Looking to switch but sums just don't add up...

NobleSX

Hi,
I recently went to a few utilities switching sites for gas and electric and was given the good news that i could save "upto" £211. But I thought this too good to be true and did the maths - working out exactly how much i'm spending per kilowatt and how much (the new provider) would charge based on my kilowatt useage over the last year.
My findings were that I was better off where I am - with Swalec Domestic Standard Tariff.

Am I going mad or are my numbers all wrong as I just don't see how it's cheaper to switch even though the switch sites say it is...

Is it something to do with they charge you the higher rate per kilowatt every six months or only per year???

Here's my useage for period November 2007 to May 2008:
Gas= 13880.26 kWh
Electric=2200 kWh

Tariff as above SWALEC Domestic Standard - prices:
Gas:
2.56p for the first 2865
2.21p for the rest
Electric:
11.12p for the first 513
9.75p for the rest

There is a standing Charge of 13.36p going down to 11.40p
All above prices exclude 5% VAT.

We live in a 3 bed end-terrace using gas for cooking and heating.

Any help is greatly appreciated as we really do need to save money now, I'm going to pull my hair out otherwise!

Cardew

You can't get any accurate comparisons using just 6 months consumption; you must enter annual consumption in kWhs.

Also other tariffs can have have sizeable discounts for dual fuel and paying by DD etc.

If you enter 22,000kWh for your annual gas consumption and 4,000kWh for electricity, you should get some accurate figures from the comparison sites.

IKWeb

Yeah as Cardew says you get extra discounts for Dual fule, Online accounts, and also paying via DD this is where you are making the savings and not realling in the unit prices, for example Scottish & Southern only give you 6% DD discount on each bill (total 12%) British Gas give you 15% total if you have dual fule. So its things like this where you get your discounts.

NobleSX

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, that's what i did, I simply multiplied both figures by 2 and entered them in, and yes it says i could save upto £211 ish. But that's not the problem.
The problem is that when I pull out my calculator and work out my consumption, and then deduct the discount that I currently get for being a dual fuel and DD customer it works out that there's only about £2.50 in it...

Is the website simply not properly taking into consideration that i pay by dd and I'm a Dual fuel cmr? Btw, when asked by the website, I do make sure to put in that I pay by monthly DD and that I have both services with same provider.

My current service is the lowest I've seen for "per kWh" charges - it's only the standing charge bringing it up but that's only £52 per year per service!

Out of interest how many kWh's do people go through per day?

NobleSX

I'm not certain exactly how much discount they give me for being DD and DF but I believe its £21 per fuel for DF and 5% for DD overall.

Again, thanks for replying. Input greatfully received.

Cardew

NobleSX wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, that's what i did, I simply multiplied both figures by 2 and entered them in, and yes it says i could save upto £211 ish. But that's not the problem.
The problem is that when I pull out my calculator and work out my consumption, and then deduct the discount that I currently get for being a dual fuel and DD customer it works out that there's only about £2.50 in it...

Is the website simply not properly taking into consideration that i pay by dd and I'm a Dual fuel cmr? Btw, when asked by the website, I do make sure to put in that I pay by monthly DD and that I have both services with same provider.

My current service is the lowest I've seen for "per kWh" charges - it's only the standing charge bringing it up but that's only £52 per year per service!

Out of interest how many kWh's do people go through per day?

The UK average is 20,500kWh gas p.a. and 3,300kWh pa for electricity/

The normal reason for getting the wrong comparison is that for your tariff they are using a slightly different version. You must ensure that it is exactly the same version of the tariff.

However the only way to be absolutely sure is to do a 'longhand' comparison with the cheapest tariff they produce.

P.S.
Your consumption for the 6 months from Nov to May will be much higher than the other 6 months in the year.