Solar storage and British Gas E7

SweatyBeast

Is there anyone out there who is currently on a BG E7 tariff with a solar storage system installed?

We recently had a solar installed, and I’ve been trying to get my tariff switched to E7 since early March. Just looking to charge the batteries overnight on the night rate to maximise my benefits. 

To cut a long story short, BG are telling me that the E7 meter isn’t compatible with a solar system. Personally I’m calling BS, but I have no proof! 

I have friends who have recently gone down the same route, just with different utility providers and they’re quite happily running with their E7 meters 

matt_drummer

The tariff and your solar panels are not connected, you are right.

Why you want to be on an E7 is none of BG's concern, you don't need to justify it to them.

Do you have a smart meter?

markin

You won't likely get get far with bg, you need to go to octopus or even EDF

Alnat1

Lots of people have posted on this forum about their problems with BG and E7, they just don't seem to be able to sort it.

Your best bet might be switching suppliers. Octopus have the best tariffs and might have something that suits you. I'm on their Flux which gives 3 hours of cheap import overnight at 21p to charge battery/run appliances and 21p export for most of the day. Peak export 4-7pm is 34p.

[Deleted User]

If you have an old-fashioned non-smart E7 meter then it won't measure export, which could be significant depending on what you're trying to achieve. So there might be elements of truth in what BG are telling you. Having said that I personally wouldn't waste time arguing with them and agree with the other posts - Octopus and EDF are probably both better options.

[Deleted User]

Octopus Flux pays up to 35p/kWh for exported solar energy.

69bertie

matt_drummer said:

The tariff and your solar panels are not connected, you are right.

I couldn't agree more. I have an E7 meter with solar and batteries.

Alnat1 said:

Your best bet might be switching suppliers. Octopus have the best tariffs and might have something that suits you. I'm on their Flux which gives 3 hours of cheap import overnight at 21p to charge battery/run appliances and 21p export for most of the day. Peak export 4-7pm is 34p.

Best tariffs? With Octopus it really needs looking at, rather than just jump in. I currently have the batteries charging for one hour at night on the E7 at 15p a unit. Octopus would charge me more. Not only is their night rate more expensive but the standing charge as well. The day rate has become a bit of an irrelevance as we don't consume that much, if any, most days.

Yes, I could probably get more for the export that I produce, so a case of swings and roundabouts coming into play. What does annoy me though with Octopus is I have to join them first and then get switched to their other tariffs. I'm not allowed to just sign up for what tariff I would like to be on. So, for a time, I'd be paying more than I do now.

[Deleted User]

69bertie said:

Yes, I could probably get more for the export that I produce, so a case of swings and roundabouts coming into play. What does annoy me though with Octopus is I have to join them first and then get switched to their other tariffs. I'm not allowed to just sign up for what tariff I would like to be on. So, for a time, I'd be paying more than I do now.

Hi @69bertie - I initiated a switch to Octopus Agile from EDF E7 last Thursday morning. They started supplying me on their E7 SVR tariff on Saturday (within factions of a penny the same as EDF's) and then switched me to Agile on Sunday. I have the final bill from EDF today. It's hard to see how the process could have been any more straightforward. I did already have a SMETS2 smart meter, which I still have and can still use for taking export readings for EDF who make my FIT payments. The reason you can't just sign up for one of the Octopus smart tariffs is that they rely on a smart meter sending data so they need to check that first. If you have a recent smart meter then you're good to go - if not might be worth getting one from your existing supplier if you can and then switching.

SweatyBeast

matt_drummer said:

The tariff and your solar panels are not connected, you are right.

Why you want to be on an E7 is none of BG's concern, you don't need to justify it to them.

Do you have a smart meter?

Yes, we do have a smart meter. I’ve had customer services tell me I’m switched/I’m not switched, I need my meter replaced/I don’t need it replaced. I have an appointment/I never had one. 

I’d imagine that they would just be able to push a simple ‘update’ command to my meter and that should be it. Modern tech makes these things so simple!

They can’t even update my usage stats properly, even though my smart meter reports actual usage every 30 mins 😡

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] said:

69bertie said:

Yes, I could probably get more for the export that I produce, so a case of swings and roundabouts coming into play. What does annoy me though with Octopus is I have to join them first and then get switched to their other tariffs. I'm not allowed to just sign up for what tariff I would like to be on. So, for a time, I'd be paying more than I do now.

Hi @69bertie - I initiated a switch to Octopus Agile from EDF E7 last Thursday morning. They started supplying me on their E7 SVR tariff on Saturday (within factions of a penny the same as EDF's) and then switched me to Agile on Sunday. I have the final bill from EDF today. It's hard to see how the process could have been any more straightforward. I did already have a SMETS2 smart meter, which I still have and can still use for taking export readings for EDF who make my FIT payments. The reason you can't just sign up for one of the Octopus smart tariffs is that they rely on a smart meter sending data so they need to check that first. If you have a recent smart meter then you're good to go - if not might be worth getting one from your existing supplier if you can and then switching.

Not quite. Octopus needs to see about 14 day’s worth of 30 minute usage data as the loss of one by 30 minute data segment stops their system from billing. Agile DOES NOT bill on meter index readings. Bills are produced based on usage/30 min * the 30 min unit price. You will receive a monthly bill running to over 30 pages.

If you want to monitor your daily costs then download an App such as Octo-Aid or Octopus Watch.

Qyburn

[Deleted User] said:

Not quite. Octopus needs to see about 14 day’s worth of 30 minute usage data a

Slightly off topic, but when you switch can the new supplier access historical smart meter data, your usage prior to them taking over?