Advice on how to line up utility switch dates, to avoid being charged higher rates when current deal expires?

Im looking at smart meter tariffs and they are all far more than the regular day/night tariffs.
Costs are well hidden by the complex tariffs too.
I definitely wont be switching to a smart meter with these tariffs.
There one that gives you free electricity on a Sunday, which sounds great, but the normal unit price every other day is double whats on the other tariffs.
What a con.
 
What is the general consensus here regarding smart meters?
Are they of any benefit to the consumer or will it just lead to much higher charges in the future? The energy companies must be licking their lips with the anticipation of more and more people using electric cars and installing heat pumps in their homes.

There is no real competition in the market here and we have some of the most expensive electricity rates in Europe, the cashback deals only make it more difficult to asses which provider is actually the cheapest (similar to mortgage cashback offers) and with so many plans its becoming increasingly complex and over saturated much like the health insurance market
 
Households don't get to choose whether they get a smart meter, AFAIK.

You don't own the meter, so the owner can upgrade it if they like.

That doesn't mean you must switch to a smart elec tariff plan.
 
The smart meters will put a stop to all the messing about with estimated bills which was a particular pain during the heavy stages of Covid lockdown.

We have recently signed up a new plan but not a smart elec tariff plan. Looking forward to seeing what the new information that they say will be available on usage in different areas of the house.
 
keving1989 said:
What is the general consensus here regarding smart meters?
Are they of any benefit to the consumer or will it just lead to much higher charges in the future?
Click to expand...
Smart meters open the possibility of better deals for people who can tailor or adjust their usage to avoid peak consumption hours. For example, some of the current plans offer a greatly reduced rate for a couple of hours overnight which electric car owners could take advantage of to time their charging.

keving1989 said:
The energy companies must be licking their lips with the anticipation of more and more people using electric cars and installing heat pumps in their homes.
Click to expand...
Unless of course they're a gas supplier

keving1989 said:
There is no real competition in the market here and we have some of the most expensive electricity rates in Europe, the cashback deals only make it more difficult to asses which provider is actually the cheapest
Click to expand...
Out of interest, do you have an example of a similar market with good competition?
 
I know this is a month old but i thought i'd add my experince of smart meters. I've had one for about 18 months now, the info it shows is total kwh, total day khw, total night khw, and total peak khw.

The companies offer those three tariffs on smart meters, but unlike day night meters, you pay the same standing charge as a 24 hour meter.

Day is 8am to 11pm (excluding peak), Night is 11pm to 8am and peak is 5pm-7pm.

My usage over 18 months is very close to the numbers used by the switching companies to calculate usage, mine is 65% day 23% night and 12% peak. I think they use 63/24/13.

I'm on a 24 hour tariff, so I've also made no effort to use particular times for things like washing machine or dishwasher (which im sure i would often put on during peak after dinner).

SSE, electric ireland and community power all offer smart tariffs that are between 10-25 euro cheaper per year based on my existing usage by going from 24hr to smart, that's not including the fact i'll set the washing machine and dishwasher to come on over night and save more. I feel like its a no brainer.

(i actually came in looking for info about community power, if anyone has any experience)
 
Who did the OP switch to in the end? I'm with Bord Gais and am out of contract at the moment. I looked on Bonkers but the saving seemed to be very small for switching both gas and electricity and the best seemed to be Electric Ireland but then I read that they are going to put up their rates so wondered was it worth it at all?
 
Is it possible to access the smart meter readings to better understand usage patterns without going on a smart tariff?
 
RetirementPlan said:
Is it possible to access the smart meter readings to better understand usage patterns without going on a smart tariff?
Click to expand...

We're not on a Smart tariff but I would appear to be able to access some information about the usage. I think the full info is not readily available yet because we have not completed a full 2 month's cycle as we have only moved back to Electric Ireland recently.
 
Thanks, can I ask how/where you access this information - is it through your Electric Ireland account?
 
RetirementPlan said:
Is it possible to access the smart meter readings to better understand usage patterns without going on a smart tariff?
Click to expand...

Just to say I have a smart meter, but I'm currently on a normal 24hr tariff.

If you have a smart meter installed you can access the info on the meter. You just press the button to scroll through and it gives you t1 t2 and t3 readings, so you can figure out what percentage of each you use.
 
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