morning, as i have just moved flats, i am on the standard tariff with british gas. so looking to change suppliers and tariffs, as there are about a million out there, my head is beginning to hurt. different prices, day rates, night rates, daily charges etc. just need some recommendations of decent price suppliers. (i would say we use most electricity in the evenings many thanks
I too am interested in this topic as I have just moved from PAYG electric to the the standard meter and await being put on any sort of tariff by British Gas as according to them it takes 28 days from meter change to sort something out. According to British Gas they only have 4 tariffs now as I believe there was legislation brought in too stop the big six energy companies confusing us plebs with hundreds of different tariffs.
Generally the cheapest tariffs are direct debit/paperless ones (due to discounts, and cheaper rates). As you use electricity mostly in the evenings and live in a flat I'm guessing you have electric storage heaters as your source of heating? If so, and your usage is a minimum of 60/40 day/night usage then you'll be best off going on an economy 7 tariff and just try and save as much energy use till the night rate comes on to save more money. The best thing to do is check comparison sites really.
Been with scottish power for a few years now, they keep having the best deal for my area, their phone line guys have always been helpful with me, I have never had an issue that has caused me problems.
https://cheapenergyclub.moneysavingexpert.com/ Sign up here, put in your usage and it'll show you the cheapest tariffs. Some even have £30 cashback You can put in your energy usage by cost or by kWh (unit of energy) - knowing your kWh will give a better illustration of tariff cost. If you don't know your usage in kWh, call up your current supplier and ask for it. They have to give it to you so don't let them fob you off!
No normal electric heaters flat is pretty new. Only 8 years old. Don't night rates start at 10pm or something similar?
It is usually either 11.00pm to 6.00am, 12.00am to 7.00am or 1.00am to 8.00am. It varies depending on where you live in the country and which energy supplier you're with. Having a cheaper night-rate means you will have a more expensive day-rate. So unless you use more than 40% of your energy at night (elec storage heaters) it is generally more expensive to have an dual-rate meter. edit: Unless you (or previous owners) requested an dual-rate (economy 7) meter to be fitted you won't have one in a modern property.
Hope this isn't to much of a thread derail, but what's peoples thoughts on the fixed price schemes most energy companies seem to offer.
Works great for us where the gas was concerned. Cheaper by quite a bit than the greedy British Gas and enables you to know exactly what you need to pay each month.
I recently switched from Eon to GB Energy Supply and saved myself around £300 a year (electricity only - i don't have gas)
Just checked the prices.. They seem decent.. Been looking at flow energy as well.. Bout the same prices
I'm in the process of switching from British Gas to EOn. Last year I paid just over £1000 on gas and electric to heat and run my 3 bed link-detatched house. BG is looking to rise their prices next year to almost £1100. Looked around and USwitch collective switch is able to offer EOn for about £850 fixed price this year. So I'm in the process of switching to them. As a gas central heating household, I have calculated we use less than 10% of electricity at night. So although we have economy7 meter, I insisted to be put on single-rate electricity. As said, economy7 is only worth it for storage heaters in flats. (although I'm considering plug-in hybrids for my commute, so this might change) Regarding smart energy meters. I was offered it by British Gas, but I was thinking to switch to EOn. Currently EOn said smart energy meters are not compatible between suppliers, meaning BG smart meter can't auto-upload readings to EOn at the moment. Worth checking before you switch!
So I ended with Flow energy if anyone wanted to know.. Fix prices until next year. No exit fee, decent tariff prices and low standing charges.. Oh and when called them, they answered the phone in about a minute! Thought I will give one of the littler guys a go instead of the big six
