Economy 7 phasing out 3 June 2022 at 1:23PM in Green & ethical MoneySaving 24 replies 4.9K views

waqasahmed

I posted something here more than a couple months ago, when asking about mixergy heaters, and if it's worth it. 

At the time, I was basically betting on economy 7 tariffs being phased out, given the rise of EV cars and therefore needing something to use at night, and therefore adding to demand during what was traditionally off peak 

Whilst I was wrong for the reasons for it being phased out, it appears I was correct in betting on that it will be phased out

https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/storage-heating-costs/

Just something to be aware of. 

BUFF

SSE have been saying  for a while that they would be stopping supporting multiple meter tariffs e.g. https://sse.co.uk/help/electric-heating/one-meter-two-rates & https://sse.co.uk/help/electric-heating/other-two-meter-tariffs.

paul991

economy  7  may be phased out shortly  but  what will come is a multiple tariff  day where the price will vary on demand so  storage  heaters will still be  in use and  late evenings and weekends will for the foreseeable  future be the cheapest just you will need to  be a bit  more clever  when you  have them on just like   the people who charge  their cars at  night

waqasahmed

paul991 said:

economy  7  may be phased out shortly  but  what will come is a multiple tariff  day where the price will vary on demand so  storage  heaters will still be  in use and  late evenings and weekends will for the foreseeable  future be the cheapest just you will need to  be a bit  more clever  when you  have them on just like   the people who charge  their cars at  night

It'd be cool if they could be a bit smarter, ie: pulling power at cheaper times, whatever that time is but that's not an easy task if it is no longer a simple eco 7 tariff

paul991

some  of the tariffs are more or less there  already i think it was  octopus who  had  a  tariff that has  gone negative at  times  of peak production and a  company in America was paying people so they could control their immersion heaters to  dump excess power

waqasahmed

paul991 said:

some  of the tariffs are more or less there  already i think it was  octopus who  had  a  tariff that has  gone negative at  times  of peak production and a  company in America was paying people so they could control their immersion heaters to  dump excess power

I wonder what that does for the energy market tbh, if there are enough people expecting their own back to the grid, do to speak. I'd hope that it'd make electricity a bit cheaper 

paul991

as  you can on the forums on here some  people are already making money  from domestic batteries by  buying and then selling to the grid with  relatively cheaper and longer lasting storage systems coming on line this will only increase .I'm  now getting to the stage of adding storage to my  pv ,The only reason i haven't already is the fit payment

ispookie666

I hope they don't or just rebrand it as TOU tariffs as long as it is more than 3 or 4 hours.  Givenergy AC coupled inverter tops off at 3000VA and will need at least 5 hrs to charge the batteries.  

QrizB

waqasahmed said:

Whilst I was wrong for the reasons for it being phased out, it appears I was correct in betting on that it will be phased out
https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/storage-heating-costs/
Just something to be aware of. 

If you're referring to this throwaway paragraph at the end of that blog article:

Are storage heaters being phased out?

Storage heaters are highly cost-efficient for the time being, but the Economy 7 tariff is being phased out as the UK moves towards the closure of all coal-based power plants by 2030. So, while it’s worth taking advantage of the low night-time rates for the next decade, it may not be the most long-term solution.

... I'd want something a bit more authoritative before declaring that E7 is being phased out.

Do you have a reference to a Government or industry statement?

Sterlingtimes

Octopus is already disincentivising Economy 7 where the night rate is 71% of the day rate (West Midlands) while E.ON's night rate is 50% of its day rate. Octopus may already prefer to send thermal storage customers elsewhere.

Is it desirable that thermal storage is phased out?

waqasahmed

QrizB said:

waqasahmed said:

Whilst I was wrong for the reasons for it being phased out, it appears I was correct in betting on that it will be phased out
https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/storage-heating-costs/
Just something to be aware of. 

If you're referring to this throwaway paragraph at the end of that blog article:

Are storage heaters being phased out?

Storage heaters are highly cost-efficient for the time being, but the Economy 7 tariff is being phased out as the UK moves towards the closure of all coal-based power plants by 2030. So, while it’s worth taking advantage of the low night-time rates for the next decade, it may not be the most long-term solution.

... I'd want something a bit more authoritative before declaring that E7 is being phased out.

Do you have a reference to a Government or industry statement?

No, but that is check a trade and they seem quite reputable