Stealth Increase for Economy 7 Customers

Chris_b2z

Comparing current Scottish Power Economy 7 unit rate vs a year ago -

                   Oct 2022     Oct 2023
Day rate      42.103         32.646        Decrease of 22.5%
Night rate    10.644         16.300        Increase of 53%

This means that households which rely on night storage heaters for heating will be facing significantly higher bills this winter even though Ofgem are telling us that energy prices are on their way down. The E7 off-peak rate has been gradually increasing throughout the warmer seasons when it would have made minimal impact.

I am referring to the Scottish Power tariff but it's probably similar with other suppliers.

Scot_39

Edit : " Suspect you are ignoring EPG discounting on the Oct 22 rates".


That Oct 22 rate was in all likelihood subject to the iirc 17.9p inc VAT EPG discount.

Making true Ofgem cap table split more like 60p peak vs 29.5p off peak.

Which then  looks a lot more consistent  cf roughly c51p SR non EPG, c34p epg compensated then - and your current rates vs c27p now (with regional variations). 

Edit 2
So true non discounted rates - 60p/29.5  vs 51p SR  then
And 32.x/16.x vs 27p SR now.


Some applied EPG discounts on both rates equally throughout, others forced to by Apr 23 billing period guidance.

dunstonh

Comparing current Scottish Power Economy 7 unit rate vs a year ago -
                   Oct 2022     Oct 2023
Day rate      42.103         32.646        Decrease of 22.5%
Night rate    10.644         16.300        Increase of 53%

The ratio between peak and off peak varies significantly across suppliers.  Some suppliers target customers with high off peak ratios.  Others target customers that have less.

The pricing is a bit like a see saw.  In the middle you have the price cap. That is the balancing point.   If you push the price down on one side, it pushes it up on the other or vice versa.

This means that households which rely on night storage heaters for heating will be facing significantly higher bills this winter even though Ofgem are telling us that energy prices are on their way down. 

Or they could shop around.   I did as my off peak ratio is around 70%.  October 22 I was with Bulb at 21.75p night and 36.755 day.  Now I am with EDF at 8.24p night and 42.12p day.
I am saving a fortune and paying about the same as I did in 2019.

If my off peak ratio was around 30%, then I would be better with a higher off peak rate and lower peak rate.

 The E7 off-peak rate has been gradually increasing throughout the warmer seasons when it would have made minimal impact.

Again, depends on the supplier.   EDF (Eastern) increased the off peak rate slightly in July.

MultiFuelBurner

EDF have featured regularly here for good economy 7 rates so have you looked at their rates for your area?

https://www.edfenergy.com/sites/default/files/dm1903_standard_variable_deemed_and_welcome_rate_card._for_customers_with_standard_e7_smart_payg_and_prepayment_meters.pdf

Chris_b2z

Scottish Power E7 off-peak electricity has remained massively discounted relative to the day rate for as long as I can remember. Normally, I would expect to pay well below 25% of the day rate but this year it has crept up to 50%.

I am not personally affected by this hike but am trying to raise awareness. Many people will switch on their storage heaters in the coming weeks without realising how much their off-peak rate has increased in the past year. In many cases it will only become apparent a few months later when the first winter bill arrives.

It's good to know that EDF are offering much more competitive off-peak rates in some regions. It would be savvy for anyone with storage heaters to shop around for the best E7 provider sooner rather than later.

dunstonh

Scottish Power E7 off-peak electricity has remained massively discounted relative to the day rate for as long as I can remember. Normally, I would expect to pay well below 25% of the day rate but this year it has crept up to 50%.

Maybe their overall customer bank uses a different ratio to you personally and their buying patterns are what SP have chosen to work on.

Or maybe that is just what they could get cost-effectively.

It would be savvy for anyone with storage heaters to shop around for the best E7 provider sooner rather than later.

Remember its not just storage heaters.  We are on Eco 7 but our heating is oil.   E7 and other multi-rate tariffs are used by other things nowadays.  In our case, an electric AGA and PHEV (soon to be EV).    EVs & PHEVs are the main growth area for off peak energy use.

But you are right.    Economy 7 is a competitive market and shopping around can lead to better deals.  However, the person needs to know their unit counts and ratio to see whether they are better with a supplier with a low/high or a high/low rate.

lohr500

Unfortunately I suspect most of the people who switch on their storage heaters oblivious to the fact that the off peak rate has changed significantly, won't be regulars on this forum.

That is until they find out when the bill arrives. Then they will be posting on here asking why their bills are so high.

As per MultiFuelBurner's comment. Anyone on E7 with Scottish Power would do well to shop around, including checking EDF's prices.

superkoopauk

How is it by stealth?  Your supplier should have written to you before each rate change along with a projection of what it means for your consumption patterns.

It's a good point about shopping around though - potentially a lot more to gain for E7 customers and very seasonal dependent so you might save significantly only over the winter

Chris_b2z

superkoopauk said:

How is it by stealth?  Your supplier should have written to you before each rate change along with a projection of what it means for your consumption patterns.

Really?

Scottish Power sent out a generic email at the beginning of September stating 'Your annual energy bill is set to reduce as your energy prices are changing'. They then go on to explain what the change of energy price cap will mean for a 'typical household'. I assume that the same email was sent to all customers.

This is completely misleading for Economy 7 customers with storage heaters (... and other heavy off-peak users).

superkoopauk

Well you should complain then - if that is all they sent then that is a breach of their licence conditions!

[Deleted User]

superkoopauk said:

Well you should complain then - if that is all they sent then that is a breach of their licence conditions!

It is a bit late to pour over Licence Conditions, but it used to be the case that supplier was only obliged to inform the customer of an increase in prices.