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Thread: Energy costs up by £425

  1. #101
    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    But presumably they can deny access to particular tariffs if you don’t want the smart meter?
    Presumably, but as you note, there are ways around it.

    My past two suppliers have said they would ask, but never did. Not sure how they can get away with that, but they've definitely not tried at all!

  2. #102
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    Quote Originally Posted by hughtrimble View Post
    They have to ask, but you don't have to have one. Some word it to seem like you have to, but you don't.

    I don't know if they've sorted the issue of some smart meters going stupid when you change supplier, but hopefully they have!
    It depends on the tariff you are going on. I’ve just switched to Octopus as I’ve just bought an EV, and if I want their EV tariff, then I have to have a smart meter fitted.

  3. #103
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    Quote Originally Posted by classics View Post
    I have duel fuel with British Gas

    Gas
    Standing charge per day from 26.601p to 26.123p -0.478p
    Unit rate per kWh from 3.459p to 4.187p +0.728p estimated £70 rise per annum

    Electric
    Standing charge per day from 23.316p to 23.307p -0.009p
    Unit rate per kWh from 18.904p to 20.773p +1.869p estimated £40 rise per annum

    Previously when I thought about switching, every company wanted to put a smart meter in, does anyone know if that is still the case?
    I’m quite surprised at your annual estimate price increases. You electric is increasing much more than your gas but you expect to pay more over the year extra for your gas than your electric.
    I use far more electric than gas.

  4. #104
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    Quote Originally Posted by jaytip View Post
    I use far more electric than gas.
    That’s very unusual, I’d have thought. Do you have gas central heating?

  5. #105
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    Quote Originally Posted by hughtrimble View Post
    Presumably, but as you note, there are ways around it.

    My past two suppliers have said they would ask, but never did. Not sure how they can get away with that, but they've definitely not tried at all!
    As I said, I think they could just take you off the tariff if a smart meter is a condition of a particular deal. I’d be interested to know whether that happens and if you can just keep putting them off doing the installation.

  6. #106
    Master Alex L's Avatar
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    Just received an email from Octopus saying we use 6,927 kWh per annum and the rate from 14th October will increase from 17.3565p (per kWh) to 19.7400p (per kWh) so around a £170 annual increase. We don't have gas but already noticing the oil price is on the increase too.

  7. #107
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    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    Unfortunately, in my view anyway, seems likely to be the case. Was about to push the button on the EDF 2 1/2 year fixed and then noticed the smart meter requirement. Similarly Sainsburys (which I think is EON) although bizarrely for fixed but not standard variable tariffs.

    I did manage to get away with it a couple of years ago when I realised I’d signed up for a smart meter condition. Think they wanted to come and fit on a particular day and I said I wasn’t able to be there. They never asked again! I suspect they’re more keen these days.
    EDF don’t insist when you say you don’t want one.


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  8. #108
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    Moving across on a dual fuel tariff 12 month fix to e-on. We will be paying £230 more over 12 months but octopus would have been £520 more!

  9. #109
    What's the reluctance to fit smart meters? Octopus have asked to fit one and I agreed not giving it a second thought.
    Are they unreliable or is there another issue?
    Thanks

  10. #110
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    Quote Originally Posted by jaytip View Post
    I’m quite surprised at your annual estimate price increases. You electric is increasing much more than your gas but you expect to pay more over the year extra for your gas than your electric.
    I use far more electric than gas.
    I have GCH and a gas cooker so I expect a higher gas bill, I would assume electric would go up much more because of staying/working at home/Covid - using more electric due to watching the TV/satellite/cable, charging your phone, laptop, lights on earlier in the day, etc.

  11. #111
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    Quote Originally Posted by Velvetsnow View Post
    What's the reluctance to fit smart meters? Octopus have asked to fit one and I agreed not giving it a second thought.
    Are they unreliable or is there another issue?
    Thanks
    Allegedly variable pricing. When demand goes up so does the price per unit. It’s cheaper than building new power stations. Of course if no-one has them the electricity companies will just load shed.

  12. #112
    No they won't load shed.
    Not in domestic situations at least. Some I&c customers perhaps who will be aware of the risk before signing volume risk contracts.

    In addition huge amounts of dispatchable plant is at the behest of the system operator (pumped storage) to avoid that situation.
    Lastly, there are reserve contracts for keeping old plant available to dispatch in times of imbalance.

    It's an absolutely terrible system. I'm frankly astounded the lights have stayed on for so long.

    This is the crunch the industry has been banging on about for a decade (back when they had a spare 10gw of despatchable capacity)

    Sent from my Lenovo K12 Note using Tapatalk

  13. #113
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    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    That’s very unusual, I’d have thought. Do you have gas central heating?
    I do, but it’s not used between April and November. The only time the gas is used in the summer is for showering.

