On Income Support and I am on BritishGas Essential tarif but Who Else is there ?

cuddlein

Hi my mother and i both are getting duel fuel with British Gas.

We are led to believe that we are on the cheapest tarif called, "essentials".

Here is my last 2 bills.

gas

First 351.00 kWh at 4.192 pence
Next 3533.18 kWh at 2.314 pence

Electricity

First 86 kWh at 13.561 pence
Next 72 kWh at 8.844 pence

First 138 kWh at14.878 pence
First 83 kWh at10.002 pence

Is there any energy supplier out there that we should be looking at moving to ?, in particular, due to the huge energy rises that are all over the news lately.

I have checked some of the price comparison sites on the internet but none of them mention the, "Essential" tarifs and so it is a difficult place to start.

We are both begining to feel like there is no option but to stick with British Gas and it's projected 40% energy rises will hit us extremely hard, do these other energy companies have the equivalent of the British Gas Essential Tarif ? or even a cheaper tarif ?

I heard something on the radio about how Gordon Brown was going to make energy suppliers have a tarif for people on income support and make it easily obtainable or something.

thanks

Cardew

I believe the principle of the BG Essentials tariff is not that is cheaper, but simply that you don't get penalised for not paying by Direct Debit, having a pre-pay meter, or not having dual fuel.

There is political pressure being applied to the Utility companies to have cheap tariffs for those in 'fuel poverty'(more than 10% of the household income spent on fuel) but I don't believe there are really good 'buys' available at the moment.

gregrichards

cuddlein wrote: »

Hi my mother and i both are getting duel fuel with British Gas.

We are led to believe that we are on the cheapest tarif called, "essentials".

Here is my last 2 bills.

gas

First 351.00 kWh at 4.192 pence
Next 3533.18 kWh at 2.314 pence

Electricity

First 86 kWh at 13.561 pence
Next 72 kWh at 8.844 pence

First 138 kWh at14.878 pence
First 83 kWh at10.002 pence

Is there any energy supplier out there that we should be looking at moving to, in particular, due to the huge energy rises that are all over the news lately.

I have checked some of the price comparison sites on the internet but none of them mention the, "Essential" tarifs and so it is a difficult place to start.

We are both begining to feel like there is no option but to stick with British Gas and it's projected 40% energy rises will hit us extremely hard, do these other energy companies have the equivalent of the British Gas Essential Tarif or even a cheaper tarif.

I heard something on the radio about how Gordon Brown was going to make energy suppliers have a tarif for people on income support and make it easily obtainable or something.

thanks

Hi Thank you for your post, it gives me an idea of what to expect when I join the Essentials Tariff soon. Your gas and electricity is cheaper than the normal british gas duel fuel rates, even click energy 5. Your getting a better deal.

It's really worrying though I'm on DLA, IB & IS and the bills are horrendous. It's terrible that elderly and sick people who cannot work are facing the choice of being cold or going hungry. Its a sad state of affairs and something should have been done a long time ago to provide affordable rates for those who need help the most.

This might sound too strong to some but some pensioners may die this year because they cannot put the heating on. The energy companies & the government will have blood on their hands if they do nothing.

Cardew

To be fair they have just increased the winter fuel payment to £250 for the elderly.

chopperharris

250 quid well thats less than a week covered for the poor old sods...do they not only get that if they in hypothermia conditions?

its a shame some are sitting there in houses just too big to heat , or even flats and living like their parents did in one bed houses....

bring back coal mines , and wood stoves , then they can go out with a 250 quid chainsaw and cut all the wood they want.

well move them into concentration camps for the elderly and finish them off faster .... they are a drain on the economy anyway.

hopefully the reader knows this is a joke , and tongue in cheek , whereas the posters comments about some dying come this winter isnt and in all rights is factual.....same thing happens in the warm countries in summer with lack of cooling.....protect the pensioner , adopt a grannie.

cuddlein

i wish i got that £250, my mum does though, i think

call me paranoid if you like but i think we are all getting royaly screwed here, however thats the way the wind is blowing these days.

Is there a cheaper company out there for gas and electricity at the moment ? or any of those energy price fixed deals about ? like the scottish power one that ended a short time ago!

SwanJon

gregrichards wrote: »

7Your gas and electricity is cheaper than the normal british gas duel fuel rates, even click energy 5. Your getting a better deal.

Due to a quirk with the billing system Essentials still has a Tier 1 threshold of 47xx (can't remember exactly), not 2680 like click and standard. It also has the equivelant of the DD discount built in, making it even more difficult to compare with standard DD.

If I get a chance I'll do some maths.

Ken68

Ebico doesn't have a tier rate and at 2.86pkwh is ideal for low users.
Start super insulating one room at a time, grants available, then make yourself a low user.
Essentials tariffs still apply if needed and if you get on the reduced rate BEFORE insulating, quids in.

shammyjack

Have look at a previous post I made regarding Southern Electrics careline tarrif.

You must spend 10% of your income on gas and electric to qualify .

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=914373&highlight=southern+electric

shammy

gregrichards

Ken68 wrote: »

Ebico doesn't have a tier rate and at 2.86pkwh is ideal for low users.
Start super insulating one room at a time, grants available, then make yourself a low user.
Essentials tariffs still apply if needed and if you get on the reduced rate BEFORE insulating, quids in.

Thank you very much for suggesting this I will definately be looking into it.