Economy 10 - meter database and RTS issues

BigMX5

Help!  We are in a real Catch 22

We have an Economy 10 meter which has RTS.  We are with British Gas.  The database has our meter as an Economy 7.  British Gas do not support Economy 10.  They have acknowledged that our meter is Economy 10, but said they cannot change this on the database.

We have to find a new supplier, get them to change the meter to a smart meter and change the database.  

We cannot do online quotes as they default to Economy 7 as per the database.

I have been in touch with Octopus.  They emailed to say they do support Economy 10, but when I phoned to switch, I was told not.  I have also emailed EDF to see if they can help. 

We need Economy 10 as our heating system is via an electric boiler and not night storage heaters. 

Finally, is there anywhere I can get proper tariff details (price per KW & Standing Charge) without the cost per month?  

QrizB

Octopus don't offer E10.

EDF do, and OVO do. There may be others.

There are also other smart tariffs that might work for you, like Octopus Snug & Cosy or OVO Smart Economy 9.

Ildhund

BigMX5 said:

The database has our meter as an Economy 7.  British Gas do not support Economy 10.  They have acknowledged that our meter is Economy 10, but said they cannot change this on the database. 

It's not clear what this means. There are only two types of domestic supplies recorded in the database Originally, these were  Unrestricted and Economy 7, labelled Profile Class (PC) 01 and 02 respectively. Nowadays, PC02 is used for any supply with two or more rates, so it also covers RTS systems as well as other 'economy' arrangements. It could be that BG saw PC02 and thought Economy 7, but in fact it's quite correct and there's no need to 'change the database'. 

If you look at your MPAN panels on a recent bill, you'll see the PC in the top left-hand box. The number in the next box is the Meter Timeswitch Class (MTC), which dictates the actual supply arrangements - peak and offpeak timings. I'd be surprised if that resolved to an Economy 7 plan. I'd be happy to try and decode it for you.

BigMX5 said:

We need Economy 10 ...  is there anywhere I can get proper tariff details (price per KW & Standing Charge) without the cost per month?  

As QrizB pointed out, OVO offers Economy 10 plans, but I'm not sure they'd be wild about taking on yet another RTS customer - they're having real difficulty coping with those they've already got. You can see OVO's rates on this page: Our prices | OVO Energy. The prices there are all exVAT. I crunched some of the numbers on that page for an RTS chap in Scotland; they showed that even if the typical household managed to push 75% of its consumption into the E10 offpeak hours, they would save less than £10 a month compared with the standard variable tariff. You may be better off going for E7 with the same rate for peak and offpeak on the new 5-wire smart meter you'll be asking BG to install before 30 June. Once that bridge has been crossed, you can fish around for more suitable deals elsewhere.

Alnat1

Octopus also have the Cosy tariff which has 3 off-peak slots 4-7am, 1-4pm and 10-12pm. It was created for heat pump customers but is available for those with electric boilers.

Phones4Chris

@BigMX5 EDF's E10 tariff details are here -
https://www.edfenergy.com/sites/default/files/2025-03/DM1904-Std-Var-Deemed-Welcome-ECO2020-Econ10-Apr25.pdf
Octopus have also created a Tariff called Octopus SNUG especially for people with older storage heaters where they were saying that the afternoon boost would be offered during the  "winter period" and the last I heard it wasn't clear when this period was.

@Ildhund may well be correct with what he's saying about what is showing on the database which may not need correcting, however, considering what I've seen recently on this forum, BG seem to have a track record of not correcting things on the database when there was definitely a need! So personally I would steer clear of them asap.

I think on balance I'd go to EDF for the moment, they do eventually get it right, there's a rather long-winded thread here - 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6593413/smart-meter-for-storage-heaters/

There's also a thread on Octopus SNUG with an inconclusive situation at present - 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6575726/snug-octopus-economy-7-problems/p1

BigMX5

Thanks to everyone who responded.  I think we are looking at going with the Octopus Cosy tariff.  We are considering solar panels and a battery for the future which would help providing an evening boost.