Time to change electricity supplier again!

DrPhilG

Who's hot at the minute?  I was with Energia the past year but my offer has now expired I think so I'm up to 19.1c day and 9.15c night.

Bonkers.ie are telling me to change to Bord Gais for 14.72c day and 7.29c night.

Was there not some crowd offering unlimited energy with a fixed monthly amount?

unkel

Just Energy

Saving me an absolute fortune this year, but they won't renew on similar terms when the contract is up

DrPhilG

I must be doing something wrong...

I selected the unlimited tariff and entered my last year's electricity usage, they quoted me €130 a month!  I only average about €90 at the minute.

unkel

What was your usage for the year? Mine was 3.5MWh, and on that basis I got quoted a fixed fee of €60 per month (which was about the same as I would have paid for Energia, the cheapest per unit provider last year)

Ewan Hoosarmi

DrPhilG wrote: »

I must be doing something wrong...

I selected the unlimited tariff and entered my last year's electricity usage, they quoted me €130 a month! I only average about €90 at the minute.

Yeah I did the same thing. I was on level pay with Bord Gais, and paying €50 a month. I ended up with Energia.

zilog_jones

I just switched to Bord Gáis from Energia, with a 27% discount offered on Bonkers.ie (14.45c day, 7.16c night). And they do "level pay" which is a fixed monthly amount (adjusted evey year). I use electric underfloor storage heating so my bills change substantially between summer and winter - it'll be interesting to see how this works out.

unkel

Level pay is just a fixed monthly bill and you'll have a nice shock at the end of the year when you are asked to cough up for the 6.5MWh you haven't yet payed for

Fixed price contract is where you use 10MWh but only pay for 3.5MWh...

Shefwedfan

Based on bonkers I will save over 400 euro by switching to Bord Gais....the 50 quid early release fee is not worth staying

Has anyone rang and negotiated lower fee with Energia? on the basis that you are going to cancel account?

Shefwedfan

unkel wrote: »

Level pay is just a fixed monthly bill and you'll have a nice shock at the end of the year when you are asked to cough up for the 6.5MWh you haven't yet payed for

Fixed price contract is where you use 10MWh but only pay for 3.5MWh...

With level pay they do adjust during the year to be fare....so if you are above your monthly pay they will switch up the amount....

I have had this happen a few times over the years....once it even went downwards :P

zilog_jones

unkel wrote: »

Level pay is just a fixed monthly bill and you'll have a nice shock at the end of the year when you are asked to cough up for the 6.5MWh you haven't yet payed for

Well I only use about 4 MWh per year, so hopefully won't be too bad if they get it wrong

Shefwedfan

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Based on bonkers I will save over 400 euro by switching to Bord Gais....the 50 quid early release fee is not worth staying

Has anyone rang and negotiated lower fee with Energia? on the basis that you are going to cancel account?

I contacted Energia and once you are mid contract they will not negotiate

Ewan Hoosarmi

unkel wrote: »

Level pay is just a fixed monthly bill and you'll have a nice shock at the end of the year when you are asked to cough up for the 6.5MWh you haven't yet payed for

Fixed price contract is where you use 10MWh but only pay for 3.5MWh...

I always ran a surplus with them, it worked it's way up to over €84 when I cancelled. When I asked, it was returned to my account the next day.

Grumble grumble... not like that shower Vodafone. Changed in November last year... still no refund of the last DD they took in error. Rant rant...

J.pilkington

unkel wrote: »

What was your usage for the year? Mine was 3.5MWh, and on that basis I got quoted a fixed fee of €60 per month (which was about the same as I would have paid for Energia, the cheapest per unit provider last year)

Is my memory correct in saying that you used to use free chargers at petrol stations before you switched providers so your old bills which just energy based their quote on was the equivalence of a household without an electric car?

If so it’s prob worth disclosing as unlikely those looking to switch are in that fortunate situation.

