Three questions about caps and suppliers

valiant24

Three questions:

1. I am on a British Gas (BG) standard variable tariff, having been forcibly placed onto it when PHP Energy went bust.  You would think the simplest question in the sector might be "What is the current kWh cap for South-West England?", but I simply can't find this info!  According to British Gas my rates are 32.696p Day and 21.751p Night (see attachment).  So far as I can see, the day rate is above the 28p "average" capped price, but that it varies by region.  So what is the rate for my region?  BG say they can't tell me.

2. Is there a cap on Economy 7 ("Night") rates?

3. With PHP I had finally got a smart meter, which I found really useful for the few months I had it.  BG don't do them for houses like mine with a storage heater (actually an Aga).  So I'd like to move to a supplier that does, not for cost reasons but to get the smart meter.   However all switch sites refuse to quote, saying all customers are currently "better off" with their current supplier, as do the main suppliers like EON, EDF etc.   Any way around this?

Thank you!
V

pochase

1. SVT rates are calculated based on the cap by the suppliers. While there is hardly any difference for single rate it is different for E7. Suppliers have to use a 58/42 ratio between day and night rates, but it is open to them how they get there.

One supplier might use a lower night rate than BG does, but this will increase the cost of the day rate. See EDF for South West below in the last 2 columns.



So there is no maximum unit rate for day and night rate.

2. There is the cap what the supplier is allowed to charge for the Ofgem average defined usage. But what unit rates the supplier uses to get to that amount is up to them, they only need to use the 58/42 ratio doing so.

3. Almost no supplier will accept new customers. Only two exceptions are EDF and Octopus if you call them you might get lucky. Some people say it works first call, others they they needed to call repeatedly.

EDF in my experience is not very interested in getting the smart meter working, but as you can see above they offer good rates for those that use a lot of electricity at night. Octopus seems to be the better choice getting a working smart meter.

Northern_Wanderer

I know you aren't asking about this, but I see that you are paying cash/ cheque rates. Paying by direct debit would give you the benefit of slightly reduced rates as you can see in pochase's grid.

CanNeverThinkOfAUsername

While I've only been on this forum a few weeks i have to say some of the replies by @pochase are just amazing. So much help and so much detail. Love it!

markin

Do you have Gas, oil, lpg, Or Actual storage heaters? The Aga likely is not the best way to heat the house, Are you at home all day or out with the Aga burning £10 notes all day?

Your looking at over £2,000 at the current cap, The October and April cap is not going to be nice.

QrizB

Further to all the other info, there's a link in my signature to a post that explains how the cap works.

I'm planning to write a similar post explaining the October cap once the figures are published.

valiant24

Northern_Wanderer said:

I know you aren't asking about this, but I see that you are paying cash/ cheque rates. Paying by direct debit would give you the benefit of slightly reduced rates as you can see in pochase's grid.

Thank you for pointing this out.  I am scared to go DD and think, when the bills go ballistic, I'll be in a stronger position to get an affordable payment plan from BG if I owe them a large amount of money than I will if they just help themselves to whatever they fancy each month. I think it's worth paying a little extra to retain that leverage.

[Deleted User]

valiant24 said:

Thank you for pointing this out.  I am scared to go DD and think, when the bills go ballistic, I'll be in a stronger position to get an affordable payment plan from BG if I owe them a large amount of money than I will if they just help themselves to whatever they fancy each month. I think it's worth paying a little extra to retain that leverage.

You plan to go into a large amount of debt because that will give *you* the leverage?

valiant24

markin said:

Do you have Gas, oil, lpg, Or Actual storage heaters? The Aga likely is not the best way to heat the house, Are you at home all day or out with the Aga burning £10 notes all day?

Your looking at over £2,000 at the current cap, The October and April cap is not going to be nice.

It's an electric Aga.
When we first moved here 15 years ago it cost about £1 per night to run.
Per the PHP smart meter last year, about £6/night.
Now it could easily be £20 a night or more this winter.
We don't have mains gas.
No radiators from our oil central heating.
Can't install a wood burner.

This winter it'll be a choice between having a cold and miserable kitchen, or paying maybe £700 electricity bills :-( 

valiant24

pochase said:

1. SVT rates are calculated based on the cap by the suppliers. While there is hardly any difference for single rate it is different for E7. Suppliers have to use a 58/42 ratio between day and night rates, but it is open to them how they get there.

One supplier might use a lower night rate than BG does, but this will increase the cost of the day rate. See EDF for South West below in the last 2 columns.



So there is no maximum unit rate for day and night rate.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply!
Could you possibly explain the 58/42 thing?  For example, in the South West Direct Debit example above. 33.09 and 17.83 are not in that proportion.

Thanks
V

valiant24

[Deleted User] said:

valiant24 said:

Thank you for pointing this out.  I am scared to go DD and think, when the bills go ballistic, I'll be in a stronger position to get an affordable payment plan from BG if I owe them a large amount of money than I will if they just help themselves to whatever they fancy each month. I think it's worth paying a little extra to retain that leverage.

You plan to go into a large amount of debt because that will give *you* the leverage?

Sure!  Owe the bank £100 - you've got a problem.  Owe the bank £1,000,000 - they've got a problem! ;-)