  14. #114
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    Quote Originally Posted by Velvetsnow View Post
    What's the reluctance to fit smart meters? Octopus have asked to fit one and I agreed not giving it a second thought.
    Are they unreliable or is there another issue?
    Thanks

    And they can cut off your electricity remotely.

    But variable pricing is certainly an issue.

    Nothing particularly positive here:

    https://lookaftermybills.com/blog/ad...-smart-meters/
    Last edited by David_D; 15th September 2021 at 17:00.

  15. #115
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    Quote Originally Posted by jaytip View Post
    I do, but it’s not used between April and November. The only time the gas is used in the summer is for showering.
    Must have a super-insulated house. My gas use is a big multiple of electricity.

  16. #116
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    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    Must have a super-insulated house. My gas use is a big multiple of electricity.
    Our gas use is a multiple of electricity use in KWh but the cost of electric per kWh is 5* that of gas so overall our electric bill is nearly double the gas one.


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  17. #117
    Thanks for the info.

    A bit more reading required.
    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    And they can cut off your electricity remotely.

    But variable pricing is certainly an issue.

    Nothing particularly positive here:

    https://lookaftermybills.com/blog/ad...-smart-meters/

  18. #118
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    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58579829 this won't help and makes it a bad time to renew. Hope it won't take some of the smaller companies down with it either.

  19. #119
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    My current contract with Avro was coming to an end on 28th Sept 2021 - probably worst time to renew. Best place to go with was Sainsburys on 12m no exit fee deal.

    Was paying £101.01 with Avro, now paying £148.09 with Sainsburys (thats dual fuel for both providers). Thats a sweet 47% increase or £565.

    Just got wait for the NI changes for the cherry on top!

  20. #120
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    I am with Avro

    this is their current and suggested renewal..

    what I found interesting was the reason for the current price rises = The recovery of the economy post Covid has seen a surge in energy demand and low 'wind' ...hmmmm lots of questions ??



  21. #121
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    I think the fire at IFA1 converter has had a big impact on energy bills

    https://www.current-news.co.uk/news/...-higher-prices

  22. #122
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    This hit me as staggeringly stupid at the time..


    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...-a7463256.html

  23. #123
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    Glad most of my heating is still oil fired right now! I find it extremely cheap to run. I use around 1400 litres a year to heat a 4 bed detached house with a wife who leaves the windows open after a shower and forgets to close them most days.
    I was lucky enough to buy 5500L of oil at 14.1p/L when Covid kicked off early 2019 and I had a fair bit already so I’ll not need to top up again until late 2022 or even 2023. I always buy cheap in summer months and if you order from boiler juice on a Saturday they take an extra 3p/L off their weekday prices. Take that with free economy delivery and your winning.

    Cooker is gas and I run it on 47L Calor bottles. A pair lasts a year and I don’t pay for it, my wife is senior management at Calor and staff get it as cheap as you would expect 👍
    Last edited by Mrbarry; 18th September 2021 at 18:16.

  24. #124
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    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...al-information

    I moved to Avro in March after the YE failure In Dec 2019 via Scottish Power. The above does nothing to assure me I won't be moved in the near future at the worse time for pricing.

  25. #125
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    Quote Originally Posted by reecie View Post
    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...al-information

    I moved to Avro in March after the YE failure In Dec 2019 via Scottish Power. The above does nothing to assure me I won't be moved in the near future at the worse time for pricing.
    AVRO could be OK

    ... as at 17 September:

    https://www.energy-review.co.uk/avro-energy-review/. ... but further news awaited ... I've just switched to AVRO ... if they go bust I'll shop around again ... ttbomk no exit fees applicable to whichever energy provider I might be switched to if AVRO fails . But wish I'd stayed with OVO and not switched to AVRO.

    An energy supply 'broker' knocked on my door yesterday and tried to persuade me to switch to British Gas ... he had all my usage figures on his tablet and offered me cheaper standing charges ... I should have taken note of his company's name ... I declined his offer .. I was too busy to calculate whether or not British Gas offered a better overall potential deal

    My current AVRO plan rates:

    Tariff
    Simple and Fix12M
    Type
    Fixed
    Electric Standing Charge
    17.85p per day
    Electric Unit Rate
    19.48p per kWh
    Gas Standing Charge
    17.85p per day
    Gas Unit Rate
    3.46p per kWh
    All rates include VAT at 5%

    I have a SMART meter ... but not all energy providers can access its data / readings

    One reason I switched is that OVO sometimes could and sometimes could not access my SMART meter ... so I often submitted manual meter readings ... especially when they estimated the readings
    Last edited by sundial; 18th September 2021 at 18:57.
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  26. #126
    Grand Master sundial's Avatar
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    If your energy supplier goes bust:

    "The gas and electricity regulator Ofgem will arrange for your account to be transferred to a new supplier.
    "There won't be a break in your supply when it's transferred over, although the price you pay for your energy might go up - and that's when you can consider switching supplier, and you won't be charged an exit fee to do so."
    Further information about the collapse of the energy firms can be found on the Ofgem website.


