The Big Switch- anyone been switched yet?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Fnergg said:
Given the state of the economy and the privations being visited on us all the Regulator should lift the shackles imposed on ESB and allow it to compete on an equal basis with BG and Airtricity. There are thousands of customers who could benefit from lower electricity prices but who cannot avail of the BG and Airticity offers due to (a) being unbanked and so direct debit is not an option and (b) being unable to pay the security deposits required by those suppliers. The regulatory restrictions on ESB are therefore a form of social exclusion - the better off can benefit from BG's and Airtricity's lower prices but others can't. That is unjust and it needs to change. Customer service should be the differentiator that determines whether a customer switches supplier or not.
Click to expand...

Your incorrect here with that. You dont need a bank account for both BG and Airtricity and Airtricity only charge the security deposit when you dont pay by DD. There are a host of methods for paying your bills of both suppliers so this 'social exclusion' theory of yours is a misnomer.

Also as a point of information Airtricity still offer over 5% reduction in year 2.

You are being very misleading there in your post for some reason....
 
Cayne said:
Your incorrect here with that. You dont need a bank account for both BG and Airtricity and Airtricity only charge the security deposit when you dont pay by DD. There are a host of methods for paying your bills of both suppliers so this 'social exclusion' theory of yours is a misnomer.

Also as a point of information Airtricity still offer over 5% reduction in year 2.

You are being very misleading there in your post for some reason....
Click to expand...

My point about Airtricity's prices is that they are guaranteeing their 13% discount against ESB prices only until 31 January 2010 (as per their website) whereas Bord Gais are offering their similar discount for the first year you are with them. Both companies will be offering a 5% discount thereafter. Still good of course but if Airtricity is matching BG's discount for the first year as well they should make it clear on their website. On the face of it, BG's is the better offer.

Naturally, both companies being prudent commercial businesses need to ensure as far as possible that their customers will pay their bills on time. I have no problem with their Direct Debit or Security Deposit requirements. The customers they are targetting are able to provide one or the other and thus able to avail of the lower prices. In general, such customers are the better off in our society.

There are large swathes of customers with ESB who could probably benefit more from the low prices on offer but are not able to avail of them because they do not have bank accounts and cannot afford to pay the security deposits. So, they have to stay with ESB and ESB are not allowed by the Regulator to lower its prices to match its competitors. Why not? Because the Regulator wants to see domestic competition take off and ESB's dominance in the market dramatically reduced. Those mainly working class customers therefore have to pay higher prices than their middle class neighbours so that the ideologues of the Commission for Energy Regulation can say they have delivered competition in the Irish domestic market.

I see that as social exclusion - thousands of people who could really benefit from much lower prices are being effectively excluded from availing of them in the interests of a regulatory ideology. Excluded not by Bord Gais and Airtricity but by the Regulator. I'd like to see ESB being allowed to compete fully on price and so pass on the benefits to its customers too. Why should I, a comfortably off middle class type, be able to pay less for my electricity with BG or Airtricity when a single unemployed mother in a flat has to pay more because she cannot afford to switch and has to stay with ESB? She would benefit much more from the 5% or 13% discount on offer than I. She is paying more so that the Regulator can say competition is working. I think that is very wrong in these dark times. Remove the shackles from ESB, Mr Regulator, and let all our citizens benefit from lower prices!

Regards,

Fnergg
 
Thanks Fnergg...getting somewhere closer to the truth, but there'll be a switchin'.
If Airtricity and BG are almost identical..I like Airtricity due to their sourcing..
However, I'm already with BG....

Are there really very few people with bank accounts in the state?
Anyone who's ever worked must be paid into a bank account...(card charge stealth tax alert), plus anyone unemployed for more than six months can be paid into their bank accounts...

I wonder how many people are being excluded?
Enjoying the discussion tho!
 
Just because you have a bank account doesn't mean you would have the confidence it could support the payment of electricity account direct debits. I think it's a safe bet that if anyone's direct debit with Bord Gais or Airtricity bounces even once they will be told to go back to ESB. Bord Gais and Airtricity are perfectly entitled to do that. They don't want to carry poor payers. ESB on the other hand cannot off load troublesome customers (i.e customers who are experiencing financial difficulty through loss of job or whatever) on other suppliers. ESB will help you through whatever tough times you are experiencing by making payment arrangements (often for long periods of time). ESB work closely with help organisations like SVDP and MABS to ensure families do not have their supply disconnected. Bord Gais and Airtricity don't want such customers and at the first sign of trouble they'll be told to get lost. So, folks, if you are with BG or Airtricity make sure you keep your account up to date and if you fall on hard times don't expect much assistance from them.

Regards,

Fnergg
 
We switched to Airtricity and it took about a week for the ESB letter of final bill notice etc to come in the post. We've had no complaints since and noticed a saving on the bill.

