Alternative Energy Suppliers

julius128

I have joind to Big Switch 3 days after they announced, (few months back via their website).
I have got confirmation that application was successful and got a letter few weeks after, that because of high demand may take while to transfer.

But I am wondering has anybody got confirmation that they are now customer of Bord Gais for Electricity and any bills yet?

This is going for long time and no sign of them?

Cabaal

Yep plenty of people (incl me), those that submitted meter readings generally got there quicker

amtc

I did mine Feb 2 (including meter reading) and still no word.

MOH

Cabaal wrote: »

Yep plenty of people (incl me), those that submitted meter readings generally got there quicker

I did mine with meter reading a few days after it started, no joy yet

maceocc2

Got a letter saying its all done yesterday.

John Mason

same for me, i switched two days after the launch, with my meter reading. got the confirmation they had received my switch and everything was fine but there was a back log

havent heard a thing since

jtac

Yep,I got My first bill today,although its not a bill with meter readings etc,its for a security deposit for €400 even though signing up was supposed to be free,and Im already a bord gais customer any way.really pxxxed off with them now,have to get my oh to ring them on his break to get it sorted.

mike65

Got confirmation 2 weeks after submitting details.

julius128

jtac wrote: »

its for a security deposit for €400 even though signing up was supposed to be free,and Im already a bord gais customer any way.

They have confirmed when I was signing that if you are paying by Direct Debit and already paid your deposit for Gais then you are NOT required to pay Deposit for Electricity :mad:

gagalina

I signed up with them today and was told it would take about 8 weeks.

I was told the meter reading was not required, as they had lots of false information given, so now they don't take it anymore, but wait for the official reading that the esb will do as the final reading for them.

I also have to pay 100 deposit (would have been 200 if I hadn't gone for direct debit) because I am in the house less than 14 months.

Was told that the 100 euro would be paid back to me in stages over the next 6 months or so...

Gagalina

Fnergg

gagalina wrote: »

.......

I was told the meter reading was not required, as they had lots of false information given, so now they don't take it anymore, but wait for the official reading that the esb will do as the final reading for them.

I also have to pay 100 deposit (would have been 200 if I hadn't gone for direct debit) because I am in the house less than 14 months.

Was told that the 100 euro would be paid back to me in stages over the next 6 months or so...

Gagalina

The problem with waiting for the next scheduled ESB meter reading is that it could be an estimate. The ESB only read meters 4 times a year so 2 readings will definitely be estimated. More readings could be estimated due to non-access.

BG are switching customers from estimates even though the estimates in many cases are widely inaccurate. They are telling the customers who are querying the matter that it is an ESB problem. It is not - it is a conscious decision made by BG in an attempt to clear their backlog. Anyone here who is switched from an estimate should query the matter with BG if the estimate is out of line with the real reading - it is up to them to correct it and not the ESB.

The real reason that BG are not taking any more customer reads is that they can't process the switches on time in the vast majority of cases. There is a very narrow window in which a new supplier can switch a customer using the customer reading - I think it's 3 days - and BG are simply unable to meet that limit.

I don't buy the story about false readings - there may be a very small minority who would have understated their readings but anyone who did so would have had to make sure that the reading was at least somewhat in advance of the previous official read.

As regards their statement that the €100 would be paid back in stages over the next 6 months or so: that doesn't make any sense. A security deposit is normally held for at least a year.

Regards,

Fnergg

gagalina

thanks for the info Fnerrg.

In the meantime I signed up with ESB and gave them the correct meter reading, as I obviously do not want to pay for the electricity used by the the tennants before me.
Whenever Bord Gais get around to switching me over, I'll give them another reading, if the estimate is way out of line.

Regarding the security deposit, I had a look at their T&C's on their website and it states that it will be returned to the customer when they close the account... Will give them a ring about that tomorrow.

Gagalina

dudara

Merged into the Bord Gais megathread

dudara

rameire

rameire wrote: »

my last scheduled meter reading was one month after i applied which was now one month ago.
and i have received a bill from esb, but not a closing bill.
but received a pm from bg on boards today, just replied so will hopefull have an answer tomorrow.
and i know it takes time, was just putting it out there to see other peoples reaction and see how many others are out there like me.

got a call today from bg guy, ( cheers )
advised it was still on bg system as to be pulled over from esb,
also stated that it is with esb, and bg cannot do anything until esb respond.
but will give me a call back when he hears any news.

snaps

when are esb bills coming down (Unit price). I thought that they were coming down this yeat but just got my latest bill and im still paying 16.4c a unit? So perhaps its time to change over.

Fnergg

snaps wrote: »

when are esb bills coming down...

As from 1st May.

Regards,

Fnergg

amtc

I had posted earlier that I had switched in early February but given that the service only started 18 February it must've been later! (Memory getting bad at 35...)

Anyway when I got home last night there was all the documentation waiting for me. Bad news is I reckon I'll probably get a bill for a slightly longer period than usual. Did submit a meter reading, amaxing how having a meter key makes me feel all grown up!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

rameire wrote: »

got a call today from bg guy, ( cheers )
also stated that it is with esb, and bg cannot do anything until esb respond.

I think he was bullsh1ting you there as ESB Networks have no part in any delay.

