Gas and Electricity Provider

drusus · 20 Jun 2008 at 14:35

Hey,

I'm just looking for some oppinions on gas and electricity suppliers as the costs have almost doubled in the last year for us.

We are currently on n-power who were the cheapest when we last switched, any suggestions?

Our bill is almost £500 quarterly :/

Andy

Helium_Junkie · 20 Jun 2008 at 15:17

I'm about to start renting, and that's a scary thought!!

We're going to be trying to live as cheaply as possible, but even so the prices are obscene

uv · 20 Jun 2008 at 15:20

drusus said:
Our bill is almost £500 quarterly :/

That's a fair whack.. just under double the average.

Have you checked Uswitch to see which providers are the cheapest in your area?

Remember, dual fuel with one company isn't always cheaper than gas & elec from seperate suppliers. The tenner you get off will often be less than the saving you'll receive having one energy from a diff supplier.

*edit*

reminded me to check uswitch myself.. haven't checked if I'm with the cheapest provider for a year now!

Energize · 20 Jun 2008 at 15:24

1st result on google.

http://www.energyhelpline.com/

clv101 · 20 Jun 2008 at 15:34

drusus said:
Hey,

I'm just looking for some oppinions on gas and electricity suppliers as the costs have almost doubled in the last year for us.

We are currently on n-power who were the cheapest when we last switched, any suggestions?

Our bill is almost £500 quarterly :/

Andy

The difference between suppliers is small - what you need to look at is why you are using so much! Do you leave a lot of electrical stuff on standby? Are you still using incandescent light bulbs? Have you got decent loft insulation (about a foot)? Are you heating to over 20C?

A few examples, my sky box uses 24W on standby = £25 a year at 12p/kWh.
My 21" Sony Trinitron monitor uses £27W on standby = £28 a year.
Even a little 14" TV we have uses 20W on standby = £21 a year.

I now turn EVERYTHING off at the wall.

There's FAR MORE scope for saving money by addressing your usage than by changing supplier.

Energize · 20 Jun 2008 at 15:39

clv101 said:
The difference between suppliers is small

There is over a £500 difference between some suppliers! More in fact considering his bill costs so much.

Smokey Deza · 23 Aug 2017 at 23:08

Friend recommended Iresa, some small time company like OVO.

Anyone use them? He says won't find anywhere else cheaper..

Pho · 23 Aug 2017 at 23:16

Sign up to this, they'll email you when you can get better deals elsewhere - you can set the limit of when that is, e.g., if you can save more than £30/year:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub

el_dazza · 23 Aug 2017 at 23:19

Smokey Deza said:
Friend recommended Iresa, some small time company like OVO.

Anyone use them? He says won't find anywhere else cheaper..

There where whispers going around not long ago that IRESA might not last much longer. They stopped taking customers for months, their complaints level was through the roof and the business had about £13k in the bank. Recipe for disaster that.

I currently have electricity with EON and gas with Better Energy. Average household uses 3100kwh on elec per year and 12500kwh per year on gas. If you're a lower user, a tariff with zero, or low standing charge is better. For a higher user like yourself, then a tariff with lower unit rates would be more beneficial. Best thing to use overall though is the TCR (tariff comparison rate) as this incorporates standing charge and unit rate.

PiKe · 23 Aug 2017 at 23:38

I went with Bulb because they currently do a referral scheme where you get £50 credit on your account if you sign up via a friend, send me a trust if interested

Electricity Unit Rate 12.41p per kWh
Electricity Standing Charge 24.56p per day
Gas Unit Rate 2.64p per kWh
Gas Standing Charge 24.56p per day
Dual Fuel Discount £30.00 per year

Variable but no exit fees.

Energize · 24 Aug 2017 at 01:35

Well worth bumping a 9 year old thread for!

martin363 · 24 Aug 2017 at 01:40

Everything is relative. I live in South East Asia, with A.C. requirements my electricity bill is between £300 and £400 per month - no gas here... It is actually quite a sensible billing structure though - the more you use, the more per KW the power costs, meaning that those who use or can afford more, subsidize the bills of those who use a lot less, and likely can afford less. It also of course encourages you to use less too.

Most other things are cheaper though.

MrRockliffe · 24 Aug 2017 at 02:21

I use a company called flipper - they're 25 quid a year but manage your accounts for you and regularly check to see if you're on the cheapest possible tariff, and if not, 'flip' you to another supplier.

Well worth looking into.

They also guarantee a saving of at least £50.

robj20 · 24 Aug 2017 at 07:49

Pointless anyone recommending a provider unless they have the same usage and live in the same area. Just go on the comparison sites and search.

Vanquish-Storm · 24 Aug 2017 at 11:03

robj20 said:
Pointless anyone recommending a provider unless they have the same usage and live in the same area. Just go on the comparison sites and search.

Cost wise yes I agree, but you can recommend based on customer support I guess.

Not what the OP (2008!) was after though.

Puzzled · 24 Aug 2017 at 11:12

Sainsburys worked out cheapest for us but may have changed since then.

Use some comparison sites but be aware that some try to trick you about how much cheaper a new provider will be by comparing a fixed tariff to a standard tariff. Quickest way to check is to find out your current TCR (tariff comparison rate) and then compare that to new providers.

darael · 24 Aug 2017 at 11:40

Avoid Iresa, unless you are very patient. They are so slow it's beyond shocking, especially in this day and age. If you do choose Iresa, make sure they have your meter serial numbers correct. From reading around, they seem to have a knack of getting the opening readings wrong or they take an age to validate. Take notes of what meter readings you submit to Iresa and don't lose those notes for at least a few months. Yes, they are that poor.

Finally, I will leave this link here: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/iresa.co.uk

What figures have you used to get your annual kWh usage and where have the figures come from? Are they estimates for your property on a comparison site?

RockLobster · 24 Aug 2017 at 11:47

I've just gone through this same process. I'm with BG on their collective Oct through MSE energy club. Looking at the comparison there's a host of companies who I've never heard of, have limited feedback, setup within the last few months and have questionable directors. In the end I decided to pay a bit more and go with a big company - EDF.

robj20 · 24 Aug 2017 at 12:01

RockLobster said:
I've just gone through this same process. I'm with BG on their collective Oct through MSE energy club. Looking at the comparison there's a host of companies who I've never heard of, have limited feedback, setup within the last few months and have questionable directors. In the end I decided to pay a bit more and go with a big company - EDF.

Odd decision, do you get better quality gas with them or something. Price is the only thing I look at. Only time I have ever needed to communicate with a supplier is when we first moved in.

RockLobster · 24 Aug 2017 at 19:46

robj20 said:
Odd decision, do you get better quality gas with them or something. Price is the only thing I look at. Only time I have ever needed to communicate with a supplier is when we first moved in.

Not odd in the slightest. Iresa was cheapest for me but have shocking reviews. My time is better spent than chasing screw ups by unknown suppliers.