Energy supply

[ronk]

I’ve just renewed my Gas and Electricity supplier for the following year - they based it on ‘X’ Units Gas and ‘Y’ Kw/Hr of Electricity. It works out to £1225 / Annum - A previous supplier, Scottish Power phoned me wanting my business again and gave me a price per month of £90 - (£1080) based on identical figures - it sounded ok until I put their unit prices into a spread sheet - it actually works out to £105 a year more !

The spread sheet spits out £1225 for the new supplier so I know I’ve got the formula correct .

The moral is :-
Check very carefully what the energy company tells you - in my case I think Scottish Power were trying to pull a fast one. It could be a genuine mistake but I doubt it somehow.


They nearly conned me!

 

[buzyg]

Like you say. Always do the sums your self. They are all sharks. :roll:

 

[ben g]

This concerns me as I switched to scottish power at the start of the year :lol:

To be honest, I don't understand the jargon that energy companies speak, so I just went with a supplier that was cheaper than my old British gas standard tariff.

 

[ronk]

Look at your energy consumption figures for the previous year and apply the unit price charge / fuel - add the daily charge as well.

I’ve done a spreadsheet so I can check quickly next time

Scottish Power gave a very competitive monthly price but an inaccurate yearly cost by accident or design - we will never know!

 

[ben g]

Last year I went around the house replacing all bulbs with led's, fitting hive heating and purchased a new led TV which uses less than a third of the power my old plasma did.

Surely all this would have a dramatic affect on the energy I'm using? Therefore making my previous years figures redundant?

 

[ronk]

Yes, you will use less energy but for the purposes of comparing prices energy providers prices, last Years figures will be fine - at the end of the year you‘ll be able to see how much less you’ve used compared with the previous year and determine how long it will take you to get your money back!

When I install a low energy lamp, I use a sharpie pen and write the date on it. The long life claims can be verified.

 

[ihadablackdog]

My dad does everything through Utility Warehouse. Don't know how he got onto them, but they do everything, gas, electric, home phone, mobile phone etc. Basically a massive middle man!

I use moneysaving expert energy comparison thingy.

I wanted to check if utility warehouse were good value...the more services you have with them, the bigger the discount.

Phoned them and went through all the questions etc and they quoted what worked out at a few pounds cheaper than I currently pay, so not really that good after all. I even told him my current deals etc and that his wasn't "good" enough to change. Cheeky git phoned me back a couple times telling me he thought it was a cracking deal and I should sign up for it!!!!