Switching electric/gas providers (see first post for links)

My time frame was:

30/4 - initiated switch

02/05 - Plan confirmation email rec'd

08/05 - Spoke with Energia (had missed a couple of calls). Signed back up.

09/05 - Sent an email to EI just confirming my cancellation (probably not necessary but I wanted to cover myself).

12/05 - Response from EI confirming I had cancelled my switch

Forgot to mention, I was also told the 14 day doesn't commence until the supply is actually switched over.

Let us know how you get on.

So apparently switching from standard to smart takes time, 2 days once the welcome pack comes in, but also switching from prepay to another provider's smart plan takes 2 weeks on top of that!

Plus I'll be on higher rates for those two weeks on a standard plan from flora's until the smart meter is switched to

Switched Thursday and no word yet so might be ages yet

Not as simple as they claim switching to be!

That's strange. My son bought a house that had prepay power that had switched off, a phone call to sign up to EI and the power was switched on within the hour, non smart 24hr plan.

Th act of handing over often takes 2 weeks. However, readings are typically backdated.

It might work a little different with prepay and your case. I have never been on prepay.

I'd disagree with your implication that it's not easy. It's really easy to switch, fill out a form and wait. It's not instant but that's a different claim. Getting money back from your old supplier can take a bit of time too.

I didn't say it was difficult to switch, just not as simple a process as I thought it would be

The switching is easy. But it's not make a call, wait a couple of days and you're on the new provider and new unit rates, for me at least.

It's 2 days wait to switch provider, ( been 4 days already tbh) then 2 weeks of being on a higher rate with the new provider, before being switched to the plan I switched to, that's all I meant.

it is literally make a call, wait a few days, you're with a new provider. In your case it's 14 days which is long but still incredibly simple

Anyone noticing a huge increase in their unit usage on their bills?

Changed from SSE Airtricity to Flogas around 6 months ago. Bill for this period last year was for 300 units used, got one today and it said we had used 559 units which is more than any bill for a Winter period we have been in the house. Been no constriction works or anything out of the ordinary going on in the house which may account for this huge increase so we are fairly baffled. Our previous bill was a decent increase in units compared to the same period the year previous as well.

Im also coming up to renewal and I'm on the old 24hour rate unactivated smart meter. Are we now in a situation where activating it is a good solution as it was a big no no the last few years unless you had an EV etc. (PS, i'm a regular user, no EV, most usage is 4pm-11pm

Yes I've been monitoring meter readings and the bills are based on these. Daily average has increased massively and we are not doing anything out of the ordinary compared to previous years

Do you have a septic tank or water well pump that might be running continuously due to float switch malfunction or for some other reason?

have you got a grow house in the attic or next door lol - to jump up 250 units is insane and if everything has stayed the same it needs investigating

Well, I got a call from Energia today, offering me their 33% rate and €50 credit, which I accepted. They have also offered to back date my account with a better day/night rate than the non-discounted one I'm currently on with them, until my Smart Plan with them kicks in. Thanks for the heads up about this possibility, as it's probably the best rates I can get.

I'm now on the phone with Electric Ireland, telling them to cancel the switch, but there's some issue as apparently the switch is still "pending" and she doesn't know if she can cancel it until it's come through. She says it's something to do with me having a Smart Meter, but have never been on a Smart Plan, and I shouldn't have been offered a Smart Plan online, I should have been offered a non-Smart plan, and then a Smart Plan after 2 weeks. That all sounds ridiculous to me, but they've just come back off hold to say they can process the cancellation. I think maybe they're just new or not sure. Anyhow, it looks like the switch will be cancelled and I'll be back with Energia at the 33% rate.

Unfortunately, I was moving my Gas to EI too, and Energia's dual fuel rate wasn't as good, so I'll have to switch my gas separately, but as I was already with two different suppliers that's not much of a hassle for me. I'll just wait to make sure the switch cancellation has gone through before I look to switch the Gas again!