so is now the time to switch from southern electric?

want2bmortgage3

i'm on the basic southern electric plan with a DD for gas of £25 and £21 for electric each month.

is now the time to switch ??? can i find a tariff with no standing charge, as i am a low user ?

laurenzo99

You said you are with southern electric- is this scottish and southern through hydro electric?

want2bmortgage3

no i don't think its scottish and southern. as far as i know its just southern electric and southern gas?? i think they are the ones with a high customer service rating. but i dont care about that if i can save some money!

andyc001

EDF currently beat British Gas an Gas prices and are about the same for Elec, but will price fix until 31/12/09 and also say that there are 3 more price rises due this year, not sure how true this is though. By the way I live in Plymouth,Devon, so not sure if this is available everywhere.

SwanJon

Scottish and Southern use a few brands, but they are all the same company.
In Scotland they are Scottish Hydro
In England they are Southern
In Wales they are Swalec
They also have the Atlantic brand.

Most suppliers offer a no standing charge option, but usually then charge in two tiers so most people pay the same. A low user might benefit.
If you look ata comparison site, it should show you how much you'd save (if anything) on a no standing charge option.

Ken68

Low users suffer badly on tiered tariffs, and if you switch off the gas in summer, as I do, a standing charge is a no no.
Surprised Ebico hasn't come up on your comparison list.

penrhyn

Its possible that you could do slightly better with Ebico, best this for you is that Ebico's Equipower and Equigas are administered by Southern Electric.
For the low user the advantage is a flat rate for all units used, no standing charge and no penalities if you don't want to pay by DD.
But you need to do your own comparisons using you actual usage figures, NOT how much you pay per month.

mute_posting

penrhyn wrote: »

But you need to do your own comparisons using you actual usage figures, NOT how much you pay per month.

I would definitely second this advice - do all comparrisons on units and NOT on DD ammount.

MP

want2bmortgage3

whats the best way of working out the kwh per year as i've only been in the property 4/5 months

mute_posting

what useage have you used in that time?

If you give that someone may be able to apply a "fiddle factor" to those 4/5 winter months to work out your likely annual consumption.

Alternetavely, I think the comparrison sites usually have an option for "I don't know or No bill handy" they will then ask you some basic questions to estimate your usage, i.e. what type of house, how many people/bedrooms, how you cook etc...

MP

want2bmortgage3

hey, i've chosen the option of 'dont know my usage' then selected low user on both as i live alone in a flat. then i selected 'no standing charge' and order by 'price'.
npower (online 10 paperless) has come out the cheapest, saving £52 a year, closely followed by ebico equidual saving £46 a year.