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

bren2001 · 17-09-2023 12:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121121447#Comment_121121447

It says BWG in your tariff category..........

Unless you post the unit rate, nobody here can say if you're charged correctly. It should be 27.51 (ex vat) on your bill. Hence it's 29.99 (inc VAT)

Garibaldi? · 17-09-2023 2:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121119707#Comment_121119707

I think someone posted that you couldn't avail of bonkers if you had opted for the time of use tariff. I don't know the reason.I have been going through Bonkers for many years now at the end of each contract and have always found it very user friendly.

Escapees · 17-09-2023 3:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122148#Comment_121122148

Just think about it... Comparison of time of use rates of different providers would involve having to enter specific consumptions for the various periods, some of which differ depending on the provider. And that's not to mention free weekly periods of usage, which again can vary between providers. There would seem to currently be just too many variables and it gets very complicated.

It does however raise the interesting question as to the usefulness of sites like bonkers.ie going forward, as we'll all have smart meters and likely be moved to TOU plans eventually...

wheresmybeaver · 17-09-2023 3:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122339#Comment_121122339

ESB Networks provide your smart electricity meter data through their site, in the form of a HDF (CSV) file. Which means that technically the data is available for your usage between 8am -11pm, 5pm - 7pm etc over the last year, if you download it. You would just need to be pretty handy at Excel to work out your usage at the different hours.

If there was a more coordinated way of having this data collected, stored and shared with sites like bonkers.ie then you could feed in your annual usage of electricity across day, night and peak and get a really accurate idea of what plan would suit best. Like even if bonkers.ie could allow you to upload your HDF file at least then you could accurately compare.

As it stands I'm only just about able to estimate my TOU usage over the last 9 months or so.

honda boi · 17-09-2023 4:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121121447#Comment_121121447

When did you sign up?

I signed up the 21/08 and haven't heard or got anything from them.

bassy · 17-09-2023 4:19pm

guys whats the best value electric company to go with??.

batistuta9 · 17-09-2023 4:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122456#Comment_121122456

Think they're saying the amount of different plans & usage patterns would be too much for the comparison sites

You can cycle through the different periods on the smart meter to get the data a lot easier than messing about with that hdf

Charles Babbage · 17-09-2023 6:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122339#Comment_121122339

ESB networks were supposed to provide meter data independent of the consumer providers. The obvious way forward is for this to happen based on your MPRN and for people to be able to download this and do sums on it or send it to Bonkers to whatever.

Cape Clear · 17-09-2023 6:02pm

They do.

tx_tx · 17-09-2023 6:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122515#Comment_121122515

Each of them is the best value for a different segment of the market / usage pattern. Enter your details into bonkers/switcher.ie and find out.

unkel · 17-09-2023 8:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123147#Comment_121123147

You are right that it is different for different usage patterns, but bonkers is not going to help much. Particularly not with smart plans. You will have to do the sums yourself based on your usage. And if you have an EV, electric (heat pump) heating, solar PV and / or a battery has a huge impact on how much each plan costs. I'm actually going to pay less for electricity the coming year than I have for many years, even though I have 2 EVs now. Just because I get a 3 hour a day slot with electricity of just 5c. I will be using almost only at this rate, so the higher rate the rest of the day doesn't bother me. I will also get paid well for exporting to the grid.

Escapees · 17-09-2023 8:37pm

Do you have to keep reminding us?!! ;)

unkel · 17-09-2023 8:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123566#Comment_121123566

The plan is available to everyone! 😁

Might be a good reason to go ahead for some folk to buy an EV, get solar and / or even a battery? Payback times are very different on all this stuff now than they were a couple years ago

tx_tx · 17-09-2023 8:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123553#Comment_121123553

You're right. I had read how the OP's question was formulated, i.e. not giving any sort of detail about themselves (usage, appliances, meter type, etc), and also apparently not willing to invest time to read back a few pages. Based on that I assumed that 1/ they're not in a "special" usage type, more like one of the "mainstream" ones and 2/ they're not going to spend time getting their usage details and doing maths. (I'm not saying this as a criticism, there are thousands good reasons why people don't have time for that.) If they're in that situation, bonkers and al are probably the best compromise, they can give a good enough answer with minimal effort.

OmegaGene · 17-09-2023 9:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121122515#Comment_121122515

best option for you is to get a pen and paper out and take notes of the cost using your last bill, it’s not a one for all cheap plan unfortunately, Energia is good for one person and rubbish for another

Gooser14 · 18-09-2023 12:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123705#Comment_121123705

I would suggest you use your bills for the last 12 months to calculate your annual usage. Feed your annual usage into Bonkers or Switcher to see what they recommend. Alternatively create your own excel spreadsheet using pricing data from the individual suppliers.

hick · 18-09-2023 12:44am

Who’s the 5c off peak rate with ???

unkel · 18-09-2023 12:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124346#Comment_121124346

Pinergy

Not an off-peak rate. A rate only valid between 2AM and 5AM (unlimited) if you have a smart meter and join their smart EV plan on a 2 year contract via a community deal. Still available at this moment.

hick · 18-09-2023 8:33am

Thanks @unkel

tempting alright, I need to get another 5kW of battery I think to take advantage of that. Back to trawling the renewables thread.

swine · 18-09-2023 9:50am

I am with Bord Gais for several years for electricity and the renewal is coming up. They have offered 29.40 cent per kWh for the next offer, but when I check Bonkers/Switcher for this, no other supplier seems to come close to per unit rate when I check on my last 12 months usage. My tariff (affinity deal 39%) isn't listed on any of the Bonkers/Switcher options. I had presumed switching would be the best option. Thanks.

Escapees · 18-09-2023 10:02am

As mentioned many times recently in this thread, BG are generally offering the best deal at the moment when it comes to existing customers...

CoBo55 · 18-09-2023 10:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124838#Comment_121124838

You won't find anyone better than that for a 24hr rate. I recommend you take it.

swine · 18-09-2023 10:29am

Thanks for your help both.

batistuta9 · 18-09-2023 11:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124838#Comment_121124838

If you're a low user, sse -10% + 200 welcome credit is cheaper

Only things to things to consider with it is BG haven't announced reductions yet though they'd need to be bigger than expected to beat it. & they seem to offer the same % discount to renew multiple years, so might be better long term

TitianGerm · 18-09-2023 11:04am

Renewed with Energia this morning to buy myself another 14 days to find something better.

My rates have gone from 33.8c and 9.73c to 45.12c and 21.64c. They'll drop again in October with the price decrease but hopefully I won't be there that long.

GBX · 18-09-2023 12:01pm

With SSE now. Thinking of switching to another provider for the month and going back to in hope of getting the welcome credit. Not sure how long that offer will last though and might it go before 45 days