independant gas transporter *HELP!*

Derek_Duval

I have always used british gas & powergen as my suppliers & finally got round to switching. I applied to Atlantic Electric & Gas, and received this email. >:(

[glow=blue,2,300]Thank you for your swift response and the faxed confirmation of the supply number for '** ***** Road, **** ***'.

Unfortunately it would appear that the supply of gas to your property is owned by an independant gas transporter (IPGT), this can be determined by the gas supply (MPRN) number you have provided starting with '74'.

In order for Atlantic to supply gas to your home we would have to have a contract with the IPGT to supply gas through their pipes, as we deal mainly with Transco, we would be unable to offer you are competitive rates.

If you wish to gain a quote or enquire further please call 0870 013 2080.

I apologise for any incovenience this may cause.

Kind regards[/glow]


I have searched the forums & found little about it, except that it seems that suppliers other than british gas are likely to add a surcharge. My house is less than 4 years old (I beleive the problem is just with newer houses). Any advice where to try or what to do next? Anyone else experianced this problem?

pak2

the '74' key on the mpr is true, at least they were able to be informative and correct with their information.

Yes, newer homes are primarily linked to this prolem, yet 'AGAS' or 'ELF' as it was then and 'EDF' as i think they are called now has provided local gas mains for years.

The problem is possibley set to get worse as 5 of the original 8 areas that Transco own are due to be sold. this may mean that some company will not sign up to IPGT supply whole areas.

Your correct that British gas is one of the only suppliers not to have an additianal charge for supplying on a IPGT network.

Not sure this will help you find a cheaper supplier but at least it confirms your info from Atlantic.

You could give Energywatch a ring and ask to talk to LOON, he seems to know lots of things about this industry maybe he'll help you......LoL

Pak

Derek_Duval

Thanks for the reply Pak Man.
I Managed to find another supplier that could supply without an additional charge - scottish power. I've gone for the online account, dual fuel, just got to get the meter changed from economy 7 to standard, we were only using about 10% energy in the cheap period (we couldn't get into the swing of using dishwasher, tumble dryer, & washing machine at night & we don't have storage heaters), so should help to save loads more, infact on the comparision website the savings per year were only £10 less.
The tread about sp gives mixed views, but they seem very good compared to some suppliers & I don't have much choice of suppliers anyway.

Wobbly_Nobbly

Derek

I guess that, like me, your initial "enthusiasm" with SP may soon dry-up, since I have just received a letter from SP advising that, as my property is served by an IGT, that I now have to pay an additional fee (77p per week).

Methinks that this may make SP not as financially attractive as it first was - the problem is that sites such as U-Switch don't take account of any IGT fees, so any comparison I perform on their site is a bit useless.

Cheers

trolleyed

I have the same problem - none of the cost comparison websites take account of our predicament. It only seems to affect people who live in new houses...

Any help gratefully received. I am currently with EDF and ScottishPower.

Cheers

trolleyed

lisyloo

I don't think the following companies charge for a independent gas transporter.
However please check for yourself before switching as this comes from other posts so I can't guarantee the accuracy or subsequent changes - still it's somewhere to start.

British gas
EDF
Ebico (note imminnent rises expected)
Companies in the scottish and southern group e.g. southern electric.

Utility warehouse DO now charge since 1st May 2006.
It's in very tiny print on the May price list.

It only seems to affect people who live in new houses

This is because it's only recently that the market was de-regulated.
Now other companies (other than transco) can compete for new business.
IGT offer cheaper installl prices and higher ongoing prices.
Guess which one the builders go for?
You will probably find that other components in your new house are similar, for example our gas man told us that our boiler is cheap to buy but expensive on parts.
The developers will always go for the cheapest initial costs and don't care about ongoing costs.
Everything in your new home will be done th cheapest way.
The builders aren't concerned about your ongoing costs.

k10_2

Not sure if this helps anyone. My 4 year old house is served by British Gas Connections, an IGT.

In November 2004 I was with Scottish Power when they began charging a higher rate for IGT customers. I moved to London Energy (now EDF) in December 2004 and they agreed to waive the extra IGT costs provided that took their Dual Fuel tarif. They have done ever since.

It made them far cheaper than anyone else.

Derek_A.

Ebico may not show a price for an IGT but Southern has charged me 12p a day plus vat.

Thats a hefty £44 a year, it needs to be taken into account when deciding who to change to.

It makes you wonder if all these monies are going to the IGT.

bill888

I phoned Southern Electric about switching to them and raised the query about IGT. They said they no longer levy the daily IGT charge since May 2006. But then added there was a 7p per day 'System Usage charge' when they put my address through their system to double check ??!!

Ebico replied to an email I sent a while back saying they don't make a charge for IGT, but I notice in their terms & conditions they reserve the right to vary the gas price for non-Transco customers.

fwiw, Energywatch have published a report on this subject. Search for 'Energywatch IGT' on yahoo.co.uk and it should be the first PDF file you see in the results.