At the same time it’s also a handy tip to those you are buying their first electric car, try lock in a similar deal before you start charring at home

unkel

The increase in my electricity use has very little to do with the fact that I do indeed plug the car in at home more often. It's more to do with a hobby that uses a lot of leccy

irishgrover

unkel wrote: »

The increase in my electricity use has very little to do with the fact that I do indeed plug the car in at home more often. It's more to do with a hobby that uses a lot of leccy

Is it wrong that I immediately picture a very significant grow house in your attic????

DrPhilG

My end date with Energia was May 10th.  I just called them to negotiate and they have beaten the best alternative (Bord Gais).

BG were offering 14.72 and 7.29 for day and night rates.  Energia gave me 14.71 and 7.05.

Still don't know why Just Energy aren't working for me.  My usage last year was 7700 units.  Enter that here: and it quotes me €130 a month, which is €1560.  My total bill last year was €1084.

ted1

DrPhilG wrote: »

My end date with Energia was May 10th.  I just called them to negotiate and they have beaten the best alternative (Bord Gais).

BG were offering 14.72 and 7.29 for day and night rates.  Energia gave me 14.71 and 7.05.

Still don't know why Just Energy aren't working for me.  My usage last year was 7700 units.  Enter that here: and it quotes me €130 a month, which is €1560.  My total bill last year was €1084.

Check your standing charge, they are generally different between suppliers

DrPhilG

€20 cheaper with Bord Gais. I should have tried to haggle that too, but the difference in the unit price more than makes up for it.

ted1

DrPhilG wrote: »

€20 cheaper with Bord Gais. I should have tried to haggle that too, but the difference in the unit price more than makes up for it.

So BG actually did beat Energia. The difference doesn’t make up for it.

7,700* .0024=18.48 so providing that you use all you electricity at night it’ll cost you 1.52 more but could cost you more if you use electricity during the day

DrPhilG

Of my 7700 units last year, nearly 70% were night rate.

Night rate saving is .0024 cheaper on Energia so at the same usage I'm €12.94 better off, so I've lost out on about €7.

Saves me changing provider plus I believe Bord Gais use Level Pay which I don't like.

homer911

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Based on bonkers I will save over 400 euro by switching to Bord Gais....the 50 quid early release fee is not worth staying

Has anyone rang and negotiated lower fee with Energia? on the basis that you are going to cancel account?

I switched my Dad from Energia recently and they started sending emails saying sometimes switching is not the best idea - cant remember if they were making any sort of offer - emails went in the trash

LionelNashe

homer911 wrote: »

I switched my Dad from Energia recently and they started sending emails saying sometimes switching is not the best idea - cant remember if they were making any sort of offer - emails went in the trash

I've gotten a text message and an email from Energia, saying, Don't switch! Dial 1850 blah blah and press 2 for a great discount.

I'm curious, but not curious enough to switch back after only switching from them 2 days ago. If we don't switch now and again, then the providers have no incentive to offer any switcher deals, and they'll all charge their higher rates.

ei9go

Bonkers offering 28% off both electricity and gas with Panda Power

joeysoap

DrPhilG wrote: »

My end date with Energia was May 10th.  I just called them to negotiate and they have beaten the best alternative (Bord Gais).

BG were offering 14.72 and 7.29 for day and night rates.  Energia gave me 14.71 and 7.05.

Still don't know why Just Energy aren't working for me.  My usage last year was 7700 units.  Enter that here: and it quotes me €130 a month, which is €1560.  My total bill last year was €1084.

I just tried that link. Wow. They are quoting me approx +€200 pa on my current supplier ( Energia)

Just remember that the Bonkers headlines ie save €xxx on your annual bill is comparing apples and oranges. The are comparing the cheapest rates with the most expensive rates, and most on here won’t be on the most expensive rates. (as most on here are price savvy)

joeysoap

LionelNashe wrote: »

I've gotten a text message and an email from Energia, saying, Don't switch! Dial 1850 blah blah and press 2 for a great discount.

I'm curious, but not curious enough to switch back after only switching from them 2 days ago. If we don't switch now and again, then the providers have no incentive to offer any switcher deals, and they'll all charge their higher rates.

