Energy Price Guarantee for Economy 7 customers

DanT74 · 15 September 2022 at 11:18AM

Does anyone know how the Energy Price Guarantee will be applied to Economy 7 customers? Often these customers are low income and vulnerable, thinking of elderly in particular living in sheltered accommodation with storage heaters that may be decades old.

molerat · 15 September 2022 at 11:21AM

In exactly the same way as the previous price caps have applied. Some posts on here have mentioned that some suppliers are now offering very favourable night rates, obviously at the expense of the day rate.

[Deleted User] · 15 September 2022 at 11:22AM

The same way it is to everyone else - there is a new cap on the SVT for typical usage from which unit rates can be calculated.

The only slight difference is that suppliers can choose their own balance between day/night rates, as long as they are under the cap calculation.

So far it looks like EdF are going for expensive day and really cheap night, with BG slightly cheaper day and more expensive night.

Susan1942 · 15 September 2022 at 11:29AM

Thanks for that info. I live in a retirement apartment. There is no gas obviously for safety reasons.
Most of my consumption is at night. About 75-80% I don't havw a fire or other. There is a boost on one heater which can be used during the day but very seldom required. Like everyone else and especially the elderly are very concerned.

[Deleted User] · 15 September 2022 at 11:31AM

Susan1942 said:

Thanks for that info. I live in a retirement apartment. There is no gas obviously for safety reasons.
Most of my consumption is at night. About 75-80% I don't havw a fire or other. There is a boost on one heater which can be used during the day but very seldom required. Like everyone else and especially the elderly are very concerned.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6387150/big-changes-for-e7-as-part-of-epg

A couple of examples of the new capped E7 tariffs here - if you're that much shifted towards night-time consumption, EdF could be good for you.

[Deleted User] · 15 September 2022 at 11:45AM

Susan1942 said:

Thanks for that info. I live in a retirement apartment. There is no gas obviously for safety reasons.
Most of my consumption is at night. About 75-80% I don't havw a fire or other. There is a boost on one heater which can be used during the day but very seldom required. Like everyone else and especially the elderly are very concerned.

There are 3 different rates that effect the amount you pay if you're on Economy 7. The standing charge, the night rate and the day rate.

If you're on the standard variable rate, the standing charge will go up very slightly from April to October under the new Energy Price Guarantee scheme that was announced last week. But this only amounts to 1p or so per day or £3 or £4 per year so isn't worth worrying about too much.

EDF and British Gas have both REDUCED the night rate, so other things being equal you'll pay less for your night time usage from October onwards than you otherwise would have done.

The flip side of this is that they have increased the day rate by more than they otherwise might have done, so you will pay more for your daytime usage.

So depending on your own circumstances, you might find you actually pay less under the new Energy Price Guarantee scheme than you would have done if prices had stayed at the April fix. It just depends whether you save more on your night time usage than you pay extra on your day time usage.

As well as this, you'll also get £66 / £67 knocked off your bill from October to March. So your situation may not be anything like as bad as you feared.