Pricey Electricity - any suggestions?

RSMike said:

Send Airtricity an e-mail and they will send you back their rates, Eblanoid is right 10% Cheaper than ESB.

It just amazes me that everyone gripes about ESB prices, but would not consider switching their source to a supplier who is 10% cheaper, there is no risk, ESB networks are still obliged to deliver the Electricity to your house, maintain the network, read your meter etc.

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The saving is about 10% only if you:
- pay by Direct Debit
- agree to receive an e-bill (no paper bill)
- use their Level Plan which averages the bills of the past year
However I have emailed Airtricity and asked them how exactly this is calculated, and what would happen if my consumption goes up or down significantly. They have not replied to this moment.
My guess is that they are using a moving average to calculate the bill, which does not mean the bill stays exactly the same but only that fluctuations are relatively smoothed.
Has anyone actually asked them about this??

thanks
N

nmesisca said:

However I have emailed Airtricity and asked them how exactly this is calculated, and what would happen if my consumption goes up or down significantly. They have not replied to this moment.
My guess is that they are using a moving average to calculate the bill, which does not mean the bill stays exactly the same but only that fluctuations are relatively smoothed.
Has anyone actually asked them about this??

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I don't think it's too earth-shattering. For the last 6 years I've been on ESB's Equalizer plan, which does the same thing (monthly debits). ESB don't seem to advertise this facility any more.

Hi i just posted on another thread that very shorty you will be receiving cold callers to your door selling Bord Gais electricity, much cheaper seemingly. An agency is taking on lots of staff field sales to knock on your door and sign you up. Being paid 25000 grand a year with 85per cent commission. so watch this space

Eblanoid said:

I don't think it's too earth-shattering. For the last 6 years I've been on ESB's Equalizer plan, which does the same thing (monthly debits). ESB don't seem to advertise this facility any more.

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I see. I didnt know they had something similar. So, if you dont mind me asking, how does that exactly work?

nmesisca said:

The saving is about 10% only if you:
- pay by Direct Debit
- agree to receive an e-bill (no paper bill)
- use their Level Plan which averages the bills of the past year
However I have emailed Airtricity and asked them how exactly this is calculated, and what would happen if my consumption goes up or down significantly. They have not replied to this moment.
My guess is that they are using a moving average to calculate the bill, which does not mean the bill stays exactly the same but only that fluctuations are relatively smoothed.
Has anyone actually asked them about this??

thanks
N

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So If you do not like the level plan just go for e-bill and DD and save 9%, at least Airtricity give you the option, if you sign up to see your account online with ESB it seems they automatically switch you to e-bill.

And if you don't like DD you can opt out of this and still save over ESB (think it might be about 5%), and if you have to have a paper bill you can have this also and still save about 3% over ESB

jamieb said:

Hi i just posted on another thread that very shorty you will be receiving cold callers to your door selling Bord Gais electricity, much cheaper seemingly. An agency is taking on lots of staff field sales to knock on your door and sign you up. Being paid 25000 grand a year with 85per cent commission. so watch this space

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Apparently you will be able to get a 12% discount with BG ( with Direct Debit) and even 14% if you are an existing BG customer, the "gotcha" is the saving drops to 5% in year 2.

RSMike said:

So If you do not like the level plan just go for e-bill and DD and save 9%, at least Airtricity give you the option, if you sign up to see your account online with ESB it seems they automatically switch you to e-bill.

And if you don't like DD you can opt out of this and still save over ESB (think it might be about 5%), and if you have to have a paper bill you can have this also and still save about 3% over ESB



Apparently you will be able to get a 12% discount with BG ( with Direct Debit) and even 14% if you are an existing BG customer, the "gotcha" is the saving drops to 5% in year 2.

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Well, seeing I have asked to be explained how it works, I have never said I dont like the level plan..
Anyone could please enlighten me on how the level plan works?
Well Airtricity said the saving is around 10%.. on my calculations is more 8% when DD and level plan + ebill..
They havent come back to me to answer my query either. Might be better to wait for other provider..

thanks
N



N

Leccie Bill said:

hi,

use storage heating...

in a 2 bed apartment, only use one bedroom so keep heating off in 2nd room.

just a regular sized apartment really!

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I too live in a two bed apartment, using one bedroom and unfortunately storage heaters.

My dec-feb bill was a massive €350 and not estimated. The storage heaters seem to consume a huge amount of electricity and I also need to use the convector top up heater in the evenings to keep the room warm which is also consuming a lot of electricity Id imagine.

I live on the top floor of the block which doesnt help for heat retention.

I wonder has anyone investigated applying for the energy savings grants to have their apartment insulation upgraded?

How easy/difficult do people think these upgrades may be? Ie having to deal with management companies and gaining access to the attic space above my apartment?

top floor apartment should be warmer than most because the heat from others rises up to it, we found that when we were living in one

4 bd detached house with 5 adults - fairly good at turning off lights etc but still use tv, computer, charging phones, laptops all the time and Dec/Feb bill was only 187. When you register and log on to ESB.ie you can see your usage in graph form as well as viewing the bill. The graph makes interesting reading actually.

Don't use storage heating - have gas, and don't use the immersion at all. Guy on the radio other day was saying that this year with the colder spell of weather, the storage heaters are using more energy (ie more electricity) to achieve same heat therefore, its going to cost more.