All suppliers refusing to install new gas meters

nicepurpleshirt

...actually @emmajones1976 - it's on the first page of this thread

emmajones1976

Yes that was for an industrial unit, was wondering about domestic applications.

nicepurpleshirt

...we currently pay £65 for both gas and electricity for a two bed detached property.
You can get quite a lot of candles for that though which is good.

nicepurpleshirt

@wittynamegoeshere - we are moving in before/if ever the gas gets connected - we have nowhere else to go

pinkteapot

Bottom of this page says you can also call Citizens Advice if you have trouble getting a connection, or a supplier and meter:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/moving-home-your-energy-supply/get-your-home-connected-to-a-gas-or-electricity-supply/

Not sure if they'll be able to help at all, but it's worth calling them as the more people that do the more they'll be aware there's a serious issue and might be able to campaign or apply pressure where it's needed... 

nicepurpleshirt

Thanks @pinkteapot - I already have.....it's looking like we're going to have to ride this winter out with plug in heaters and having to boil our water on the electric cooker.

So depressing 

worrywart_3

Neon reef seem to be taking anyone if you can get them to fit meter then if they go bust you will
still have a supplier although now saying that they may not do this part as isn’t it expensive 

EssexHebridean

Just didn’t want to read and run to be honest @nicepurpleshirt - what a rubbish situation to be in. Hopefuls combined attack via your MP and ofgem might do the trick and get your sorted sooner rather than later - Iassume there is no prospect you can stay in your current property for any longer? 

We are (almost) all electric here - but designed that way - with storage heaters - and I’m expecting well over £100 a month in the coldest months this year, that’s with economy 7 rates and heating that is designed to work on slow release of heat, so yes, I absolutely understand your worry about the cost too - you’re probably better insulated than we are with it being a new build, but equally you’re also going to be in a larger property than we are. 

Joking from earlier in the thread aside, candles can add more warmth than you might expect. Pull curtains or close blinds as soon as it gets dark, and for the short term close doors on any rooms you don’t use - not something you want to do for too long but for a couple of months you’ll get away with it. Close 50% of the trickle vents on your windows as well - any more might give you damp/condensation issues but 50% is usually OK in my experience. Another thing we have discovered over the years is that allowing the place to get properly cold rather than topping up on the heat before it reaches that stage costs more in the long term. The very lowest setting on an oil filled rad costs in the region of 10p a hour to run on our day rate - it’ll likely be about 7-8p on the rate you will be on - and that is usually enough either to take the chill off, with the odd hour here and there at the medium level. 

I really hope you can get this sorted out ASAP, and before the coldest of the winter weather - keep us updated on your progress? 

Edit to add - have a look on the Old Style board here for lots of additional tips on keeping warm and using less energy. If you have thermos flasks and are coffee drinkers then a good tip is a full kettle boiled first thing can have the remaining water poured into a flask for use for subsequent cups of coffee. You can also use a flask to take any remaining water left in a kettle you’ve boiled for other purposes - which will stay hot enough for washing up or to start a pan off for cooking. It might also prove cheaper to use a kettle for heating water for washing up and cooking rather than using your hob purely because it will be significantly faster, but that’s one to check the figures on. 

QrizB

worrywart_3 said:

Neon reef seem to be taking anyone if you can get them to fit meter then if they go bust you will
still have a supplier although now saying that they may not do this part as isn’t it expensive 

... but Neon Reef don't supply gas, so they're unliklely to fit a gas meter.

nicepurpleshirt

Thanks @EssexHebridean - unfortunately it's not a new build, it's a damp detached cottage that I recently renovated - ironically, just last week I removed all of the storage heaters and threw them in a skip that has since gone.

But thanks for taking the time to share some tips x