Iberdrola to Electric Ireland....Sept is here

S

SDMXTWO

Registered User
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196
So what's the best option here. Told to wait till Sept to have option to switch, what to do now, any ideas? Iberdrola have closed my account so cannot see previous bills, usage etc to compare.
 
It's really a question of how long is a piece of string. The various providers target different price points. The likes of bonkers make it easy over you know your usage.

Can you use previous years bills to gauge your usage or alternatively your online banking to see how much it cost (there is an option to put in spend as an alternative to actual usage)?
 
Contact iberdrola directly and request information under GDPR. They are obliged to forward the information to you.
One thing to note:
You have just highlighted the need to download copies of bills or statements incase the company closes. It is also proof you have lived in a property for a number of years.
 
Unfortunately my acc with Iberdrola is closed so no access to any data. Scone&Jam suggests GDPR which I suppose will contain all payments. But it was so annoying that we were just landed with Electric Ireland without a choice and then told cannot switch until Sept. Chat can't help and so I dialled their helpline but that is experiencing such a high volume of calls you could be there for an hour waiting, so very hard to switch. At the moment they are charging on the standard rate. Frustrating. As I write this am on hold 20+mins to ESB Networks looking for a smart meter.....eventually told that I will be informed when in the area
 
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I think you could have switched at the time they closed.
Frankly, the main players are all similar prices after discount.

Energia have the biggest discount but the highest rates. Electric Ireland have the lowest rates but also the lowest discount.

It is a matter of taking control yourself. LED bulbs, express wash and 30/40 degrees on washing machine, eco setting on dishwasher and wait til full, finish off drying in a dryer rather than a full dry cycle.

We all may end up better off as a result of these higher prices as many will know how to minimise usage.

Btw, being proactive has brought my monthly bills in the summer months under €90 - they used to be well over €200 bi-monthly
 
Beware of Electric Ireland. Just spent 15 minutes holding on the phone to hear 'your expected wait time is 62 minutes'
 
SDMXTWO said:
Frustrating. As I write this am on hold 20+mins to ESB Networks looking for a smart meter.....eventually told that I will be informed when in the area
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Why in God's name are you looking for a smart meter? You must have money to burn!
 
Groucho said:
Why in God's name are you looking for a smart meter? You must have money to burn!
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I've read a lot here about smart meter plans being a lot more expensive, but comparing some of the numbers on Bonkers there is little or no difference for average users, and potentially decent savings for users who can shift usage to certain narrow off-peak windows.

Assuming rural user on national average usage, the Bonkers calculator shows the EI Home Electric SST smart meter plan as costing €135 or 7% less then the best non-smart plan.
 
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Leo said:
Assuming rural user on national average usage, the Bonkers calculator shows the EI Home Electric SST smart meter plan as costing €135 or 7% less then the best non-smart plan.
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I wanted to compare that with my current (dumb day/night meter) plan, but the only place on the EI website where I can find that plan is for dual-fuel customers. Am I missing something?
 
Groucho said:
I wanted to compare that with my current (dumb day/night meter) plan, but the only place on the EI website where I can find that plan is for dual-fuel customers. Am I missing something?
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I simply went through the Bonkers cost comparison options for non-smart meter and with a smart meter. The smart plan worked out cheaper for the same usage.

The tool assumed usage breakdown as 11% peak, 55% day rate and 34% of night rate. If you moved more usage to the night rate (EV users...) you'd save even more on the smart plans.
 

Thanks; for the past decade I'm night 57% day 43%. I'll check it out.
 
"The CRU admitted that the deals on offer to date have not been persuasive. There is also public fear they could end up paying extra-high charges for peak-time use that would not be compensated by low prices off-peak."
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QED.

Although, it's depressing to see the CRU - as usual - trying to pass the buck: "it's got nothing to do with us boss! We don't get paid those big fat salaries for proactively looking after consumers' interests!"
 
Groucho said:
QED.

Although, it's depressing to see the CRU - as usual - trying to pass the buck: "it's got nothing to do with us boss! We don't get paid those big fat salaries for proactively looking after consumers' interests!"
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QED? While they might not be persuasive, there is no evidence to suggest they are a lot more expensive as you were suggesting.

The CRU are bound by the terms of the relevant legislation, they get paid whatever salaries they get paid to do their jobs within the terms of that legislation.
 

As a former bureaucrat I am well aware of the legal position, thanks. And as a consumer, I am aware of the reality.
 
From the Indo article:

"But electricity suppliers have failed to explain the smart meter plan to customers, give them enough information to make informed decisions or offer deals attractive enough to make switching to smart tariffs worthwhile. Now the energy regulator is directing suppliers to inject urgency into the scheme."

QED, there's nothing in the new so-called "smart meters" to attract consumers to "smart tariffs". €1,2bn wasted which would have better spent as consumer subsidies on fuel costs.
 
mathepac said:
QED, there's nothing in the new so-called "smart meters" to attract consumers to "smart tariffs". €1,2bn wasted which would have better spent as consumer subsidies on fuel costs.
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But average users will save money on the smart plans, and more if they can offset usage more.

Suppliers haven't made smart plans significantly cheaper for people still consuming most of their electricity during the day, but anyone who expected them to do so really didn't understand the goal.
 
Maybe others have different energy profiles, we do have a large enough continuous base load, so for us we'd pay a fair bit more on most smart meter plans, and substantially more on others unless we changed quite a bit of behaviour.
Even with the behaviour changes I couldn't come up with one scenario where we'd actually save money on the smart plan compared to the 24 hour plan.
 
ryaner said:
Maybe others have different energy profiles, we do have a large enough continuous base load, so for us we'd pay a fair bit more on most smart meter plans, and substantially more on others unless we changed quite a bit of behaviour.
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Perhaps, you may well be different enough from the average model of 11% peak, 55% day rate and 34% night rate that the comparison sites use to calculate the costs of various plans. If your use is more concentrated during the day and in particular the shorter peak period, a smart plan will cost you more.

If your base load is that high and continues across the 24 hours you'd likely save more on a smart plan. If you have a good understanding of your load pattern the calculators will allow you search plans to get the best deal across smart / regular tariffs.
 
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