Best Electricity Plan for new EV Owners

liamog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121037351#Comment_121037351

Pinergy's day rates on the standard smart tariff were 29.34c/kWh inc. vat in August '21. They are currently 46.46c/kWh. That makes it 58.3% higher than they were 2 years ago not >100%. If they apply the cut across the board they'll be at 43.3% of their August '21 pricing.

MojoMaker

Don't understand why you're defending/apologising though.

Wholesale prices (across the western world) are down considerably on what they were a year ago. Isn't this somewhat similar to the banks not passing on the ECB rate rises to deposit holders, while making sure to pass them on to mortgage holders?

liamog

Not defending or apologising, but let's at least make sure the facts under discussion are correct.

MojoMaker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121038254#Comment_121038254

Was meant to be on Amazing_Raisin's post - yours got in the way Liam.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121038278#Comment_121038278

Down on 2022 doesn't mean much considering how high energy prices were then

As others have said, to a large extent consumers were actually shielded from the increases in wholesale prices because of hedging

It was around this time last year that has prices in Europe were around 10x what they were in August 2021

If a ~50% price increase was bad enough, imagine a 1000% increase 🫣

The other problem is using 2021 as a benchmark. That year was also pretty expensive, with gas prices more than 5x what they were in 2020

So if you hedged prices in 2020 for the next 12 months you were insulated from those increases, which is probably why we didn't see the same level of price hikes in 2021 as we saw in 2022

But prices were creeping up in 2021. Remember the infamous Energia EV plan? That had an 8c night rate at the start of 2022, but it was something like 4c in 2020. So it literally doubled in two years

The other side of the coin is generating capacity. If the price of gas collapsed by 99% but we don't have enough generators to turn it into electricity then it isn't going to matter much

We don't have the same interconnected grid that Europe has so we can't lean on generating capacity of our neighbours as much. We're on our own to a large degree

And the power plants that we have have been bogged down with maintenance or emergency repairs. Or just shut down because it turns out burning turf is really bad for the environment

Okay, so build more power plants then, right? Well, it turns out Eirgrid have been trying to do that for a while, but several contracts that went to tender didn't get delivered

Life hack: if you want to get out of a contract then just don't do the work you said you'd do

Couple that with increasing demand, partly because we seem to be aiming for 1 data centre per person, and that means the prices go up and stay up

I don't necessarily buy the whole data centre argument personally, but it is indicative of one of the underlying problems in our energy market. We're (correctly) focused on high tech industries because that's where we're most competitive. But it also means us plebs are competing with the likes of Amazon and Facebook for the same generation capacity. If they're able to afford more then that means everyone else has to pony up or turn the lights out

A kind of similar thing is happening in Germany at the moment. For decades they've been enjoying an economic boom partly because they were getting cheap energy from Russia. But when their energy costs suddenly multiply then very quickly a lot of their domestic industry is finding it very hard to compete and maintain a profit

In summary, if your entire economic model is based on getting something very cheaply that you don't have control over, then you can probably expect to land in the same heap of sh!t we're currently in

the_amazing_raisin

Also, to be clear I'm not an apologist for the energy companies, I'm just trying to ensure people understand that this is the reality of the situation

To be frank, I think this is the logical conclusion to decades of mismanagement of energy policy and infrastructure in Ireland and across the EU

Like I said, if your entire economy is based on getting something cheap, then it's going to struggle when that thing suddenly gets expensive

We should have spent the past 10 years at least investing in domestic energy production like wind and solar, biomass and biogas from waste and interconnectors with other countries to reinforce our infrastructure

Instead, gas was always cheaper so it wasn't a problem, there were always other spending priorities like bailing out failing banks or enriching property developers 😬

Okay, I'd better stop that rant now before I get too far along 😂

crisco10

Anybody help me out..:is this a smart meter or a 24 hr meter??

Gooser14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039368#Comment_121039368

Yes, RM106 is a smart meter.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039368#Comment_121039368

Check your last bill and see what meter code it has on it, it might not be activated yet.

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039454#Comment_121039454

I’ve just moved it, so don’t have a last bill.

how else can I check? I’d prefer a new fangled day night meter tbh

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039594#Comment_121039594

You just moved in? I'm not sure maybe get in touch with ESBN or somebody else here might have a better way.

batistuta9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039594#Comment_121039594

There's no way to check it's active until you to try to sign up to a 24hr tariff

batistuta9

@con747 yeah trying esbn is good idea, never thought on that.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039594#Comment_121039594

A word of warning if it's not activated, if you activate a smart plan you are stuck on them forever. Even accessing the data on some suppliers portals can activate it so you go on smart plans in the future. You can access the same data on ESBN portal and not get locked into a smart plan.

