Energy Tariffs

[Moxi]

To take advantage of E7 do I need to have my meter changed ? (my meter is like me, standard and dumb )

Moxi

[nowty]

To take advantage of E7 do I need to have my meter changed ? (my meter is like me, standard and dumb )

Moxi

Unless you already have a dumb two rate meter, then the answer is yes. Some people have a two rate meter because they used to be on E7 but the supplier allowed them to change to a standard tariff and they simply add the two registers up.

You need either a E7 two rate meter or a smart meter, otherwise how does your leccy supplier know how much you are using overnight vs daytime. But there is anecdotal evidence that not all suppliers will allow a smart meter to be used on a E7 tariff.

[Oldgreybeard]

To take advantage of E7 do I need to have my meter changed ? (my meter is like me, standard and dumb )

Moxi

Yes, you need a two rate meter, or a smart meter that can handle Economy 7 (not all can, easily).

Edited to add: Accidentally cross posted with Nowty . . .

[Moxi]

Hmmm I was afraid this was going to be the answer - I'm resistant to the smart meter concept only because I don't trust the intentions of the suppliers and the Gov.

I suppose I can ask if my supplier would fit a two rate dumb meter instead and hope they say yes.

Food for thought - cheers

Moxi

[openspaceman]

Hmmm I was afraid this was going to be the answer - I'm resistant to the smart meter concept only because I don't trust the intentions of the suppliers and the Gov.

Which is why if my solarmax inverter should ever play up it will be replaced with something that will run islanded, in the meanwhile I'm still waiting for an electrician to fit a changeover switch for my generator.

[Oldgreybeard]

Previously I've mentioned just how hard it can be to find the tariffs that energy suppliers offer. A few (a very few) actually publish their tariffs, some of those do hide the location of the tariffs pretty well, though. Some suppliers just point blank refuse to make their tariffs readily accessible, though, in that they insist on potential customers going through a "get a quote" system, and then very often don't give a quote stating that they aren't taking on new customers, or that there is no advantage in switching suppliers at the moment. I've found this infuriating, as, because we use mostly off-peak electricity, I need to be able to see what all suppliers are offering, particularly their off-peak rate.

I contacted OFGEM, as they had been helpful in sorting out an issue with SSE, and asked why suppliers don't make their tariffs easy to find, and also suggested that OFGEM might wish to collate all the tariffs from suppliers and publish them on their website, as OFGEM must have sight of every tariff, if they didn't they wouldn't be able to ensure suppliers were complying with the price cap regulations.

I had a reply from OFGEM. In essence they say that suppliers are under an obligation to inform existing customers of all available tariffs, but are not under any obligation to make their tariffs known to anyone that is not one of their customers. OFGEM also stated that, although they hold all the tariff information for all suppliers, they have no intention of making that publicly available. Their exact words on this were:

You also asked about Ofgem having a list or comparison table of tariffs but we are unable to provide this information as Ofgem’s role does not extend to setting energy prices, or communicating information that should be directly accessible, from the relevant Supplier.

The only glimmer of light in this daft situation is that OFGEM have also said that suppliers should accept new customers that request a supply, and that because of this obligation all suppliers should give available tariff information to prospective new customers on request. OFGEM have accepted that many suppliers are trying to avoid taking on new customers (notwithstanding the sentence above) and so they may well only provide tariff information over the phone. This is the relevant quote by OFGEM:

It may the case that suppliers are not currently actively marketing for new customers, however if you speak to a supplier by telephone, then as set out in the Standard License Conditions (SLCs) listed above, a supplier should offer a domestic supply.

The final part of the reply from OFGEM really just shows that they are a bit out of touch, as none of the price comparison sites is working properly at the moment and those sites seem to be struggling to get accurate tariff data just as I have been:

Ofgem encourages customers to switch to a more competitive tariff or supplier to save more money if they are not satisfied with the tariff offered by their current supplier. You are free to contact suppliers directly or via several Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) available to review their options.

All very well encouraging customers to switch to a more competitive tariff, but if those tariffs are effectively hidden from view then the process of switching is far from easy.

Right now, all I want to know are the Southern Region standard variable Economy 7 electricity tariffs from all suppliers, so I can see which is the most competitive, in line with OFGEM's aspiration. Out of the 71 licenced domestic suppliers I can only find tariffs from 7 of them, and just getting those 7 tariffs took hours of digging around. It seems that if I am to really find the best tariff I need to make in excess of 60 telephone calls, a process that, based on my attempts so far, is likely to take many days of sitting in a phone queue.

Great shame that OFGEM won't just publish all the tariff information they hold. That would make life a great deal easier, although it would also clearly show the most expensive tariffs as well, and they might be from suppliers that are slipping donations to the government, so it wouldn't do to upset them. . .

[spread-tee]

Come back CEGB all is forgiven......................

[Moxi]

+1 spread tee, they were bad at times, but this lot is consistently awful!

Moxi

[ALAN/ALAN D]

C.E.G.B.
When I worked there. We called it.
Controlled Espionage in Great Britton.

[Marcus]

Hmm. Yes, I've been watch this thread - i tried moving tariffs in the summer to another supplier who did have a better tariff than octopus - they agrees on the phone to start the switch - never heard anything from them.

octopus put in a smart meter for me about 2 months ago and when i enquired about going on a smart TOU tariff like e7 (intelligent octopus) they said i was better off staying with the current fixed 'dumb' tariff (48p st ch and about 47p/unit iirc).

Tried emailing them again following the October price cap and there's been no reply , despite their claim to reply within hours.

You would think now i have a smart meter they would want to put me on a TOU tariff, but I'm getting the feeling the current energy market is being used as an excuse to block users from moving to a tariff that works better for them. And ofgem seem to be doing as little as possible to help the consumer.