Economy 7 Price hike

atalosstoo

Just got a letter from Utility Warehouse to say they are putting up the E7 rate by 100% from 9.5p to 18.5p effective from 1/4 I don't understand how they can do this. It just looks like profiteering to me.

Mstty

I presume they have lowered the day rate. 

Ultimately E7 can be shifted to whatever suppliers want as long as the split comes in under the Ofgem price cap.

The good news is most will turn off the heating soon if not already and you can shop around for a better deal.

Some suppliers are now offering a £50 sign up bonus as well so it might not all be bad news.

atalosstoo

Yes, you're right. The day rate is down by 8p. As you say, maybe it's time to shop around. Thanks

JonLea

The price changes Utility Warehouse are imposing:

 

Standing charge:            Increasing by 32% (46.382/day to 61.226/day)

Day rate                          Decreasing by 17.5% (52.754p to 43.504p)

Night rate                         Increasing by 61.9% (12.45p to 20.159p)

Does this constitute unfair treatment? Is it worth contacting Ofgen?

Thought electricity suppliers were supposed to be encouraging offpeak use?

LunarViolet

I am with EDF, i have filed a complaint with them today. Standing charge went up 30%, day rate down 15% but night rate gone up by a massive 91%. 

pochase

There is no reason for a complaint.

E7 rates can be freely set by energy suppliers as long as they follow the rules set by Ofgem. Those rules are that based on 4200KWh and a 58%/42% day/night split the calculated unit rate needs to equal or lower than the single rate price.

A supplier can set the rates however they want as long as they follow the above rules. And they can change that comp;l;etely around when the cap changes every 3 months.

dunstonh

atalosstoo said:

Just got a letter from Utility Warehouse to say they are putting up the E7 rate by 100% from 9.5p to 18.5p effective from 1/4 I don't understand how they can do this. It just looks like profiteering to me.

It is not profiteering.     Previously, they priced their night rate artificially lower than the typical ratio and their day rate higher than the typical ratio.      Now they are moving back to the more typical ratio.   Your day rate is going down.

What is your ratio of peak/off peak use?
The previous pricing was better for high off peak users but bad for lower off peak users.    Their new pricing is better for lower off peak users but worse for higher off peak users.

  Yes, you're right. The day rate is down by 8p. As you say, maybe it's time to shop around. 

You may find the new pricing is better for you.    It would be worse for me because my ratio is 71% night and 29% day. 
Before shopping around E7 pricing, you need to know your ratio of use (ideally your annual kWh in each - 1 unit = 1 kWh.  Then price the annual total of each by the unit prices)

Thought electricity suppliers were supposed to be encouraging offpeak use?

It depends on your region,  the available supply in that region and what the supplier can buy at and decide to retail at.

I am with EDF, i have filed a complaint with them today. Standing charge went up 30%, day rate down 15% but night rate gone up by a massive 91%. 

Nothing to complain about.    Some regions got an anomaly in pricing in Q1.   Q2 is returning to more normal ratios in many regions.  Notably, not Eastern, but that has an excess off-peak generation that cannot be turned off.

EssexHebridean

pochase said:

There is no reason for a complaint.

E7 rates can be freely set by energy suppliers as long as they follow the rules set by Ofgem. Those rules are that based on 4200KWh and a 58%/42% day/night split the calculated unit rate needs to equal or lower than the single rate price.

A supplier can set the rates however they want as long as they follow the above rules. And they can change that comp;l;etely around when the cap changes every 3 months.

The BiB is key to understanding why this is occurring, and why there is no point in raising complaints. 

Suppliers have always set their E7 rates differently depending on what they see as working best for them - and they are quite within their rights to do so as long as they are working within the rates indicated by the cap - or currently by the EPG. E7 and similar are the very few areas where there is currently meaningful competition though - so it's well worth looking to see if other suppliers might suit your needs better based on your individual day/night split.  

atalosstoo

My night day split is around 80/20 because of the storage heaters and the hot water heater. So the hike in night pricing affects me a lot.

Stubod

18.5p still sounds very cheap to me??

Scot_39

atalosstoo said:

Just got a letter from Utility Warehouse to say they are putting up the E7 rate by 100% from 9.5p to 18.5p effective from 1/4 I don't understand how they can do this. It just looks like profiteering to me.

Have you compared against the October rates.

When the Ofgem caps and epg discounts were more similar ?


Like those with EDF who dropped regions to sub 10p in Jan, with other suppliers, those have gotten you through three winter months, saving a fortune.

And you are free on E7 now to shop around for a better deal - as many did in Jan, when their prices actually went up.

As they did on average by c7% across 2.5m homes.

Q1 23 looks very much like the anomaly, not the norm.

Search for and read  the rate card thread for edf and Octopus prices etc for your region.