I got that with SSE in March. Offered 8% to stay but also said phone for a quote. I did and was offered 10%. Short story left for Energia ( which I accept may be one year only) and was bombarded with emails and phone calls from SSE who now offered 23% + €150 cash back. I told the lady I was changing anyway as I thought I was disgraceful that they offered better deals to leavers and were not interested in decent discounts to ‘loyal’ customers.

LionelNashe

I've just noticed that Switcher.ie and Bonkers.ie give different results, and one is better than the other by a good margin. That's annoying. Next we'll need a comparison website for comparison websites.

Dglflyer

rotfl

CeilingFly

ei9go wrote: »

Bonkers offering 28% off both electricity and gas with Panda Power

I've been with panda power for 3 years - what I like is that they call you just before your contract is up and offer continued discounted rates.

I'm sure I could save a tenner shopping around, but I value time and like that they call before you move back to standard rate.

sparrowcar

Little help if you will please.

Taking delivery of a PHEV next week and looking at electricity providers.

Currently with but out of contract with electric ireland for both elec and gas.

Anyone recommend who I should be looking at for best rates and night rate?

Cheers

Starscream25

sparrowcar wrote: »

Little help if you will please.

Taking delivery of a PHEV next week and looking at electricity providers.

Currently with but out of contract with electric ireland for both elec and gas.

Anyone recommend who I should be looking at for best rates and night rate?

Cheers

I will be changing provider next week myself, specifically for the best night rate currently available which appears to be Energia who charge 14.96 for day rate and more importantly 7.16 for the night rate. This information can be found on bonkers if you want to check for other providers too.

goz83

I also just switched to Energia. They had the best rate overall. Was with BG who did offer a discount to stay with them, but I was out of contract nearly 2 months and they hadn't called me, leaving me back on higher rates. I don't like the Level Pay either. It must have changed about 4 or 5 times through the year. I have €180 credit on my electric account with them. I expect they will refund that soon. We used over 9500kWh in the last 12 months :eek:

slave1

Just energy unlimited plan

ei9go

unkel wrote: »

Level pay is just a fixed monthly bill and you'll have a nice shock at the end of the year when you are asked to cough up for the 6.5MWh you haven't yet payed for

Fixed price contract is where you use 10MWh but only pay for 3.5MWh...

I am on level pay for the last 11 months and as I started to build up credit, they reduced the level pay direct debit so it's reasonably safe to assume that if you use more they will increase your payment so that you don't end up owing them money.

It's very satisfactory. I hope they will make me an offer to stay with them when my 12 months are up.

Ubbquittious

Would it be terribly hard to set up your own electricity supplier? This merry-go-round of changing supplier every year to avail of the best temporary deal is a fierce waste of time.

You don't need to generate any electricity, just need a license from the CRU and you can start accepting MPRN's off people and buying at the wholesale rate. The application costs €250. All I'm wondering is at what point during the application process are you asked to walk through a cardboard cut-out of Denis O'Brien to see if you're a close enough match?

sparrowcar

Not sure if I'm being thick here.
To avail of night rates do I need to get a night meter installed? I just have one meter in my house.

Shefwedfan

sparrowcar wrote: »

Not sure if I'm being thick here.
To avail of night rates do I need to get a night meter installed? I just have one meter in my house.

They swap the meter and install a dual meter


It is free to swap. It is not free if you want to swap back

sparrowcar

Shefwedfan wrote: »

They swap the meter and install a dual meter


It is free to swap. It is not free if you want to swap back

Thanks, out of curiosity why would anyone want to swap back?

waynegalway

sparrowcar wrote: »

Thanks, out of curiosity why would anyone want to swap back?

It’s possible that you could end up spending more with a dual meter if you’re not careful. For example if you continue to use most leccy during the day. Plus, the standing charge is an extra €50 per year, so that needs to be factored in.

I moved house recently, and it had a dual meter. I shopped around and decided that I’d be better off with a flat 24 hour rate. (Basically I’d need to fully charge my car 32 times in the year just to balance out the extra standing charge, and because of the move my commute is halved, so I just don’t have the justification for the night rate).

