (day rate) 12p KWH (night rate) and 24p standing charge - a lovely double increase. 

My flat is all electric - originally Economy 7. I changed the storage heaters to electric panel heaters due to them being awful. The immersion boiler also has some faults, so it used for an hour a day on boost - daytime rate. So essentially 80-90% of my usage is in the day. I don't benefit from Eco 7 rates - so I tend to go to a regular rate with any supplier (they usually manually override it)


My question is, baring in mind I use pretty much only day rate, would it be plausible to change provider now as I am certain I can find a supplier with a lower standard unit rate? Or am I just going to cause more hassle for myself?

I dare go anywhere near a small supplier such as Neon Reef. So I guess I will be limited to the bigger boys.

[Deleted User]

Have a read of this:

https://www.uswitch.com/stayput/

and then decide.

Neil_Jones

You may be able to beat 24p per kWh but you're almost certainly not going to reach 12p per kWh.  You may find the asking price is closer to 24p per kWh than it is to 12.

QrizB

BG might put you on their single rate, around 20-21p/kWh, if you ask.

You're unlikely to get anything better from the bigger suppliers and you've recognised the potential problems with Neon Reef!

[Deleted User]

Not trying to frighten anybody - not least, myself - here are some interesting prices.

Today, the wholesale price for electricity is 17.767p/kWh. The highest price this year was late last month at 42.525p/kWh. A year ago to this very day, the wholesale price was 3.458p/kWh. Remember the wholesale price equates to about 40% of what we pay.

Today gas has reached its highest price this year at 6.349p/kWh. A year ago today, the wholesale price was 1.113p/kWh.

You can see why suppliers are struggling if they haven't hedged against all their fixed price contracts; why there are not many deals on price comparison websites, and why most suppliers are no longer offering the variable Capped tariff to new customers. The latter is losing them money each time that they take a new customer on.

QrizB

Dolor said:

Today, the wholesale price for electricity is 17.767p/kWh. The highest price this year was late last month at 42.525p/kWh. A year ago to this very day, the wholesale price was 3.458p/kWh. Remember the wholesale price equates to about 40% of what we pay.

Well, it was 29% on this chart and I think that chart is based on 2020 data, which (using your 3.458p price) would suggest a 12p/kWh retail cost. Most of the other costs don't track the wholesale cost up and down (although VAT does) so let's say 8.5p/kWh for "other costs" so a fair price today would be 27p-ish/kWh.

Which I guess underlines how much of a bargain the ~20p/kWh SVT cap is, and just how big a hole Neon Reef might find themselves in.

Gerry1

Bionik said:

My flat is all electric - originally Economy 7. I changed the storage heaters to electric panel heaters due to them being awful. The immersion boiler also has some faults, so it used for an hour a day on boost - daytime rate. So essentially 80-90% of my usage is in the day. I don't benefit from Eco 7 rates - so I tend to go to a regular rate with any supplier (they usually manually override it)

Two BIG mistakes I'm afraid, or three if you include being in an All Electric property.  Nothing is more expensive than daytime electricity; unless you are out virtually all of the time your panel heaters will cost more than storage heaters.  If you own the flat and oil / LPG / ASHP aren't feasible then modern high heat retention NSHs are probably the least worst option.  They're not cheap, but would cost less to run and make the property less difficult to sell.

As you've noticed, the panel heater problem is likely to mean that you're also stuck with expensive hot water.

Sorry to be all gloom and doom, but that's how it is; I'm only flagging it up so that others don't make the common mistake of believing snake oil salesman who flog sleek modern panel heaters with the false promise that they're sooooo much better than tired old NSHs.  They're wonderful in all respects - until you end up with hypothermia or bankruptcy.