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039656#Comment_121039656

I know. The thing is the devil.

Anybody had any experience as yet with trying to swap this type of smart meter for a day night smart meter??

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039975#Comment_121039975

Only being rolled out in September, maybe give ESBN a call and see if you can be fast tracked for one if possible.

Bobeagleburger

Why are you locked into a smart plan forever when you choose one?

Whats the technical reason for this?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039998#Comment_121039998

No rhyme or reason, you just are.

ablelocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121039998#Comment_121039998

to allow the energy companies to charge higher rates for ever and ever.

crl84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040327#Comment_121040327

What's to stop them charging the same higher rates on day/night plans now?

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040429#Comment_121040429

Nothing at all stopping them

But for some reason

• Standing charges are higher
• Day rates on smart plans are more expensive than day rates on 24hr and D/N plans
• Night rates are approx 50% higher than they are on D/N plans
• You get hit with a peak rate when cooking the dinner

The 4th point is to reduce peak usage but nobody can explain why the first 3 points exist. Not even the regulator.

rob w

Just signed up to Pinergy today - they have a bizarre way of billing! Got onto the EV Drive time rate - 6.92c/kwh to charge the EV at night, and ill export my PV kw during the day for 25c/kwh.

However, they are charging €298 per month for the 1st 3 months as an 'estimate' even thought there is a smart meter that can read my actual usage. When I spoke to them first last week, they said the €298 a month was because I had an EV. My wife called them today and said we have no EVs, but they still come in at €298 a month - so they are making it up as they go along! My bill will be nowhere near that, PV will cover a good chunk of consumption, ill sell units at 25c and buy EV night units at 7c - but no matter how much you explain to them, its €298 a month!! They say the amount is based on an estimated average usage - which is a load of crap - +€3500k a year that would work out as!

So in essence, we have to pay the guts of €1k over the 1st 3 months just to get access to that tariff. Money that they hold onto until that period is up, which could be sitting in my own account or used for something else! Anyway, I have reluctantly signed up as the rate is so good in comparison to other providers - and the promise of being able to withdraw the excess credit once the 1st 3 months is up.

How have others found PINERGY in general?

Also - they said the installation team have to come out to install equipment in the meter cabinet - anyone know what this is? I didnt think there would be any installation work required in a supplier changeover

Comer1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121041990#Comment_121041990

That all sounds so bizarre🙄

Mantis Toboggan

I'd be getting out of that during your cooling off per period.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121041990#Comment_121041990

I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, you aren't even a customer yet and they're acting the maggot, run a mile, any other provider are better than them.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121041990#Comment_121041990

Eh... fitting hardware to the meter cabinet...? Pinergy do a pay-as-you go plan which has a switch installed in the meter-cabinet so that the power can be shut off when the credit has run out... it's not that device is it?

Bobeagleburger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121041990#Comment_121041990

Get out quick. That sound ridiculous

rob w

In response to the above few posts, yeah I agree, it's totally mad. But we are paying a fortune for unit rates from electric Ireland currently though, and this would be the cheapest rate based on our consumption pattern. We would just have to pay a lump up front and then use the balance as credit or claim it back essentially.

I'm well aware of the cooling off period and may still pull out before then.

Is anyone actually with them on this tariff though - would be interested to hear your feedback/experience if so.

rob w

I emailed both the CRU and CCPC last week to query if suppliers are allowed to bill in this manner. Just got responses back this afternoon.

The CRU response said "the CRU does not regulate the electricity or gas prices in the energy market i.e. suppliers set their own prices without prior approval from the CRU in order to promote competition.

Therefore, any tariff, and the reasons behind it, is the responsibility of your supplier to explain."..

The CCPC gave a very long winded response but the gist of it was that suppliers are free to set their own T&C's as long as they are fair, transparent and not weighted against the consumer. If I was to feel that they weren't meeting that standard it could be taken through the courts, (it's not up to the CCPC to determine that).

I couldn't be arsed taking it through a court ..but with my legal knowledge* I would hazard a guess to say that the monthly estimate term is "weighted against the consumer". Surely it could be shown that not all households could afford that monthly 'estimate' payment - particularly in the current economic climate.

Not much help from either of those bodies I have to say!!

*None at all

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121042512#Comment_121042512

Energia do a ev rate for 10c and for 4 hours, could be an option?