    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...peoples-energy
    Last edited by sundial; 18th September 2021 at 20:14.
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  27. #127
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    Apparently the "big" companies enter an auction for these new customers normally but the thinking is they may be less inclined to do this in the current market. Either way you end up being put on to a tariff which maybe competitive but especially currently it is likely to be a lot higher than you were on and it is going into autumn/winter where the usage (and cost therefore) will be a lot higher. It also takes a while to get things sorted to the point of being able to move again.

  28. #128
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    I was listening to Moneybox on R4 this evening and a honcho from Octopus suggested that being on a standard variable tariff could be the best thing at the moment and for the next few months as it’s capped at a cheaper rate than most suppliers’ new increased tariffs.

    I haven’t investigated the claim so who knows? I bet you can’t switch to a standard variable though.

  29. #129
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    This is starting to look like a real mess https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58619418

  30. #130
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peck View Post
    This is starting to look like a real mess https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58619418
    Wow!

  31. #131
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    This is an interesting analysis of the situation - no idea if it’s accurate and complete, so that’s a caveat:

    https://watt-logic.com/2021/09/21/gas-market-tightness/


    The UK is particularly vulnerable to lower volumes of gas in Europe. Since the closure of Rough in 2017, the UK has operated a “just-in-time” approach to gas procurement.”

  32. #132
    I’ve no idea what we pay. I should check. Saying that we are with Good Energy and have been for about 15 years and won’t bother switching.

  33. #133
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    I was with Utility Point until they went bust last week! Being told to sit tight until somebody takes over the supply and no doubt starts charging us an arm and a leg.

  34. #134
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    Quote Originally Posted by dougair View Post
    I’ve no idea what we pay. I should check. Saying that we are with Good Energy and have been for about 15 years and won’t bother switching.
    if you genuinely haven’t switched for that long, do it now. You’ll be able to buy a platinum Daytona with your first year saving!

  35. #135
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    Quote Originally Posted by relaxer7 View Post
    I was with Utility Point until they went bust last week! Being told to sit tight until somebody takes over the supply and no doubt starts charging us an arm and a leg.
    Hadn’t seen that. I had to complain to the Ombudsman about them and invoke the Direct Debit guarantee with my bank to get back what they owed me

  36. #136
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    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    if you genuinely haven’t switched for that long, do it now. You’ll be able to buy a platinum Daytona with your first year saving!
    He should be on the standard variable tariff, which at the moment is capped and probably the cheapest deal.

  37. #137
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    I’m in credit by about two months DD amount with Green.
    Just cancelled DD as it looks like they are about to go.

  38. #138
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    Quote Originally Posted by relaxer7 View Post
    I was with Utility Point until they went bust last week! Being told to sit tight until somebody takes over the supply and no doubt starts charging us an arm and a leg.
    Hi

    Variable or fixed tariff currently ?

    If fixed , any replacement Ofgem appointed supplier will honour your existing deal until end of contract.

    Best Neil

  39. #139
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    Quote Originally Posted by flame View Post

    If fixed , any replacement Ofgem appointed supplier will honour your existing deal until end of contract.

    Best Neil
    Good to know- I’m on a fixed until March next year.

  40. #140
    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    if you genuinely haven’t switched for that long, do it now. You’ll be able to buy a platinum Daytona with your first year saving!
    To be honest choice is limited when it comes to 100% renewables. And I don’t mean those carbon swap cons. Green Energy seems well run and they have great customer service. So we stick with them. We genuinely have been with them about 15 years.

    We currently pay about £200 per month for a largish house family of four for combined gas and electric. No smart meters yet as Good Energy hasn’t rolled them out.
    Last edited by dougair; 21st September 2021 at 19:42.

  41. #141
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    Quote Originally Posted by flame View Post
    Hi

    Variable or fixed tariff currently ?

    If fixed , any replacement Ofgem appointed supplier will honour your existing deal until end of contract.

    Best Neil
    good to know,i am in the same boat with with fixed tariff.

  42. #142
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    Quote Originally Posted by dougair View Post
    To be honest choice is limited when it comes to 100% renewables. And I don’t mean those carbon swap cons. Green Energy seems well run and they have great customer service. So we stick with them. We genuinely have been with them about 15 years.