Blockbuster

Do Commercial accounts get the same discount 10% to switch, 2% for direct debit payments and will they also keep the price differential if ESB reduce their commercial rates, we spend about €20K per annum on electricity, a reduction in cost would be welcome!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

There have been several Suppliers in the Commercial market for quite a number of years now. Airtricity and BGE are only 2 there are also ESBIE, and Viridian. They offer dirrerent rates dependant on usgae, load etc. You purchasing people should have looked into this long ago.

This links to the CER list of Suppliers.

http://www.cer.ie/en/electricity-retail-market-overview.aspx?article=3bfeb9a0-68b2-40ec-b939-6cdedb8aad2c

eden_my_ass

rameire wrote: »

got a call today from bg guy, ( cheers )
advised it was still on bg system as to be pulled over from esb,
also stated that it is with esb, and bg cannot do anything until esb respond.
but will give me a call back when he hears any news.

Rameire, still waiting on a final call from the same contact since emailing him on Monday, he rang to confirm email and rang again another day to say he hadn't forgotten about me. By my calculations its now 62 days since I signed up. I never got a confirmation email, I couldn't confirm by phone that I was in the queue since noone could "access" that information for me, but luckily for me I know I'm in the system since I started receiving weird cold calls from Conduit because of some fault in BG's system (every three days for a fortnight before I tracked it down and got it sorted, no apology made for the trouble caused btw). I did call about a fortnight ago just to try again for info and the helpful guy then hummed and hawed and said I should be hearing something within the week, I think the policy has shifted to "say what the customer wants to hear"...pitiful really

vincenzo1975

where do bord gais get their electricity from. They certainly dont generate it all , so do they buy it wholesale and sell it on?

Fnergg

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

where do bord gais get their electricity from. They certainly dont generate it all , so do they buy it wholesale and sell it on?

Essentially, yes. All the electricity generated on the island of Ireland goes into one virtual "pool" from which the various suppliers - Bord Gais Energy, Airtricity, Energia, ESB Customer Supply, ESB Independent Energy, Northern Ireland Electricity - purchase electricity to sell on to their customers.

That is the Single Electricity Market and it is operational since the 1st December 2007. It's a world first as it spans two political jurisdictions and is designed to facilitate competition, greater security of supply and cheaper prices for everyone in Ireland, north and south.

Regards,

Fnergg

TheDriver

signed up second week of offer, got call few days ago stating end of June as my switch over date.

eden_my_ass

TheDriver wrote: »

signed up second week of offer, got call few days ago stating end of June as my switch over date.

Any more accurate guess on your sign up date? It seems to be emerging that there isn't really a queue but more of a lucky lottery going on....

vincenzo1975

Fnergg wrote: »

Essentially, yes. All the electricity generated on the island of Ireland goes into one virtual "pool" from which the various suppliers - Bord Gais Energy, Airtricity, Energia, ESB Customer Supply, ESB Independent Energy, Northern Ireland Electricity - purchase electricity to sell on to their customers.

That is the Single Electricity Market and it is operational since the 1st December 2007. It's a world first as it spans two political jurisdictions and is designed to facilitate competition, greater security of supply and cheaper prices for everyone in Ireland, north and south.

Regards,

Fnergg

if thats the case, how do the generators make money, are all the sell in prices the same, and do all the suppliers to customers buy from the pool at the same price.

What I am really wondering is if Bord Gais will up their prices once they have a large customer base. Surely it is cheaper for ESB to generate and sell, rather the Bord Gais buying ESB energy to sell?

Fnergg

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

if thats the case, how do the generators make money, are all the sell in prices the same, and do all the suppliers to customers buy from the pool at the same price.

What I am really wondering is if Bord Gais will up their prices once they have a large customer base. Surely it is cheaper for ESB to generate and sell, rather the Bord Gais buying ESB energy to sell?

ESB Power Generation - at one time (not that long ago) the monopoly electricity generator in the ROI - now accounts for only 38% of the all Ireland generation market. There is a raft of independent power producers including Airtricity's wind generating arm. Bord Gais are building a large power station in East Cork. All the electricity generated goes into the pool and prices are based on market forces. The actual pricing mechanism is very complex and I don't pretend to understand it. More information may be obtatined at www.cer.ie and www.allislandmarket.com.

Will they all continue to make money? Time will tell. Given the rate at which factories are closing around the country there could be well be a significant drop in demand over the next few years and that is bound to have implications for some of the producers.

Regards,

Fnergg

The_Conductor

I signed up to switch over on the 2nd of February. I have today received another estimated bill from the ESB, despite ringing them with accurate readings and requesting feedback from Bord Gais as to when I can expect to be transferred. I rang the helpline this afternoon and have been informed that I am a customer and will be billed by them in due course (despite having already received an information pack). The name and address associated with my MPRN are incorrect- which is why I never received my welcome pack (apparently). The guy who took my details had a lot of difficulty understanding my accent- I repeated everything several times to make sure he got it- obviously he didn't.

This is shambles......

broadsheet

Bord Gas seem to have overcooked this one. It seems they cant handle the large amount of new customers. Not only can they not switch you but they cant answer their phones and they are not responding to emails.

This is an utter shambles but how can a state controlled company get away with this???

ESB must be laughing their butts off

vikingdub

Why anyone would want to switch from one state body to another is beyond me. Why not change to Airtricity, the prices are practically the same and at the same time you can feel very smug about being green while saving money.