OT: Power utility definitions of start/end dates

[AnthonyL]

I have a tariff that comes to an end on 22nd Oct.

Is there a standard that covers exactly when this is? eg is the last date of the old tariff midnight on 21st Oct or midnight 22nd Oct, or even midday?

[Harry Bloomfield]

AnthonyL explained on 16/10/2018 :

It doesn't answer your question, but.. You can switch without paying an exit fee, anytime up to 45(?) days before the original tariff end date

- so when it actually ends precisely is less important.

[Andy Bennet]

What about a tariff with an early exit fee?

[Bob Eager]

Still permitted within 49 days of the end of the contract. Yes, it's 49.

[Andy Burns]

49 day switching window

You can escape fee free in the switching window, BG were fined a couple of million in August for not complying.

[AnthonyL]

Correct - it doesn't answer my question. I simply want to know when the new tariff kicks in so I can take a meter reading as I keep track of my charges on a spreadsheet.

The grammar, to me, is ambiguous.

[The Other Mike]

For electricity it would 'end ' at 23:59:59 (or possibly 24:00:00) on the 22nd, but iirc gas tariffs always start at 6am on the date of first provision, so that would I think be at 6:00:00 on the 22nd. As for if the time is local or GMT for domestic supply is one for interpretation after reading the OFGEM guidelines,

For a high volume industrial user actual readings 'during the day' are taken electronically as in some circumstances the meter may actually change digits too fast for a visual read. For a domestic user the difference is neither here nor there and only of concern to paranoid pedantic skinflints.

Either way the readings at the point of changeover for a domestic user are 'estimated' using an industry standard method agreed with OFGEM (and no doubt available form their website with a bit of searching)

A meter reading supplied by a customer to their new supplier is iirc taken as an absolute changeover reading if it's made a calendar day before the changeover date and time.

[Harry Bloomfield]

AnthonyL wrote on 16/10/2018 :

As do I, but I just take a weekly (Sunday) reading, to feed into the spreadsheet. When I do the annual supplier swap followed by a meter swap, I just add the old meter swap reading to the new one, to keep the spreadsheet consistent.

[Brian Gaff]

Well EDF told me it was the end of the day before the new tariff applies. If you have agreed on, if not you are put on standard tarrif, but if you are on economy 7 this will still be maintained just at the new rates, ie it will not start charging all units the same on the first day if no agreement is in place. Brian

[Harry Bloomfield]

on 16/10/2018, Brian Gaff supposed :

Having done the switch several times over recent years, I am surprised that there is no option to preset the date for the switch to suit the customer. You simply agree to the switch then in their own time, they move you by their own time scale..

[alan_m]

+1 You can switch within 45/49? days before the end of your contract without penalty.

To prevent you going on to a "standard" tariff you need to start the switch process at least 4 weeks in advance. There could/will be a 2 week cooling off period and it's unlikely that your new provider will switch you immediately on the day at the end of the cooling off period.

My last switch took approx 3.5 weeks from the time that I filled in an on-line form to switch to it actually happening.

On previous switch gas and electricity on a dual fuel deal to another dual fuel deal have not been switched on the same date.

[alan_m]

Albeit a good few years ago BG charged me an exit fee which I later recovered. It was very underhand in the way they took it. It never appeared on any bill. They just took the amount by DD, separate from the amount in the last bill. If I hadn't checked my bank account statement it wouldn't have been noticed!

[Michael Chare]

I have never understood why it takes so long to change electricity supplier. I can order a years supply of heating oil and have it delivered the next day, and nearly always between 2 and 3 days after placing order.

[alan_m]

There is a 14 day cooling off period after your intention has been confirmed[1] but apart from that the process shouldn't take more than a few more days.

[1] Confirmed when you existing supplier is notified by your proposed new supplier?

[AnthonyL]

Thanks, this is domestic electricity and I'm not changing supplier, their rates are simply changing.

Their clarification is (un)helpfully:

"Your current tariff does end of 22nd October, and so at midnight on

23rd October, your new tariff will come into effect."

Or alternatively I get a free day!!

Yep that's me. If I insisted on paying an extra day at the lower rate I'm sure the supplier would be on my back.

The supplier generally uses the on-line submitted readings

That was covered in another post of mine a few months ago when they would NOT initially accept my readings!!