SSE – Airtricity, Atlantic, Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro, Swalec

[chrismasParticipant]

I am coming to the end of my fixed Economy 10 v4 deal and phoned SSE for a quote for renewal. They are quoting a 66% increase for off peak and a 9.5% increase for standard rate. How can 66% be justified in the current economic climate or are they trying to get rid of Eco 10?

[shelleyshoParticipant]

I was with SSE a couple of years ago, I switched first to Peoples Energy and more recently to Symbio Energy, both offered their Economy 7 rates for Economy 10 customers which appears to be a growing trend…..

[adminKeymaster]

Hi Malcolm,

Total Heating Total Control (THTC) is a two-rate system, but is slightly different from Economy 10. It’s only used by Scottish Hydro (SSE) in the north of Scotland.

From SSE:
“With THTC you get two meters. One is for off-peak energy you use and the other records all your normal usage like lights, kitchen appliances and sockets… The specific times for the off-peak rate depends on the weather forecast for your area, but you’ll get between 5 and 12 hours each day. THTC works by storing up heat in your storage heaters and hot water tank during the off-peak times.”

“Other electric heaters and heated appliances can also be used on the cheaper rate. The off peak rate is available 24 hours a day for panel heaters, focal point fires, bathroom heaters, towel rails, the hot water boost and even electric showers. You’ll need to get an electrician to make sure all those appliances are connected to your cheaper-rate meter if you’re not sure.”

Not sure if you’ll be able to switch to another supplier, or whether you’ll need to change the meter to a ‘real’ Economy 10 first. Take care with teh wiring setup in your house though, it sounds as if the meter is directly switching on and off your heating and hot water, so you’d need a compatible E10 ‘switching’ meter as well.

Let us know how you get on!

Mark

[GrahamWParticipant]

I have applied to Ovo to swap from SSE’s Economy 10. I use a lot of electricity because everything in the house, including the ground source heat pump and the Aga, is electric – about 33,000 kWh a year.

Using several of the helpful bits of advice on this site, I supplied Ovo with my single meter MPAN number and within a few hours (and on a Sunday!), I had a full quote. I calculate that I will save nearly 25% on my current bill from SSE. Quite apart from the enormous cost saving, I will not be sorry to leave SSE behind. I have been supplied with four different meters from them (first for the wrong electricity area with wrong switchover times, then with completely the wrong tariff and finally with the clock not working properly). I have also had numerous problems with billing, including a quarterly demand earlier this year for £11,600, more than ten times the normal bill! Two years ago, they increased the peak rate unit price by a whopping 19%, probably because they could.

I only wish that I had found this site earlier. As Mark says in his introduction, it is very difficult to find any sensible information on Economy 10, even from companies that normally supply it. None of the price comparison sites have anything on Economy 10. I would never have guessed that companies like Ovo will supply this tariff as if it was Economy 7.

Good job!

[MalcolmC]

Hi Mark

Another vote of thanks for taking the time to collate all of this info. I’m just moving to a new house which has storage heaters and has a ‘Total Heating Total Control’ compatible meter from Scottish Hydro. I’ve had this in my last place and it has done me fine, but I hadn’t realised there were potential alternatives out there. Struggling to find anything on comparing E10 with THTC though when I did call Hydro a couple of years ago the lady I spoke to said THTC was effectively E8 given that I get 8 hours spread through the day. Will now go and do some sums to see if switching to E10 might be worthwhile…

[adminKeymaster]

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