Energy tariff for empty (renovating) home

supaman

We are about to complete on the purchase of our next home.  We'll spend about 6 months renovating before we actually move in, so we expect usage to be very low.  Very little gas: boiler will fire up daily just to ensure it doesn't freeze.  And electricity will be whatever the builder uses when they're there.
There are no more zero standing charge tariffs that I can find, this I believe would have been ideal.  And using the comparison sites they dont seem to allow me to sort by lowest standing charge.  Are there any tariffs people can recommend?

Verdigris

Just stay on the SVT, that you'll automatically go on when you take over the supply.

I'm in exactly the same position.

bagand96

If you enter 1kWh for your use for both fuels then the resulting lowest cost tariffs will be the ones with the lowest SC.

To be honest in the current market I doubt you'll beat the SVT rate you should already be on.

QrizB

supaman said:

There are no more zero standing charge tariffs that I can find, this I believe would have been ideal.  And using the comparison sites they dont seem to allow me to sort by lowest standing charge.  Are there any tariffs people can recommend?

Enter a very low annual use into the comparison sites and see what it offers. Eg. 500kWh/yr for each fuel.

But as Verdigris says, you're unlikely to find anything today that's cheaper than the existing supplier's standard variable tariff so don't worry about it too much.

macman

The bills run up by multiple heavy duty power tools being used 8 hours per day can be surprisingly high. And, if they are rebuilding walls and plastering, then they'll probably be using infrared heaters to dry out the plaster, so heat loss will be high. 
It's irrelevant what the SC is: the only figure that counts is the total cost of that and the unit charges.

dbks

supaman said:

We are about to complete on the purchase of our next home.  We'll spend about 6 months renovating before we actually move in, so we expect usage to be very low.  Very little gas: boiler will fire up daily just to ensure it doesn't freeze.  And electricity will be whatever the builder uses when they're there.
There are no more zero standing charge tariffs that I can find, this I believe would have been ideal.  And using the comparison sites they dont seem to allow me to sort by lowest standing charge.  Are there any tariffs people can recommend?

British Gas Zero Oct 2022

Only available via chat.
Cheaper than any default tariff for electricity, and for usage less than about 9000kWh of gas per year for gas.
Some advisers may say its not available, but it's still on BG list of current tariffs and plenty of MSE users just like you have reported success eventually.
So if at first you don't succeed, try try try again

Will you be getting Sky at your new home?

MWT

dbks said:

Some advisers may say its not available, but it's still on BG list of current tariffs and plenty of MSE users just like you have reported success eventually.
So if at first you don't succeed, try try try again

It is still on a list of current and old tariffs along with this warning:

So I wouldn't describe it as on a list of current tariffs...

No harm in trying though as long as you go into it knowing that it is not certain that you'll be able to get it...

dbks

MWT said:

dbks said:

Some advisers may say its not available, but it's still on BG list of current tariffs and plenty of MSE users just like you have reported success eventually.
So if at first you don't succeed, try try try again

It is still on a list of current and old tariffs along with this warning:

So I wouldn't describe it as on a list of current tariffs...

No harm in trying though as long as you go into it knowing that it is not certain that you'll be able to get it...

It would appear that notice was there right back when @akaWooders first joined MSE and kindly alerted us all to this tariff.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78487181/#Comment_78487181

Plenty of other MSEers have since successfully applied, including some as a new customer to BG.

MWT

dbks said:

It would appear that notice was there right back when @akaWooders first joined MSE and kindly alerted us all to this tariff.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78487181/#Comment_78487181

Plenty of other MSEers have since successfully applied, including some as a new customer to BG.

Indeed, it hasn't been a current tariff for quite some time now and yes, quite a few have still managed to talk their way onto it so it is worth trying, especially if you are already a BG customer.

More recent attempts though seem to be meeting with a lot more resistance, but in at least one case it did get them an offer of a different non-current tariff that was potentially even better, so worth a shot as long as you understand the risks if you are trying to switch to it from another provider.

Verdigris

Sound like a lot of bother to shave a bit off 6 months SVT SC, which is less than £50.

Not buying a lottery ticket would save more than that!

dbks

Verdigris said:

Sound like a lot of bother to shave a bit off 6 months SVT SC, which is less than £50.

Not buying a lottery ticket would save more than that!

Which supplier only charges £50 SC on their SVT for 6 months dual fuel these days?

Even if it were only a £50 saving, that would still be a £50 saving.
Many MSEers go to a lot more bother to save a lot less.

Sorry, I must have missed the bit where the OP said they bought lottery tickets, which the last time I did, were just £2 each.
About 25% of National Lottery purchase costs are donated to good causes.