Being on the correct electricity tariff

Spoonie_Turtle

SWAMP_MAN said:

Following on from my original post I've been chatting with an ex work colleague who also happens to be with Octopus on Economy 7. He too uses very little energy at night and after doing the comparison over 1 year of energy consumption has calculated he would be better off were he to come off Economy 7, although his gas tariff would increase ! The irony of it is that his Octopus monthly bill tells him that he's on the cheapest tariff, I suppose it all boils down as to how you define "cheapest"

The cheapest tariff for your meter profile, as explained by one of the early comments in the thread.

Why would his gas tariff increase?

SWAMP_MAN

Spoonie_Turtle said:

SWAMP_MAN said:

Following on from my original post I've been chatting with an ex work colleague who also happens to be with Octopus on Economy 7. He too uses very little energy at night and after doing the comparison over 1 year of energy consumption has calculated he would be better off were he to come off Economy 7, although his gas tariff would increase ! The irony of it is that his Octopus monthly bill tells him that he's on the cheapest tariff, I suppose it all boils down as to how you define "cheapest"

The cheapest tariff for your meter profile, as explained by one of the early comments in the thread.

Why would his gas tariff increase?

Apologies for my poorly worded post, the actual wording on the bill is as follows.

Could you pay less?

Remember - it might be worth thinking

about switching your tariff or supplier.

For your electricity (on meter point xxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Good to know.

You’re already on our cheapest tariff for

your electricity usage. We’ll let you know if

this changes.

For your gas (on meter point xxxxxxxxxx)

Good to know.

You’re already on our cheapest tariff for

your gas usage. We’ll let you know if this

changes.

As you can see the cost relates to the usage.
The meter profile is irrelevant.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

but your dad is in an E7 setup, and Octopus says he is on the best E7 tariff that they offer.

pochase

It says

You’re already on our cheapest tariff for your electricity usage. 

The electric usage is E7, and there is no cheaper E7 tariff.

MattMattMattUK

SWAMP_MAN said:

MattMattMattUK said:

SWAMP_MAN said:

EssexHebridean said:

In your Dad's case it definitely looks like a switch to single rate would be good for him - does he have a smart meter? If so this can be managed remotely I should imagine, and should be able to take effect very fast. If he's on an old style meter then it will require the supplier to agree to combine his two readings - I think Octopus are one who will do this though, from memory! 

Hi, he has a Landis & Gyr electronic meter which is not all that old and is reluctant to go for a smart meter, personally I agree with him as I think smart meters are the thin end of the wedge with the energy companies ultimately being able to dictate variable tariff charges as they seem fit too, but that's a discussion for another day.

All that will happen when proper ToU tariffs come in is that those who refuse smart meters will be permanently charged the higher rate.

Not very fair on those who are unable to have a smart meter installed, for example incoming supply too far away, existing installation not  suitable ( mounted on asbestos board)

You might notice that I said "refuse" not "cannot have". Also are and will be solutions to those issues, as Essex says asbestos boards can already be dealt with, the incoming supply is rarely ever too far away for Electricity so that does not present a problem (it may mean smart gas does not work, but there are no plans to make that ToU in the short to medium term and in the long term it will be phased out). There are ways around all the problems, there is work being done for meters in basements, expand the networks they operate on, allow them to run over special wifi adapters etc. 

There are or will be solutions to all the problems, most of them exist already, some of them are being worked on. One thing that cannot be managed though is the conspiracy theories and paranoia that exists within some segments about smart meters. 

MWT

SWAMP_MAN said:

As you can see the cost relates to the usage.

The meter profile is irrelevant.

The meter profile is relevant as the suppliers are obliged to respect that profile when checking for the cheapest tariff.

Also remember the tariff has options for single-rate and E7, so even if you change between those two you will still be on the same tariff...

Ofgem rules can be counter-productive at times, and this is one of those situations...

[Deleted User]

MWT said:

SWAMP_MAN said:

As you can see the cost relates to the usage.

The meter profile is irrelevant.

Ofgem rules can be counter-productive at times, and this is one of those situations...

The Law of Unintended Consequences.

You can add the following to the list:

Back Billing which encourages consumers to do nothing if a statement doesn’t arrive.

Final Bills - the supplier issues something within the 6 week period and it is then free to change the bill at will.

The Ofgem Cap which was, in part, responsible for numerous supplier failures.