how do i go about removing an economy 7 meter?

sevenredpoppies

notbritishgas wrote: »

I think you will find that not all companies will do as cardew and dell suggest (however logical and easy it would be!)
My MiL was in the same situation as you but with Atlantic, I arranged for the E7 to be converted to normal but they would not add the 2 readings together, instead said they would change the meter (20 min job) at NO COST. Job well done.

I had gas central heating installed in 2006 and before this had night storage heaters and an economy 7 meter. I phoned up British Gas after the installation of the gas central heating to inquire about changing the meter and was told that it would cost me £60 to change the meter and to be honest it wouldn't make much difference anyway as it worked itself out the same as a normal meter. My electricity bills are still high despite having no storage heaters now and I'm thinking that the information varies from company to company and either none of them have a clue, or they just can't be bothered to explain it properly.

Cardew

It would appear that 'withabix' has deleted all his posts on this thread!!

espresso

Cardew wrote: »

It would appear that 'withabix' has deleted all his posts on this thread!!

Before deleting the posts, withabix did post saying that he would return his eletricsave/owl to B&Q and thanked you and I for the info provided. Don't understand why he felt it necessary to remove all posts on the subject though, as others could have benefited from this thread even though it was getting off topic.

melie3

hi all,
i just dont understand the econ7 thing. we have lived in our house for 12 yrs with an econ 7 meter. our current supplier is southern electric.
i have gas warm air heating. the thing we have on econ 7 is the immersion heater. right, i never knew that daytime electric would be more on this tarrif, or that you can even change the tariff? we have a prepayment meter which i have to credit with at least £90 p/m. £20 is being taken out of this to repay a debt though. still £70 is a LOT of money to us at the moment. im a stay at home mum. i mainly do the washing in the day. maybe 2 washes a day sometimes. tumble dry it after as cant get it all dry with 3 kids. im guessing tariffworks if no ones home all day!! advice would be great please

Cardew

melie3 wrote: »

hi all,
i just dont understand the econ7 thing. we have lived in our house for 12 yrs with an econ 7 meter. our current supplier is southern electric.
i have gas warm air heating. the thing we have on econ 7 is the immersion heater. right, i never knew that daytime electric would be more on this tarrif, or that you can even change the tariff? we have a prepayment meter which i have to credit with at least £90 p/m. £20 is being taken out of this to repay a debt though. still £70 is a LOT of money to us at the moment. im a stay at home mum. i mainly do the washing in the day. maybe 2 washes a day sometimes. tumble dry it after as cant get it all dry with 3 kids. im guessing tariffworks if no ones home all day!! advice would be great please

If you have gas heating, it might be that Economy 7 is not the best tariff for you; in fact from your usage it almost certainly will not be.

All electricity used in the 7 hours at night will be at the cheap rate' with your immersion having the heaviest consumption.

You should obviously try to get off a pre-pay tariff and on to an internet based tariff(Southern Electricity's is a good one) where you pay by DD.

If you can't get off pre-pay then you should look at Ebico as they charge the same for all payment methods.

And get off Economy 7!

melie3

when we first moved in we had the prepay meters, then a few yrs ago decided to go on dd. thats how then i incurred a debt of £270!!! so back to prepay. it says its not a good time to switch, would you still agree that i should switch to ebico now then? and do i just say i dont want econ 7 too?
kind thanks

Cardew

melie3 wrote: »

when we first moved in we had the prepay meters, then a few yrs ago decided to go on dd. thats how then i incurred a debt of £270!!! so back to prepay. it says its not a good time to switch, would you still agree that i should switch to ebico now then? and do i just say i dont want econ 7 too?
kind thanks

Without knowing how much gas and electricity you use(in kWh) and the area you live it is not possible to give you an answer.

From your earlier post it seems pretty certain that you should not be on Economy 7(i.e. Gas heating and lots of appliance use in the day) so you can change that with your current supplier.

There is a round of price increases in the pipeline for all companies it would appear. Nobody knows who will be best after things settle down.

Ebico are good for low usage customers(which you are not) and pre-pay customers(which you are)

Obviously my advice would be get away from pre-pay as it costs more and limits your options; but I appreciate with your 'history' that may be difficult.

I think my best advice(assuming you will remain on pre-pay) would be to change from E7 to a normal tariff now and then wait until the situation has stabilised regarding price rises to see if Ebico or another company is better for you.

melie3

well, contacted southern electric, who said i shouldnt be on this kind of meter.. doh!! and are changing it 25/1 so hopefully will save a little. so so glad i came across this thread, what with possible more increases, and my ever decreasing credit on meter.
thanks for advice

wannaberich41

Originally Posted by wannaberich41
weve not got storage heaters. were on gas heating. just looked at a years bills on electric as follows.

feb 07 day 1112 kwh used
night 248 kwh used
charges for this are
primary 229 kwh at 18.37p
secondary 883 kwh at 9.93
night 248 kwh at 4.26

May 07 day 713 kwh
night 179 kwh
charges primary 168 kwh 18.37p
secondary 545 kwh at 9.93
night 179 kwh at 4.26

Aug 07 Day 787 kwh
night 197 kwh
charges primary 227 kwh at 18.28p
secondary 560 kwh at 9.88
night 197 kwh at 4.24

nov 07 day 800 kwh
night 202 kwh
charges primary 224 kwh 18.28p
secondary 576 kwh 9.88p
night 202 kwh 4.24p

Not sure what the primary and secondary mean?

Should i change the tariff being im on gas heating and gas cooker?

We do work so heating isn't on until we get home unless its the school holidays. And it is only the basic electrical things that are left on all the time. fridge, freezer , alarm clock.
you advise would be gratefully appreciated.

Cardew wrote: »

Firstly primary units(called tier 1) are higher priced units charged in lieu of a daily standing charge - normally 900 units a year.

You use approx 25% of your consumption on E7 rates so it is doubtful if it makes financial sense to be on E7. The break-even point varies by company and area but(as stated above) it is normally around 30% E7 usage.

I am surprised you get your E7 consumption as high as 25%, unless you use an immersion heater for hot water and/or you get up very early/go to bed late.

We do not have our immersion on because im aware this costs more money. and i think it is broken becuase we had run out of hot water the other day from the tank and turned on the immersion because it woul have been quicker but we didn't get any hot water still.

Do you think i should get in touch with eon and tell them i do not use the e7?
will i get a reduced bill ?
i don't put anything on during the night incase they flood or catch fire. washing machine would possibley be turned on at about 6.30 in the morning.

should i also change suppliers?

your help would be very much appreciated.