Economy 7 and ending of RTS (Radio Teleswitch Service)

mmmmikey

Not answering the question, but if you do need the split times you could quite possibly save money by switching to Octopus Agile and using the same timings you have now. Agile prices vary considerably from day to day but there is a high degree of consistency when it comes to the cheapest times. I'm on Octopus Flux which gives me 3 cheap hours from 02:00 to 05:00 and over a period of a few months there's very little to choose between Flux and Agile when it comes to pricing.

Another thing to consider is swapping your storage heaters for newer high heat retention models, which you can buy second hand over the summer for a quarter of the new price. It then becomes much less critical when your cheap rate times are and also they're a real game changer when it comes to maintaining the house at a nice steady temperature regardless of the weather.

Probably best to keep your times if you can, but if not there are good alternative options.

QrizB

Pixie_Cosmo said:

Hello, just found this thread and read with interest. I'm in the lucky position of having two E7 slots per day - 4 hours overnight and 3 in the afternoon.

That's not Economy 7, though. It sounds more like one of the weird legacy tariffs that most suppliers don't support but can be fooled into billing as Economy 7.

(At a push, it could be Economy 7 but with a faulty time switch - which should be reported and fixed.)

Rosie1001 said:

I’m similar to you , I get 5 hours over night , 2 hours in the afternoon 

That's not Economy 7 either.

Fundamentally, consumers in these situations are going to lose their strange tariff timings when their meters get replaced, and that would be the case even if "smart meters" weren't being rolled out. A dumb meter replacement for an "Economy 7" account would reset the off-peak timings to the regional E7 defaults.

See timings here:

https://switchd.co.uk/energy/guides/economy7/

EssexHebridean

With Octopus of course, there is also now the “Snug Octopus” tariff which may well suit users with split times. As always, if changing to Octopus make sure you ask around family and friends to get a referral code before instigating the switch as this will earn both you and the referrer £50 bill credit! 

Pixie_Cosmo

QrizB said:

Pixie_Cosmo said:

Hello, just found this thread and read with interest. I'm in the lucky position of having two E7 slots per day - 4 hours overnight and 3 in the afternoon.

That's not Economy 7, though. It sounds more like one of the weird legacy tariffs that most suppliers don't support but can be fooled into billing as Economy 7.

(At a push, it could be Economy 7 but with a faulty time switch - which should be reported and fixed.)

It's a legacy E7 timing which was standard in old Manweb regions. I get 7 hours cheap rate during the day. The RTS controls the storage heater timing circuit and probably the cheap rates switch, once that goes off my heaters won't come on, unless I swop to a SM. 

I'll look at that link thanks, and into the Octopus tariffs. I just wish I could get a straight answer from SP to make an informed decision 🙄

Ildhund

QrizB said:
  

See timings here:

https://switchd.co.uk/energy/guides/economy7/

Neither the list of timings nor the map on that page is convincing*. It's not easy to find an authoritative source for this fairly basic information, but this is the one OVO publish and I've yet to see any fault with it reported. There's a chance that some suppliers may have different arrangements with DNOs, in which case all bets are off anyway.
  


To find which Area ID is which, you need a different map:
  



If anyone knows of a readily-available map showing the same as the one here, but including the current name of each region's DNO, I'd be grateful for a link. As a quid pro quo, I'll offer my lecture about what the SSC columns mean in the first table! 
  

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* I know my own timings, in the East Midlands (region 11): 00:00 - 07:00 GMT. That becomes 01:00 - 08:00 BST, so not what the Switchd page claims. They seem to have forgotten about the East (region 10) on the map.
 

Gerry1

Ildhund said:

If anyone knows of a readily-available map showing the same as the one here, but including the current name of each region's DNO, I'd be grateful for a link. As a quid pro quo, I'll offer my lecture about what the SSC columns mean in the first table!

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@Ildhund Your wish is my command !

https://info.wondrwall.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-25-2024-05-52-06-6563-PM.png

Original image from Energy Networks Association

Gerry1

Ildhund said:

QrizB said:
  

See timings here:

https://switchd.co.uk/energy/guides/economy7/

Neither the list of timings nor the map on that page is convincing*. It's not easy to find an authoritative source for this fairly basic information, but this is the one OVO publish and I've yet to see any fault with it reported. There's a chance that some suppliers may have different arrangements with DNOs, in which case all bets are off anyway.

You have now !  The E7 times in the South Eastern (Seeboard) region are wrong.  They are 10:30pm - 12:30am and 2:30am - 7:30am GMT ±15 minutes.

Ildhund

Gerry1 said:

Ildhund said:

If anyone knows of a readily-available map showing the same as the one here, but including the current name of each region's DNO, I'd be grateful for a link. 

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@Ildhund Your wish is my command !

https://info.wondrwall.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-25-2024-05-52-06-6563-PM.png

Thanks, but I know that one. It doesn't have the regions marked with name and number like the one I reproduced. That's important, because the same supplier and the same DNO (e.g. OVO and NG) will have different arrangements in the DNO's different regions, and unit rates and standing charges vary wildly from one region to another. 

I'm beginning to think I'll have to draw my own ...  

Ildhund

Here we go:
  

Phones4Chris

@Ildhund Region 22, at least parts of it have Off-peak 0030-0730 (that with the usual 15mins variation).

Apart from Octopus and OVO it seems does anyone use these _GSP codes (other than for an obscure API) or even do the Standard Settlement Codes have any real significance these days (except perhaps to industry insiders) which appear to mean nothing to most "customers". I've never seen _GSP or SSC on any bill !!

Thanks for your DNO & Region map, very handy reference (bookmarked).