Capped Rates From April & Economy 7

Bongopete

My deal expires at the end of the month with EDF and I have a serious question that I cannot get answered anywhere. I have rung some of the energy sites and EDF and I cannot get an answer from anyone.

From the 01/04 I have found out that the government energy price caps are shown below

Elec 45.34 Standing charge & 28.34kwh 

Gas 27.22 Standing charge & 7.37kwh

My EDF Standard Variable Rates from the 01/04/22

Elec 44.84 Standing charge & 35.28kwh day rate & 13.40 kwh night rate

Gas 27.22 Standing charge & 7.282 kwh.

As you can see the electricity is considerably more. I live in Nottingham if that help's as watching your show rates can vary from area to area.

1. How can they charge me more for the daily rate than the government price cap it seems like you are being penalised for having economy 7.
2. If nothing can be altered, is it worth forgetting economy 7 and just having one normal rate and how do I go about it, do I need a new metre and will cost me.
3. I have an old boiler which is 19 years old. Is there any grant or voucher to help towards a new energy efficient combi boiler if you work full time, have savings and claim no benefits as it would help the planet and also help with my bills. 

Thank you and hope you can help as I do not know where else to try.

Pete

Gerry1

2.  If you have gas central heating, E7 may not be cost effective, especially if your night usage is less than about 20%.  Simply do the sums, based on your annual kWh consumption from actual meter readings, not estimates.  If requested, EDF will bill you at single rate without needing a meter change.

QrizB

Welcome to the forum.

Bongopete said:

As you can see the electricity is considerably more.

The cap for dual-rate electricity is cheaper than the cap for single-rate electricity, but it is assumed that you use at least 42% on the night rate and 58% on the day rate. In your case, EDF's tariff is equivalent to 26.09p/kWh, cheaper than the single-rate cap you quote.

1. How can they charge me more for the daily rate than the government price cap it seems like you are being penalised for having economy 7.

As explained above, so long as you use a reasonably large amount on the night rate they are charging you less than the single-rate cap. If you aren't making much use of the night rate, you shouldn't be on E7.

In a typical year, how much electricity do you use on each rate?

2. If nothing can be altered, is it worth forgetting economy 7 and just having one normal rate and how do I go about it, do I need a new metre and will cost me.

As Gerry1 says, if E7 isn't worthwhile for you, you can contact EDF and ask to be moved to their single-rate variable tariff instead.

3. I have an old boiler which is 19 years old. Is there any grant or voucher to help towards a new energy efficient combi boiler if you work full time, have savings and claim no benefits as it would help the planet and also help with my bills.

19 years isn't especially old for a boiler. If you know what make and model it is, you can look up how efficient it was when new. My boiler is around 17 years old and was quoted as 88% efficient when new; a modern replacement wouldn't be significantly better, apart for being younger.