How are you comparing energy prices?

QrizB

pw23 said:

I'm finding it very difficult to access the different size in order to try and compare, my current provider OVO doesn't offer me any special tariffs, so was hoping someone could set out how exactly I would go about manually comparing

Visit suppliers' sites individually, get a quote from each one, compare tariffs.

The big names are:

• BG - https://www.britishgas.co.uk/
  
• SP - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/
  
• EON - https://www.eonnext.com/
  
• EDF - https://www.edfenergy.com/
  
• Octopus - https://octopus.energy/
  

That should get you started.

pw23 said:

I miss tge days of the Cheap Energy Club, where you type your details down, run a surge, and then get all the results in price order

There are far fewer suppliers now, and much less variation in tariffs. The small suppliers who used to have tyhe best deals funded them by gambling that, rather than buying energy in advance, they could buy energy on the spot market for less than they offered their fixed tariffs at. They then discovered that this was not an enduring business model.

pw23 said:

I can't help, but think There are cheaper, tariffs/firms available

I'm in South London and the race OVO Charge me are:
Simpler energy economy, 7

• Day: 30.63
• Night: 18.64
• SC: 45.05

how do these rates look to you?

You're on Economy 7? Do you have an electric-only property with storage heaters for heat and an immersion heater for hot water?
If so, you'll find there is more variation in E7 tariffs than in single-rate ones. Do you know how much electricity you typically use each year on the day rate, and how much on night rate?

pw23

QrizB said:

pw23 said:

I'm finding it very difficult to access the different size in order to try and compare, my current provider OVO doesn't offer me any special tariffs, so was hoping someone could set out how exactly I would go about manually comparing

Visit suppliers' sites individually, get a quote from each one, compare tariffs.

The big names are:

• BG - https://www.britishgas.co.uk/
  
• SP - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/
  
• EON - https://www.eonnext.com/
  
• EDF - https://www.edfenergy.com/
  
• Octopus - https://octopus.energy/
  

That should get you started.

pw23 said:

I miss tge days of the Cheap Energy Club, where you type your details down, run a surge, and then get all the results in price order

There are far fewer suppliers now, and much less variation in tariffs. The small suppliers who used to have tyhe best deals funded them by gambling that, rather than buying energy in advance, they could buy energy on the spot market for less than they offered their fixed tariffs at. They then discovered that this was not an enduring business model.

pw23 said:

I can't help, but think There are cheaper, tariffs/firms available

I'm in South London and the race OVO Charge me are:
Simpler energy economy, 7

• Day: 30.63
• Night: 18.64
• SC: 45.05

how do these rates look to you?

You're on Economy 7? Do you have an electric-only property with storage heaters for heat and an immersion heater for hot water?
If so, you'll find there is more variation in E7 tariffs than in single-rate ones. Do you know how much electricity you typically use each year on the day rate, and how much on night rate?

Yes, I am on economy seven and have electricity only with storage heaters and an immersion tank
Are there any smaller firms that offer the best prices for economy seven? As comparing the big players seems to be very little variation

Looking at the rates I think I’ll switch just for the winter to make the most of the one that has the lowest night rates and switch back when the heating is in not needed
Approximately, I spend £1000 electricity per year, I don’t know usage(As OVO doesn’t easily Break it down by usage clearly, See attached photos)  but can say that I only use the storage heaters three months per year 

QrizB

pw23 said:

Are there any smaller firms that offer the best prices for economy seven? As comparing the big players seems to be very little variation

That's a surprise, in many regions there's some variation in E7 rates between the big companies.

Using my region as an example:

• Octopus: 34.99p/kWh day, 14.56p/kWh night, 48.05p/day SC
• EDF: 36.54p/kWh day, 12.43p/kWh night, 49.98p/day SC
• BG: 34.75p/kWh day, 14.90p/kWh night, 49.98p/day SC

So in my region if you use far more electricity at night than in the daytime, you're likely to save money with EDF. If you use more daytime, either BG or Octopus (noting that Octopus's discounted SC will also have an effect).

pw23

You're right, these are the kind of numbers I'm seeing in the comparison I just thought they were minimal, incorrectly 

QrizB

pw23 said:

You're right, these are the kind of numbers I'm seeing in the comparison I just thought they were minimal, incorrectly 

Depending on your pattern of use, you might save £50-£100 a year by switching. Not huge numbers but probably worth looking at.

Also, some suppliers (eg. Octopus) offer a referral scheme where you and a friend-or-relative can both get a small bill credit. Again, not huge amount but worth factoring in.

pw23

Please see attached table below . I just created, comparing the big six firms unit rates , with my current provider OVO  

on average, with the storage heaters on I currently use per night  15.5kwh) 

as well as my peak usage of 2 kwh

so can someone confirm whether my calculations are correct that by switching to EDF I would save approximately 7.5p per kwh for the ninth rates, but at the same time it would cost me 7.5p more for the day Rate
but as I clearly use much more electricity at off peak times that I would be best to switch

 Please see attached a table. I just created, comparing the big six firms unit rays, with my current provider at the top.

As I will now be using the storage heaters for 6 hours per night (using 15.5kwh) 
as well askmy peak date usage of 2k

so can someone confirm whether my calculations are correct there by switching to EDF I would save approximately 7.5p per KWHFor the ninth rates, but at the same time it would cost me 7.5p more for the day Rate
but as I clearly use much more electricity during Off. peak times that I would be best to switch to EDF, Well, at least for the winter

Or is anyone aware of other firms that offer more competitive pricing than EDF, Well, at least for the winter

QrizB

pw23 said:

so can someone confirm whether my calculations are correct there by switching to EDF I would save approximately 7.5p per KWHFor the ninth rates, but at the same time it would cost me 7.5p more for the day Rate

but as I clearly use much more electricity during Off. peak times that I would be best to switch to EDF, Well, at least for the winter

That would be my undestanding from the table you have posted, yes. Assuming 2kWh of oeak-rate electricity and 15.5kWh of off-peak:

• With OVO, your bill will be £3.95 a day
• With WDF, your bill will be £2.96 a day

You'd be saving about £1 a day by switching to EDF.

pw23

Sorry, my energy usage with OVO Was incorrect, the correct numbers should've been
Peak, usage , = 7.5 KWh

Off peak , = 15.5 KWh

Thanks, I wrongfully thought Scottish Power was more expensive for me than EDF
Before I commit, are there any other companies I should be comparing to, besides these big six? Or like someone else mentioned these Big firms are the ones to compare with as the smaller ones have gone down 

If Scottish Power are my best option, does anyone know of or have any referral discounts/switching bonus?

QrizB

Sorry, that was my typo. I should've written EDF not SP!

I've now edited the post.

QrizB

You can do the daily cosrcomparison yourself using a little bit of spreadsheet maths.

In column E, next to each tariff, put your daily peak electricity use.

In column F, put your daily off-peak use.

Column G is where we put the formula. In G1, type =B1*E1+C1*F1+D1 and it should calculate your daily cost of you stay with OVO.

Copy the cell and plaster it into G2. You should get the same formula but all the 1s will become 2s. It will calculate the daily cost with Octopus.

Carry on copying the formula down column G until you have got costs for all the tariffs.