Economy 7 and Smart Meter (Scottish Power)

LuckyAli

Hello, I'm after some advice please. 
I'm currently on an Economy 7 tariff, we no longer have storage heaters but we do have a water tank that is heated throughout the night on the lower tariff and then we use that hot water throughout the day. 
I understand some meters are being switched off in June, and while I don't think we have that type of meter I have been thinking about coming off the Economy 7 tariff and going onto a standard rate one. I understand that I'll already pay a slightly higher day rate because I get the lower rate at night. 
My question is; Scottish Power are pushing for us to have a smart meter installed, and then we can allegedly decide if we want to go onto a standard flat (one cost) rate, or stay on Economy 7.  Is that right? Having looked at other forums online, it seems other energy companies can switch you from Economy to a standard tariff without having to install a smart meter. I don't know what to do! Thanks in advance for any comments / advise. 
A 

Gerry1

Ditch & Switch.  SP have a very poor rating. 

Try a Which? recommended supplier such as Octopus who now have more customers than British Gas.  Get a referral code from a friend or relative and you share £100 as well !

QrizB

LuckyAli said:

My question is; Scottish Power are pushing for us to have a smart meter installed, and then we can allegedly decide if we want to go onto a standard flat (one cost) rate, or stay on Economy 7.  Is that right?

Yes, that is correct. A smart meter will support a flare rate tariff, or E7, or a huge range of alternative tariffs, and can be switched between tariffs remotely without requiring a further meter replacement.

LuckyAli said:

Having looked at other forums online, it seems other energy companies can switch you from Economy to a standard tariff without having to install a smart meter.

That is also true. A cooperative supplier can bill an E7 meter at a single rate.

LuckyAli said:

I don't know what to do! Thanks in advance for any comments / advise.

Get a smart meter and join the millions of people who enjoy the benefits they bring.

EssexHebridean

Once you have a smart meter then the switch from dual rate (E7) to single rate is straightforward. As things stand at the moment, although there is no reason why you wouldn’t be able to get billed on a single rate tariff, some suppliers seem to be happier to do this than others.

Scot_39

You can switch to single rate on many older meter installs, and you can with most suppliers on even vanilla e7 ( despite Ofgem not including them in with other restricted meters).
With old meters they just bill the 2 readings at one rate.
With a communicating smart meter the meter can be reprogrammed in some cases remotely - but beware if you are reliant on meter switched restricted time supply.

The tariff is only one side of metering, how it then might  interact with nsh and hw tank immersion circuits and control another.

Do you have a meter driven time witched supply - active for the 7 hours only - supplying your hot water tank (and old nsh) consumer unit ?
SP do a whole raft of multirate type tariffs - not just vanilla e7.  Many are rts metered tariffs - which might be why SP are pushing the smart meter  / June date type comms.
Other suppliers however seem to be including all non smart e7 in their mail shots.
Check the list here for their full list inc legacy rts mix
https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-toolkit/electric-heating

You don't say how you now heat - only no nsh.

Have you checked your cuurent annual % off peak use against total.  Depending on supplier / region  you might only need c35% off peak for e7 to work out cheaper than single rate.
As a low heat user - my HW alone - tank plus 1 shower takes me over that.  Always in summer but even annually.  A tank fed shower - with more than 1 person - might be non trivial share of annual use for many other homes.
But if your now using electric panel heaters rather than nsh - on e7 day rate - that's potentialky undesirable.

But the e7 vs single rate type choice - that ultimately comes down your % night energy use  and tariff rate balance.  And day night rates vary greatly between suppliers in some if not all regions.
So work out your average price vs your regional single rate.

Smart meters - Ive had for years - originally restrictive smets1 but now dcc integrated - and they work well in most areas of uk ih most homes - but ask any of your neighbours if have them working if in doubt.
[Although a relative who lives rural area had to wait years after me for new network mast to get a signal, so was delayed getting his smart meter installed but even he and his neighbours now reliably connected.]

With smart you can access not only e7 or single rate - but more modern smart tariffs - ones like Octopus Cosy for ashp or central boilers or Snug for nsh - making them cheaper to run.  Tomato do something similar to Cosy type 3 rates a day iirc too. 
Tariffs only available to smart meters able to report daily use in 1/2 hourly slots.
As are some of the best EV charging  rates if thinking of getting one