Switching to a single rate

nicetea

I would like to switch to a single rate for electricity with a new company.Does anyone know if there are any companies which will do this without forcing you to have a smart meter like Octopus and EON do.Thanks

Netexporter

Why would having a smart meter prevent you from choosing a single rate tariff?

Mobtr

nicetea said:

I would like to switch to a single rate for electricity with a new company.Does anyone know if there are any companies which will do this without forcing you to have a smart meter like Octopus and EON do.Thanks

If you don’t want your meter exchanging you would need to switch suppliers with the way you’re meter is as present, I’m assuming it’s Economy 7 and then see if they will bill you as a single rate.  Still need to give 2 reads but both registers billed on single rate prices. 

It’s easier just to get a smart meter fitted to be honest. 

BarelySentientAI

Every supplier in the country has been told that customers need smart meters.

maisie_cat

We have 2 old meters and a single rate with British Gas

[Deleted User]

nicetea said:

I would like to switch to a single rate for electricity with a new company.Does anyone know if there are any companies which will do this without forcing you to have a smart meter like Octopus and EON do.Thanks

Hi, this does beg the obvious question about why you don't want a smart meter. There's quite a lot of outdated and/or wrong information on the Internet and social media about smart meters, so if you want to share your reasons for not wanting a smart meter folks here will be able to confirm if the information you have is correct. 

The nutty conspiracy theories about smart meters have by and large been debunked by now but there's still quite a lot of misinformation based on issues that used to be true but no longer are (and in some cases never have really been true). There are also a lot of misleading statistics bandied about. On the flip side there are of course still reasons for not wanting a smart meter that are based on sound facts.

In answer to your specific question, energy companies are under huge pressure to complete the smart meter roll out with financial penalties if they do not. For this reason, most (if not all) of the attractive tarriffs I've looked at are only offered on the condition you have a smart meter fitted, and this is especially the case for new customers.

nicetea

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9zqn77ezno#:~:text=Almost four million smart meters in Great Britain are not,from a minority of suppliers.

Netexporter

The very worst that can happen is that the new smart meter is unable to communicate. In that case you can still read it manually, so you are no worse off. It is overwhelmingly likely that it will work perfectly and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

TheElectricCow

nicetea said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9zqn77ezno#:~:text=Almost four million smart meters in Great Britain are not,from a minority of suppliers.

In which case with a smart meter you would, at worst, be in the exact same position you are now, just on a single rate tariff as you wish to be.

BarelySentientAI

nicetea said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9zqn77ezno#:~:text=Almost four million smart meters in Great Britain are not,from a minority of suppliers.

These news articles are, as usual, doing more harm than good by trying to simplify several issues into a single headline.

Those 4 million meters include every reported case of the in-home display being missing or not updated to the latest tariff, every case of the meter being accurate but unable to report due to a lack of signal (exactly what you seem to want anyway OP), and a tiny number of alleged inaccurate meter readings of which, on investigation, a substantial proportion turned out to be accurate and it was readings coming from the wrong register etc. 

When it gets reported as "OMG, 4 million people massively overcharged because of dodgy meters!!!!1!!1!!!", I'm not surprised that people who don't spend their time on here reading about the system get worried about it.

nicetea

Thanks to everyone for their replies.My problem is that I can't have a smart meter where I live but wanted to know whether there is an energy company who would and could switch me to single rate even after they accept I can't have a smart meter fitted once I signed up to them which Bulb and Utility Point did before EDF took over my account and switched me to economy 7.I contacted EDF immediately after this switch and several times since asking for a single rate and even though they said they would, they have never done this.My night storage heaters do not work and my Landlord will not replace them and if I complain I will just get a no fault Section 21 and end up homeless.I therefore have to pay a lot more on a higher day rate as I have to use fan and convector heaters to stay warm in the Winter