It was free for me to get the dual meter swapped back to a normal one, as the dual one had been installed over a year ago and by the previous owner.....my understanding is that if the previous owner requested the swap within 1 year of getting the dual meter installed, there would be a fee for the swap back. Because it wasn’t me that requested the dual meter at this house, I didn’t have to pay.

sparrowcar

waynegalway wrote: »

It’s possible that you could end up spending more with a dual meter if you’re not careful. For example if you continue to use most leccy during the day. Plus, the standing charge is an extra €50 per year, so that needs to be factored in.

I moved house recently, and it had a dual meter. I shopped around and decided that I’d be better off with a flat 24 hour rate. (Basically I’d need to fully charge my car 32 times in the year just to balance out the extra standing charge, and because of the move my commute is halved, so I just don’t have the justification for the night rate).

It was free for me to get the dual meter swapped back to a normal one, as the dual one had been installed over a year ago and by the previous owner.....my understanding is that if the previous owner requested the swap within 1 year of getting the dual meter installed, there would be a fee for the swap back. Because it wasn’t me that requested the dual meter at this house, I didn’t have to pay.

Interesting. I work shift so day usage can be high at times as I'm in work during the night at times. Maybe I should go back to the drawing board with regards my rates. Thanks all.

waynegalway

sparrowcar wrote: »

Interesting. I work shift so day usage can be high at times as I'm in work during the night at times. Maybe I should go back to the drawing board with regards my rates. Thanks all.

Do your sums, and if it makes sense for you, then go ahead and get the dual meter. It’s worth just bearing in mind that it doesn’t suit everyone.

As a guide, on the flat rate it costs me about €2 for 100km of driving right now. On a dual rate, that would be approximately €1 per 100km. So based on that, it would look like dual rate is a no brainer.

However, consider the bigger picture. My old car (and you can do the maths for your situation) had about 6.5l/100km economy. So, that’s the best part of €9 per 100km. So, on a flat rate I’m saving about €7 per 100km and on a dual rate (if it suited me) I’d be saving about €8 per 100km. When you look at the savings in that context, don’t be too worried if you figure out that the dual rate meter doesn’t suit you. You’ll still save a wad on running costs either way compared to a petrol/diesel car.

unkel

waynegalway wrote: »

Basically I’d need to fully charge my car 32 times in the year just to balance out the extra standing charge

On the face of it, that doesn't look right to me. Calculation?

waynegalway

unkel wrote: »

On the face of it, that doesn't look right to me. Calculation?

Can’t remember the exact figures, but say the night rate is 6c per kWh cheaper than 24 hour rate. And say it takes 24kWh to “fill” the car.

Saving per charge is 6c times 24 = €1.44

€50 (standing charge) divided by €1.44 is 34.7, so almost 35 charges required to offset standing charge.

Not exact figures as I’m working from memory, and it was 32 charges to offset standing charge when I did it with the actual figures.

32 charges over a year might be easy for some users, and the night rate is obviously justified if it makes financial sense. But given my new (reduced) commute, I just don’t see myself needing 32 “full” charges at home in a year.

unkel

Yeah that calculation is sound, but you are forgetting that not just charging your EV, but your whole house will run on night rate for 9 hours per day. This is quite considerable, particularly if you (even occasionally) put your washing machine or dishwasher etc. on late at night or early in the morning. You only need to use 3 units at night rate per night to break even . Even without ever charging your car, you can easily achieve this. The savings are considerable (and you are doing the environment a favour too as night rate electricity is the cleanest we have in this country)

But even disregarding all that, 32 "full" charges of your car will give you a bit over 3k km per year. Surely you do a hell of a lot more driving than that? Even if you are work charging every day, you would surely still need to top of every other weekend at home?

n97 mini

Did the maths before, but don't have them to hand. In the first year of charging the EV at night (enough for 10,000km or so) night saver worked out approx €70 cheaper than if we were on 24hr tariff. Not a huge saving, but a saving nonetheless.