Is the cost of electricity still that high??

Sue Ellen said:
Was this another one of the discounts only visible when you logged into your account or did you chase them yourself on the phone?
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Appeared in my online account.

I rec'd e-mails from them:
28-Aug = contract will end soon, no mention of 38% off in e-mail, directed me to my account
2-Sep = reminder to log into account to see offers
7-Sep = another reminder, mentions that the offers are time limited

They also rang me.
 
I went on the web chat:

I have checked the account and indeed the offer available is 15% discount. Currently this is the best possible, however like I told the offers are subject to change, so by 12th October, the offer can be amended one more time


It looks like I will have to check more often.
 
This is insane. Discounts varying with BG from 15-33% on their standard rate depending on an algorithm?

I ended up signing up for a 20% discount. I subsequently got an email saying 25% available only to be told by another person they couldn’t see it on their system.

The varying plans and pricing structures followed by impossible to follow discounts structures makes it very confusing for consumers to compare. Especially if on dual fuel. Anyway I guess il just move on….
 
Anyone know if all of these higher discounts being offered by logging into Bord Gais accounts are for gas and electricity combined only? Any higher discounts being offered for electricity only?
 
Well known commercial tactics - muddy the water so that it is difficult to compare costs

At the end of the day - it's a question of comparing the cost/kWh that you will pay after discounts, etc
 
For the 1st time (for me anyway) EI are contacting customers proactively in the week or so before their contract expires.
In my case it was a pretty weak attempt to have me re-contract on the basis of a phonecall. My contract expires in the next week or so and the offer made was essentially a fudge.

I'm very close to the national average in usage terms. Last year I managed a rate per kWh of 30.92c, Inc vat. If I allow my contract to lapse I will be given the standard discount of 5.5%. Rate per kwh will be 40.89c up to 1/11 and 36.80c after the 1/11 price reduction.

The only inducement offered to re-contract was €50 cashback, or €100 if I opt for a smartplan.

I'll let the contract lapse for now and adopt a wait and see attitude I think. Bonkers not identifying anything worthwhile in my case at this stage.
 
I shop around every year for car insurance, home insurance, broadband, gas & electricity. We are happy with Panda bin collection so stay with that. My comparison method is to have an excel spreadsheet with columns for electricity kWh unit rate, electricity standing charge rate, and the same for gas. Know approximately how many kWh gas & electricity you consume per year. Phone each supplier asking for only the kWh and standing charge rates including VAT, also if there is any cash discount offered to change supplier, then input the data in excel sheet, and make a comparison for the upcoming year. I inform my existing supplier of the best offer received, see what counter-offer they make, and will change if the saving is more than €50. This may seem a small reward for the trouble involved however experience has shown that the suppliers algorithms detect that you are a "difficult customer" who will not accept anything but the best price, so this is what you will be offered. If a customer is too lazy to do this every year they will end up paying higher prices. That's how it works.
The wholesale electricity price is declining rapidly as generation companies come to the end of high price gas purchase contracts and buy lower priced gas for the next 3, 6, or 12 months ahead. How much of this will be fed back to the end customer? Hard to say because the fixed costs of Ireland's electricity supply are increasing dramatically due to the erection of many more wind turbines, back-up power plants for low wind periods which can last for weeks, also huge expenditure on a new power grid which includes interconnectors to Wales and France and Northern Ireland, and expensive grid stabilization technologies such as batteries. On top of all this over €1 billion is being spent on emergency generation that is only necessary because Eamon Ryan refuses to accept that new power plants are required until its too late to get them built before the lights go out. What this means is even when gas drops to less than it was prior to the Ukraine war, the price of electricity will not drop back to previous levels.
 

Nothing to suggest it was based on an algorithm.

Existing BGE customers were offered the same discount they were on a few weeks before their existing contract expired. Discounts range from 29 to 38% for single fuel users and up to 44% for dual fuel. Discounts have now reverted back to 15% according to some posters here and elsewhere.
 
What do you think was picking the particular value within the range for the particular customer?
Most likely an algorithm based on the customer profile set the value within the range.

Same thing happens in insurance, it is just less obvious.
 
odyssey06 said:
What do you think was picking the particular value within the range for the particular customer?
Most likely an algorithm based on the customer profile set the value within the range.

Same thing happens in insurance, it is just less obvious.
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No. Nothing as complicated this was simply rolling the customer's existing discount forward for another year. If you were on 33% you didn't jump to 38% but if you were on 38% you were offered that rate again.
 
Of course it’s an algorithm. You think there is a human changing varying discount offers on a daily basis on individual customers accounts?

The problem is the variety and inconsistency of discounts being offered across customers accounts with no reason being offered.

Their website even has a long term loyalty section which allows you access a drop down menu showing the different discounts available. As you said- up to 40%
 
Harvard said:
No. Nothing as complicated this was simply rolling the customer's existing discount forward for another year. If you were on 33% you didn't jump to 38% but if you were on 38% you were offered that rate again.
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The rate changes based on when you log in. I was offered 20%, then 25% then told 25% no longer visible on the system
 
Harvard said:
No. Nothing as complicated this was simply rolling the customer's existing discount forward for another year. If you were on 33% you didn't jump to 38% but if you were on 38% you were offered that rate again.
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That wasn't my experience. My contract period expired over a month ago and the best offer I've been given is 15% off the standard rate (40.96c per unit).
 
Leo said:
That wasn't my experience. My contract period expired over a month ago and the best offer I've been given is 15% off the standard rate (40.96c per unit).
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It seems to have been a bit of a flash sale by the looks of it. People reported increased discounts around the last week of August and they seemed to vanish last week.
 
clinteastwood said:
hardly any reason to be using a dryer in July...even this July. Laziness comes to mind.
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He may live in a 1 bed apartment with no balcony or drying space. Its extremely difficult to dry anything without a dryer in those circumstances. Get a heat pump dryer if you can, in that case.
 
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