Hi Paul

I know that edf do not offer this tariff either!
Just thought i'd let you know.

Natalie

Hi, are you in the southern Electric area as they have superdeal and Flexiheat. They also do a evening weekend which are all part of the lifestyle tariffs

Hi
Economy 7 is still alive and kicking giving you seven hours cheap rate at night(by the way you can also talk to your electricity company and have some flexibility as to which seven hours they are).All tariff sheets include economy 7 prices as do price comparison websites and the meters are quite common.A few houses in each area will have older style tariffs/meters which other companies will not be able to support.Economy 7 gets better the more night units you use,so yes run everything you can during your cheap rate.The only downside is day rates are more than the general domestic rate and standing charges or tier one units are also more.So if you have an economy 7 meter and are are using minimal nightime power then it would be time to put in a standard meter or work to increase your nightime use .All of the other major competitors offer economy 7 electricity in southerns area and if you look online their is a good saving for you.Also if you keep your meter whoever bills you, the more night rates you use the lower your bills will be.
You speak as if your not seeing the cheap rate any more even though you have an economy 7 meter.Check your bill you should see the nightime units showing and check your meter day/night.It should switch from hi to lo. It is not common but i have seen cases where the low rate of the meter fails and also where a company bills you at standard rate even though you have an economy seven meter.If in doubt contact southern.
good luck
keith

Hi, To change the subject slightly, I am with Southern electric on economy 7. When Economy 7 was first initiated back in the mists of time I am sure we were told that all electricity used during the "low" nighttime hours would be charged at the lower rate. We were advised that if, for example, you could set your washing machine to come on during that period you would save money. That was obviously back in the times pre-choice of companies. I can now find out nothing about this, and no-one I speak to seems to remember it. Can anyone throw any light on this?

Hello, I work for an electricity supplier called Opus Energy and have worked for a number of other suppliers. Although we do not supply domestic premises, I do understand all of the technical meter switching patterns (which decide the rate you will be charged and when the electricity is provided). Most suppliers have a fixed Day/Night "Economy7" tariff which they apply to all two rate meters (except evening weekend meters. If they offer these prices they will be applied to economy 7, economy 8, economy 9, 10 and many other options, including those with afternoon or late morning boosts. Their billing engines and the pricing sheets used by their sales teams cannot cover over 9000 switching combinations used in the UK so it is easier for them to offer some standard prices for similar switching patterns. Some of the companies I worked for will therefore charge you the night rate during the boost period and just factor those few customers with odd switching times into their overall portfolio prices. Switching is so easy it is worth changing supplier for a dya/night price and checking that your afternoon boost comes on and is charged at the night rate. The original incumbent Regional electricity company, in your case, southern electric, will charge properly but those working out of area will charge the boost at the lower night rate.

If you have storage heaters I think it is the best tarriff as they heat up over night and use alot of power.... if anyone knows differently though I'd be really pleased to hear as I would really like to change from npower and I haven't found another company who will give me the 2 hour heating boost in the afternoon.

Hi Lucy, I am glad your electrcian, suggested scrapping Economy 7, I am stuck with this fuel, and its the most expensive electricity, I have ever had. There is no way of saving any money, unless I have missed something. I am with EDF, they used to be Seeboard, but they are expensive, just like all the other Companies. There is no competition with any of them, no one offers competitive prices, and the consumer is forced to pay outrageous amounts of money. And what does the Government do let them get away with it, we have had so many increases in prices, who regulates these organisations, no one does.

I'm with npower and i get 2 hours cheaper in the afternoon as well as at night. Mind you their customer service is terrible, rude and ignorant so you might want to stay clear.

Ok Paul, Thank you very much for your help, its much appreciated. Our electrician has advised us to scrap the economy 7 as only one NSH heater and the water heater run off it. It will be more beneficial as that means we will get a cheaper all round rate.

As I have said though, thank you for your time and effort.

Regards,
Lucy

Lucy I have discovered that Economy 3 gave an additional low tariff for a short period in the afternoon but I cannot find a supplier who offers this tariff. I have yet to receive a response from Edf but Scottish Power, B Gas, npower, powergen and Scottish & Southern (which includes Southern Electric) all tell me that they do not offer the tariff.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Yes we are currently with Southern Electric. Thanks for your help.

Lucy

Lucy I am checking out the status of the economy 3 with the suppliers and will have some more information shortly. Can you confirm that your current electricity supplier is Southern Electric?

Hi there, I have just bought a house which needs some electrical work doing to it. We have economy 7 but only three things are hooked up to it, two of which aren't any use. We have had a few electricians in and one of them has said that has just done some work on a house that had an economy 3 tariff which is like economy seven but a cheaper night rate for the whole house. It has a special meter like economy seven. During the day it was a red light and after say 11pm it would switch to a green light.

Does anyone know about this? We have called Southern Electric and they have no idea.

Thanks