Best Electricity Plan for new EV Owners

Currently I have a standard nightsaver day/night meter in an urban area, happy enough with it for my usage. 2 x Ev's, NO heat pump, NO solar, NO battery.

I got a letter today from ESB networks, some details below.

Do I have to get this 'smart' meter installed? or can I decline it?

I am happy enough with my setup and if it aint broke dont fix it etc

Extracts from ESB letter

"ESB Networks is replacing existing electricity meters across Ireland with next generation smart meters. The meter upgrade is being delivered in co-operation with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. 

Over the next few months, and at no additional cost to you, the electricity meter at the above address will be replaced. This will be carried out by ESB Networks or an electrical contractor working on our behalf as named above.

The installation of a smart meter will not alter the price plan you have in place with your electricity supplier.

The new meter will allow you to take more control of your electricity consumption and enable you to view your electricity usage once you set up your ESB Networks Online Account at esbnetworks.ie."

You can opt out but there's no penalty for getting the smart meter. You'll still be on a D/N tariff until you switch to a smart plan

There's actually an advantage in that you'll be able to download your usage from ESB Networks and analyse it using sites like Energy Pal

Not so sure about that, I've had a smart meter since Dec 2023 and have never been told I'll be moved to a smart plan

I've renewed with Flogas BWG last year and switched to Energia this year, neither gave me any trouble about staying on a non smart plan

EDIT: For clarification I've a Smart D/N meter, I think they're also called RM108 meters. It's what you get if you're on an old non smart D/N meter

If you have solar panels and opt out of a smart meter you don't get any payments for exporting electricity

I made €4.80 from export today alone, I'm not giving that up easily!

I was considering switching to one of the smart EV plans and in my case is would save a few euros per year. However I'd be trading 9 hours of night rate for 4 hours for a saving of around €10 per year

It isn't worth it for now IMO, but if that changes significantly I'll likely make the switch

I have a Smart Meter but i wasn't put on a D/N tariff or given choice just 24 hour.

is the PSO cost the same across all vendors and plans?

So it's a bit of a lottery but about to switch, and seems like the AXA 34% plan is one of the best around?

Charging two EV's, have Solar and like the look of the longer charging window at night (11-8am) at 13.29c per kHh.

Any caveats or other deal to consider?

Second best deal is probably the Flogas BWG offer. It's more expensive but fixed for 18 months

If you have a smart meter then it's worth putting your usage in Energy Pal and seeing what it recommends

Remember to select Day/Night rates because EP displays only smart plans by default

There's an AXA 41% discount plan as well, which gets the night rate down to 11.81 incl Vat.

Make sure you get the right one. @Mickeroo linked it here a couple of pages back.

Well if there is a sharp increase in rates then you can always go to whatever fixed plan Flogas is doing (assuming it exists)

It'll probably be more expensive than the BWG deal, but still better than sitting still while prices go up

There's also the question of how much prices are likely to go up by in the next year. I realise the year has been a rollercoaster already in were barely a third of the way through, so that might be a dangerous question

However it would take a roughly 10% increase to make Energia the same as Flogas. At that point you haven't really lost anything other than being on a slightly worse value deal

After that it's a question of how big an increase it'll take to make it worth changing

In my case a 10% increase above Flogas would be €100 extra per year. So net saving of €50 if I were to switch at that point, kind of debatable if it's worthwhile

If you're very concerned about electricity prices then my best advice is to get solar panels, they're the easiest way to get costs down

If your on a dual contract, must you stay on a Dual contract or can you change to one supplier for each Fuel ?

Perfect summary, I use about 10,000 units annually so I went with Flogas. If prices take a nosedive, as you say it only costs 50 to move.

Currently on a poor dual fuel plan with Energia. Does anybody know if there's a way to get onto the AXA Energia plan without being a new customer?

I'll be honest, I haven't checked in a couple of years but it was around an 8 year payback when I got it (early 2023)

I'd say it's a bit longer now that prices have come down and the FIT being a bit lower. However system prices have also come down so it balances out

My personal advice (other than DIY the system to make it cheaper, I didn't) is to not get too hung up over the payback period. Once it's in single digit years you're probably grand

Another way to think about it is that you're making an investment. Unlike many other home improvements, solar immediately starts putting money into your pocket

Depending on your circumstances there may be better options to invest in. Paying a chunk off your mortgage or some other debt is always a good option

Or you can play the stock market and watch it get evaporated by hostile powers

I reckon the solar panels are taking at least €100 per month off my bill. That's €100 per month extra saved which was put into paying off the mortgage which was another €100 per month and so on and so forth

Neither are bad, so even if you get it wrong it's not the worse result