Economy 7 and April Increases are crazy

Tazzy666uk

I have been helping a couple of local old age pensioners manage their electricity account for the past couple of years as they weren't too sure of 'how it all works'.  Throughout this whole energy crisis time, I have successfully been able to talk them through the changes and ensure that they were getting the correct government payments etc. However, they are with EDF and their online account monitoring is appalling - it only issues a bill twice a year and there is no way to see the current standing on the account. i.e if they are in credit or debit etc. This makes life very difficult.

The other day they received an email advising of the April increases.  They live in a bungalow and have Economy 7 and night storage heaters. They use over 85% of the electricity overnight and I have been watching their bills go up and up. Can someone please correct or confirm that what i read in the email is incorrect?  As I read it, they firstly state an increase of £278 per year - something they could manage just about....  BUT, the night rate has just over doubled!!!!  With over 85% of their energy use at night, this WILL be substantially more than a £278 increase - their electric bill is essentially going to double? Their daytime energy use is minimal, and the remainder is standing charge.

I have really not understood this new Energy price Guarantee as it appears to me that this is going to be the worst increase they have faced in their lifetime, even more than the last year....

Have i got something wrong?   The husband of the (mid 80's age) couple has dementia now and the wife is struggling to cope. I would appreciate your thoughts because I have no idea how they can afford to pay this.

molerat

What is their actual day / night kWh use ?

mmmmikey

Hi, I think the new estimated spend takes into account their day / night split so they will see an increase over the year of £280 assuming rates stay the same. I'm saying this because I had a similar email today and my estimate definitely reflects that split, but this doesn't stack up with your estimate of 85% usage overnight. Is it possible that they actually have more daytime / less night time usage than you thought? Might be worth checking that first?

pochase

Yes there is a big price increase for E7 night rate for Eastern region, but what you forgot to mention is that it is only going back to where it was before October, when they reduced the rate to the 7p.

Tazzy666uk

Just logged in and their annual consumption was day - 2,723kwh and night 6,884kwh.  My percentage was out but i still have the same questions....thank you 

Mstty

Firstly well done for helping the couple out that could have been very challenging explaining what is going on.

With that split if night and day use they were definitely getting the best of the very low night rate EDF were offering in some regions but as you can see from the prediction EDF have decided to recalculate their split in line with the price cap. Resulting in a doubling of the night rates your neighbours will pay.

There really isn't much they can do and I don't believe there is a cheaper night rate out there for them to switch to (hope I am wrong and someone tells me so now)

Tazzy666uk

pochase said:

Yes there is a big price increase for E7 night rate for Eastern region, but what you forgot to mention is that it is only going back to where it was before October, when they reduced the rate to the 7p.

I appreciate that, so what has the latest government intervention actually done this time?  or am i to presume it has stopped it going even higher?

Tazzy666uk

mmmmikey said:

Hi, I think the new estimated spend takes into account their day / night split so they will see an increase over the year of £280 assuming rates stay the same. I'm saying this because I had a similar email today and my estimate definitely reflects that split, but this doesn't stack up with your estimate of 85% usage overnight. Is it possible that they actually have more daytime / less night time usage than you thought? Might be worth checking that first?

Yes, i think i see what you are saying. Their annual consumption was day - 2,723kwh and night 6,884kwh so I think i got my percentages wrong. The unit rate increase vs their predicted increase doesn't seem to add up though

MattMattMattUK

Tazzy666uk said:

pochase said:

Yes there is a big price increase for E7 night rate for Eastern region, but what you forgot to mention is that it is only going back to where it was before October, when they reduced the rate to the 7p.

I appreciate that, so what has the latest government intervention actually done this time?  or am i to presume it has stopped it going even higher?

Stopped it going much much higher. The annualised cost would have been £3,500-4,500 in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023.

MattMattMattUK

Tazzy666uk said:

mmmmikey said:

Hi, I think the new estimated spend takes into account their day / night split so they will see an increase over the year of £280 assuming rates stay the same. I'm saying this because I had a similar email today and my estimate definitely reflects that split, but this doesn't stack up with your estimate of 85% usage overnight. Is it possible that they actually have more daytime / less night time usage than you thought? Might be worth checking that first?

Yes, i think i see what you are saying. Their annual consumption was day - 2,723kwh and night 6,884kwh so I think i got my percentages wrong. The unit rate increase vs their predicted increase doesn't seem to add up though

Based on those usage figures and the old and new rates it would have been £2,120.37 at the old rates and at the new rates it would be £2,399.12, in increase of £278.76, or 13.15%. However realistically with summer usage being much lower due to not needing heating and then the drop further drop in prices predicted for Q3 and Q4 their monthly payments will likely not need to change.

Do they have a smart meter?

Spoonie_Turtle

Their overnight usage should be decreasing in summer, needing the heating less.  And the night rate increase is about the same as the day rate decrease, so some of it should hopefully cancel out over the warmer months.

(Understandable if they use heating for longer in the year than younger people might, of course, but hopefully would still need less energy to maintain a comfortable temperature when the weather is warmer.)

I wonder if EDF is one that you can force a bill if you submit readings, to see the current state of the account?