Beware unnecessary electricity charges

Afollower

I'm posting this on the off-chance that there are people out there who are as STUPID as myself!
Long story short - I had a night-saver meter because I had a storage heater. About 10 years ago, I replaced the storage heater with a regular radiator. Moved over to Bord Gais in 2009 because they were cheaper than ESB and have been paying huge bills.
Just recently mentioned to a friend about how high my bills are and we compared - turns out I am still being charged a higher rate for day units and standing charge because of the night-saver meter, which hasn't clocked up any usage in the past 10 years, both when I was still with ESB and since I moved to Bord Gais.
I am in shock at the amount of money I have paid out FOR NOTHING! I thought that once the readings on the night meter were showing zero that I was not being charged and didn't realise that I was on a higher rate because of still having the meter. WTF

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Just because you were not using a storage heater doesn't change the fact that you were on a day and night rate - more expensive day units but substantial savings on night usage. Many people use day and night rates without having electric heating, as they can make savings by using washing machines, dish washers, ovens etc during the night rate and have negligible daytime usage.

Afollower

Thanks for your reply Srameen which is very interesting because I queried why the night meter has been showing zero usage for years even though I frequently put the dishwasher/washing machine on when I'm going to bed at night. I was told by ESB that the night meter was connected only to the Storage Heater and that all other appliances would be connected to the day meter. I accepted this explanation because I am totally ignorant in this area, but on foot of what you say, maybe I need to revisit the issue with them.
Any advice would be most welcome.

L1011

The issue is with whoever wired the house rather than the ESB - you should be switched entirely to the night meter at night. That wiring setup would suggest that its likely that you could never have used the boost function during the day rate on the storage heating either (as it wasn't connected to the day meter).

Afollower

Well I don't know MYOB, I only have the word of the woman at the end of the phone at ESB that 'only the storage heater was wired into the night meter'. That may have been an effort to fob me off. As regards the wiring, I'm pretty sure it would have been someone from the ESB that installed the night meter.
I'd really appreciate any advice that anybody could give me on how to deal with this. From reading up on these meters, I see that there is a fairly hefty charge for having them removed also.

L1011

The ESB would have installed the meter but the wiring further on would have been done by a private electrician - the ESB don't get involved in that. If it was staying static, either nothing was connected to it or the timer was disabled, meaning it never clicked over.

brightspark

Do you have separate meters? Or one meter with two rows of numbers?

http://www.galway.ie/en/Services/Environment/Energy/Downloadableversions/TheFile,9598,en.doc



I don't know if it is still available but there used to be an option of having two separate meters, one for lights, sockets, immersion, cooker etc and the other was JUST for the storage heaters.

This is different from the day / night meter, there were advantages and disadvantages to both plans.


Perhaps when you changed an assumption was made that you have a night saver meter, but you actually have a storage heating meter?

SVJKarate

Why not go to the "Talk to Electric Ireland" here on Boards.ie with your query?

They will probably be more helpful than we are.

dudara

Agreed - let's move this to Electric Ireland to see if the reps there can offer any assistance.

dudara

Electric Ireland: David

SVJKarate wrote:

Why not go to the "Talk to Electric Ireland" here on Boards.ie with your query?

They will probably be more helpful than we are.

Thanks for the recommendation SVJKarate. We're happy to help out, though it must be said there has been some very good advice given already (thanks Srameen, MYOB and brightspark).

Afollower, as your current provider is Bord Gáis Energy we wouldn't be able to look at your account to verify what kind of meter is installed at the property. However, it is worth clarifying whether you definitely do have a nightsaver meter installed, or whether it is a night storage heating meter (which would be installed as an addititional meter). Further differences between the two are outlined in this FAQ.

ESB Networks would have installed the meter, but anything beyond the meter itself (including the property's internal wiring) would be looked after by an independent electrical contractor. 

To revert to the standard 24hr tariff, there would be a charge involved, payable to your current provider. The best course of action really hinges on what meter you have installed. I'm assuming it is a night storage heating meter, as a nightsaver meter should register all electrical usage during off-peak hours (midnight to 9am in summer, and 11pm to 8am in winter), and not just usage from storage heaters. The nightsaver meter would generally "trigger" the latter, but wouldn't be restricted to their use.

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,
David