Plus it feels good to know we are using renewable energy
 
LauraLu said:
We switched to Airtricity and it took about a week for the ESB letter of final bill notice etc to come in the post. We've had no complaints since and noticed a saving on the bill.

Plus it feels good to know we are using renewable energy
Click to expand...

You are using the same electricity generated from a range of sources - gas, oil, coal, water, wind - as everyone else. The electricity going into your house is no different from that supplied to your non-Airtricity neighbours.

Regards,

Fnergg
 
Fnergg said:
You are using the same electricity generated from a range of sources - gas, oil, coal, water, wind - as everyone else. The electricity going into your house is no different from that supplied to your non-Airtricity neighbours.

Regards,

Fnergg
Click to expand...

Can you provide a link to this? Interesting point which I'd like more info on!
 
Kine said:
Can you provide a link to this? Interesting point which I'd like more info on!
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose you could check out www.eirgrid.com, www.cer.ie, http://allislandmarket.com, www.howstuffworks.com amongst many others to establish more about the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

It is scientifically impossible for electricity fed throughout the national grid to be divided into green and brown electrons and to distribute the green stuff to Airtricity customers and brown to everyone else.

I queried Airtricity about this as their advertising tends to give the impression that it can be done. This was their reply:

"You are correct that all power is supplied to and purchased from a “pool”. But for every unit of electricity our customer takes from the grid we must supply a corresponding unit of power to the grid...

So you do not receive actual green power into your home but being with Airtricity increases the renewable energy on the grid".

So there you have it, Airtricity acknowledging what anyone familiar with the process knows anyhow - you can't give one customer green electricity and another brown.

In essence, the more customers Airtricity get, the more green power they have to feed into the grid (where it is mixed with electricity generated from all other sources). And that of course is a good thing. Mind you, ESB also generate electricity from wind and will be increasing their generation from renewable sources significantly over the coming years.

A careful reading of Airtricity's website shows that they don't claim any scientific impossibility but their marketing is very clever and it tends to fool a lot of innocents out there into thinking that everytime they switch on something it is powered exclusively by green electricity.

That is I M P O S S I B L E.

Regards


Fnergg







 
Just received my first ebill from airtricity following the big switch last month and I'm beginning to regret my decision.

My monthly bill has been overestimated by 86.32 euro and when I submitted my meter reading I got the automated reply that the next bill would be adjusted, which means I now have a large bill of 256.81 euro to pay.
Whilst I know my next bill will be cheaper, I would prefer if Airtricity would update my bill now as ESB always did when meter readings were submitted, I would think it would be easier for airtricity to do this as they are mainly sending out ebills rather than paper bills.

My next point is; how did airtricity come up with their estimated reading?, I assumed they would have obtained a history of my usage pattern from ESB but this bill is higher than I ever had from ESB and here was I expecting a saving!!.

Also, since I switched, I've been conscious to put the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher on at midnight for night saver rate which I never much bothered to do before, so I was expecting a double saving.
Anyone else not so happy.
 
priscilla said:
Just received my first ebill from airtricity following the big switch last month and I'm beginning to regret my decision.

My monthly bill has been overestimated by 86.32 euro and when I submitted my meter reading I got the automated reply that the next bill would be adjusted, which means I now have a large bill of 256.81 euro to pay.
Whilst I know my next bill will be cheaper, I would prefer if Airtricity would update my bill now as ESB always did when meter readings were submitted, I would think it would be easier for airtricity to do this as they are mainly sending out ebills rather than paper bills.

My next point is; how did airtricity come up with their estimated reading?, I assumed they would have obtained a history of my usage pattern from ESB but this bill is higher than I ever had from ESB and here was I expecting a saving!!.

Also, since I switched, I've been conscious to put the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher on at midnight for night saver rate which I never much bothered to do before, so I was expecting a double saving.
Anyone else not so happy.
Click to expand...

All electricity suppliers get their meter reading data from ESB Networks. In your case the ESB meter reader either failed to get access to read your meter or else it was a planned estimate. Clearly, the estimate was significantly out of line with the actual usage.

What you should do is phone Airtricity at 1850404070 and speak to an agent. Ask for an amended bill based on your own reading. I´d be surprised if they don´t send you one. ESB cetrainly would. Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Fnergg
 
Ardiff said:
Are there really very few people with bank accounts in the state?
Anyone who's ever worked must be paid into a bank account...(card charge stealth tax alert), plus anyone unemployed for more than six months can be paid into their bank accounts...

I wonder how many people are being excluded?
Enjoying the discussion tho!
Click to expand...

Bertie would be anyhow :)
 
Thanks Fnerrg,

I contacted Airtricity as advised and they will issue me with a new ebill by tomorrow.

Apparently, if you submit your meter readings online they will be taken into account for your next months bill but if you ring in your reading they will adjust them and issue you with a revised bill within the next day or so.

Thanks again, Priscilla.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top