Energy Rebate (multiple prepayment meters in one property)

ventriloquistdummy

I was hoping for advice regarding my eligibility for the £400 energy rebate.

I currently live in a house which is split into four flats. There is one main supply of electricity to the house, with each of the four flats having their own prepayment meter. We top up the meters in advance with the landlord setting the unit rates and standing charge based on the contract they have taken out for the house. 

In this situation, are the four tenants eligible for the rebate? My assumption would be that the landlord will only get one £400 payment because there is only one supply of electricity which is then resold onto the tenants. If that is the case, is the landlord under any obligation to split that £400 between the tenants, and as such, pass on £100 each?

I understand the difficulty in creating a scheme which covers all permutations, though of course that doesn't negate the frustration of missing out when we have to pay heightened energy bills.

[Deleted User]

ventriloquistdummy said:

In this situation, are the four tenants eligible for the rebate? 

No.

ventriloquistdummy said:

My assumption would be that the landlord will only get one £400 payment because there is only one supply of electricity which is then resold onto the tenants.

Correct, but only if they have a domestic account.  If they have a business tariff, they get nothing.

ventriloquistdummy said:

If that is the case, is the landlord under any obligation to split that £400 between the tenants, and as such, pass on £100 each?

No.

ariarnia

if its a residential tarrif and the four tenants split the supply with the landlord taking no part of it are you sure? i would have thought that would have come under making a profit on the reselling of electric. not saying your wrong. just that its a bit odd that wouldn't be covered. 

[Deleted User]

ariarnia said:

if its a residential tarrif and the four tenants split the supply with the landlord taking no part of it are you sure? i would have thought that would have come under making a profit on the reselling of electric. not saying your wrong. just that its a bit odd that wouldn't be covered. 

Assuming a domestic tariff, it's a discount to the bill (or a credit on the account), not a change in the price - so the landlord wouldn't be making a profit on resale, they would be keeping "a cash gift" in effect.  I suspect it would be a business tariff though - if the OP knows their unit rate & standing charge we could work that out.

No different from if the landlord lived in the house and sub-metered one of the rooms, or a cottage supplied as a sub-meter from a farmhouse - they wouldn't be expected to pass on the rebate in that case either.  

ariarnia

i guess in that case theres nothing wrong wit the tenant asking the landlord (politely) if they are intending to split the 400 equally between the flats. especially knowing its not an entitlement. 

ventriloquistdummy

Deleted_User said:

ariarnia said:

if its a residential tarrif and the four tenants split the supply with the landlord taking no part of it are you sure? i would have thought that would have come under making a profit on the reselling of electric. not saying your wrong. just that its a bit odd that wouldn't be covered. 

Assuming a domestic tariff, it's a discount to the bill (or a credit on the account), not a change in the price - so the landlord wouldn't be making a profit on resale, they would be keeping "a cash gift" in effect.  I suspect it would be a business tariff though - if the OP knows their unit rate & standing charge we could work that out.

No different from if the landlord lived in the house and sub-metered one of the rooms, or a cottage supplied as a sub-meter from a farmhouse - they wouldn't be expected to pass on the rebate in that case either.  

Thanks for your responses. In reply, hopefully this can help regarding it being a domestic / business tariff. The unit rates are as follows:

Rate 1 (Day): 33.827p
Rate 2 (Night): 19.448p
Standing Charge: 47.960p

[Deleted User]

The rates look like they could be plausible for either sort of tariff - they're under the domestic price cap.

The standing charge, though, would work out at nearly £2 per day if they are all added together - way over the domestic cap.  47p by itself is a normal domestic standing charge.

You say that there is one supply into the house - is there a meter on the single supply, or is there just connections to your four individual meters?

ventriloquistdummy

I'm a bit of a novice, but the main supply cupboard is a bit of a maze of wiring and boxes. I've attached photographs - it looks like there may in fact be two supplies - one for flats 1 & 4 and one for flats 2 & 3.

Perhaps you can make more sense of it then I can: 

[Deleted User]

Looks like you're right - there are two cut-out fuses and two meters there, so legally two incoming supplies.  Based on the distribution boards, looks like one supplies 1&4, and the other for 2&3.

None of these meters are the ones that you prepay on though (I assume) because they are not prepayment meters.

That means that the landlord probably has two accounts and you are definitely sub-metered - so everything I said above was correct and applies to you (although the landlord is probably either getting £800 or nothing).

I was hoping that there was no prior metering, and your prepayment meter was the first one in the chain - then you could have taken control off the landlord, chosen your own supplier and tariff, and got what's left to come of the £400 for yourself.  Unfortunately that's not possible in this arrangement.

Best hope for you is that the landlord has a domestic tariff, gets the rebate and chooses to share it with you - you could always ask if that's the case.  If it's a domestic tariff, I'd also expect them to halve your standing charge (because the 50p per day they are paying is for two flats).  £1 a day is not unusual for a business tariff though, so you might be out of luck.

ventriloquistdummy

[Deleted User] said:

Looks like you're right - there are two cut-out fuses and two meters there, so legally two incoming supplies.  Based on the distribution boards, looks like one supplies 1&4, and the other for 2&3.

None of these meters are the ones that you prepay on though (I assume) because they are not prepayment meters.

That means that the landlord probably has two accounts and you are definitely sub-metered - so everything I said above was correct and applies to you (although the landlord is probably either getting £800 or nothing).

I was hoping that there was no prior metering, and your prepayment meter was the first one in the chain - then you could have taken control off the landlord, chosen your own supplier and tariff, and got what's left to come of the £400 for yourself.  Unfortunately that's not possible in this arrangement.

Best hope for you is that the landlord has a domestic tariff, gets the rebate and chooses to share it with you - you could always ask if that's the case.  If it's a domestic tariff, I'd also expect them to halve your standing charge (because the 50p per day they are paying is for two flats).  £1 a day is not unusual for a business tariff though, so you might be out of luck.

Many thanks for all of your help - it really is appreciated. I had assumed I might fall through the gaps of the rebate scheme; such is life!

But I will ask the landlord about whether they are on a domestic or business tariff and therefore if they've had the rebate.