    We currently pay about £200 per month for a largish house family of four for combined gas and electric. No smart meters yet as Good Energy hasn’t rolled them out.

    I’ll have to check them out (although the quote section is currently offline). Says in relation to gas:

    Carbon neutral gas -
    10% is biogas from organic matter such as farm waste. The rest we offset through carbon reduction schemes.“. Not sure how that compares to other providers??





  43. #143
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    Quote Originally Posted by flame View Post
    Hi

    Variable or fixed tariff currently ?

    If fixed , any replacement Ofgem appointed supplier will honour your existing deal until end of contract.

    Best Neil
    That is not correct based on https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/news-and-vi...firms-collapse

    Could bills go up?

    When we appoint a new supplier using the Supplier of Last Resort process, we try to get the best possible deal for customers.
    Suppliers we appoint will likely put you on a special ‘deemed’ contract when they take on your supply. This means a contract you haven’t chosen. A deemed contract could cost more than your old tariff, so your bills could go up. However, they are covered by the energy price cap Ofgem sets, which ensures you get a fair price if you are put on one.
    When contacted by the new supplier, it’s best to ask to be put on their cheapest tariff or shop around if you want to. You won’t be charged exit fees. This is a challenging time in the market and we know that there may not be many tariffs available when shopping around right now.
    Deemed contracts can cost more because the supplier takes on more risk. For example, they might have to buy extra wholesale energy at short notice for new customers. So they charge more to cover these costs.
    Though the Martin Lewis advice is to probably ask to go on the variable rate protected by the energy cap as whilst it goes up in Oct it is based on the last 6 months prices. So you then have a "cheap" fixed rate in effect until the new price cap in April 2022 by which time hopefully things will have normalised more.

  44. #144
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    Right on cue Avro and Green have both now ceased trading. So second time in 9 months for me.

  45. #145
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    We've just had the email to say we've ben 'ported' to British Gas from Peoples Energy.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  46. #146
    I switched to Igloo earlier this year only for them to up my DD`s twice in as many months.
    I thought, `I`ll show them`, and switched again going to Avro after reading about them on here, and i`ve just heard on the radio they`ve gone bust!
    They took the first DD from me earlier this month and the switching day was tomorrow if i remember correctly, will i get that back?

    That showed them, eh!!
    What a clusterf**k this is becoming..
    Last edited by E_2_Right-Force; 22nd September 2021 at 15:55.

  47. #147
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    Oh ****! Got my mother on a fixed deal with Avro in April and they’ve just gone under.

    Must be a lot of energy firm staff losing their jobs. Feel sorry for them.
    Last edited by David_D; 22nd September 2021 at 16:02.

  48. #148
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    Quote Originally Posted by E_2_Right-Force View Post
    I switched to Igloo earlier this year only for them to up my DD`s twice in as many months.
    I thought, `I`ll show them`, and switched again going to Avro after reading about them on here, and i`ve just heard on the radio they`ve gone bust!
    They took the first DD from me earlier this month and the switching day was tomorrow if i remember correctly, will i get that back?

    That showed them, eh!!
    What a clusterf**k this is becoming..
    Would the DD be recoverable under the banking DD guarantee? I’d ring the bank ASAP.

    Hadn’t see your post before mine about Avro!

    Does make you wonder just exactly what the energy regulator was doing.
    Last edited by David_D; 22nd September 2021 at 16:08.

  49. #149
    Grand Master sundial's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by flame View Post
    Hi

    Variable or fixed tariff currently ?

    If fixed , any replacement Ofgem appointed supplier will honour your existing deal until end of contract.

    Best Neil
    My new Avro tariff

    My current AVRO plan rates:

    Tariff
    Simple and Fix12M
    Type
    Fixed
    Electric Standing Charge
    17.85p per day
    Electric Unit Rate
    19.48p per kWh
    Gas Standing Charge
    17.85p per day
    Gas Unit Rate
    3.46p per kWh
    All rates include VAT at 5%

    ... so assume it's a fixed tariff with effect from date of changeover which according to contract was yesterday and the allocated 'taking over from Avro' energy provider (whichever co. this might be) is bound to honour the previously negotiated / agreed tariffs ?

    No OFGEM email yet rec'd

    dunk
    Last edited by sundial; 22nd September 2021 at 16:10.
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  50. #150
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    Quote Originally Posted by sundial View Post
    ... so assume it's a fixed tariff with effect from date of changeover which according to contract was yesterday and the allocated 'taking over from Avro' energy provider (whichever co. this might be) is bound to honour the previously negotiated / agreed tariffs ?
    Sadly, I doubt that very much.

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...thing-you-nee/

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip/
    Last edited by David_D; 22nd September 2021 at 16:15.

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