E.ON's smart prepayment meters to charge standard prices
E.ON is the first of the Big Six energy companies to introduce a smart pay as you go energy meter.
E.ON has become the first of the major energy suppliers to offer smart prepayment meters to its customers.
The Smart Pay As You Go offers households energy using the same prices standard households pay and is an average £67 cheaper than its closest prepayment competitor.
Initially, it’ll only be available to the first 30,000 existing E.ON customers who sign up to the pilot scheme, although it looks like it’ll be rolled out fully in 2016.
The new smart meter allows users to see their balance online, letting them see exactly how much they’re spending.
They’ll have to top up by app, online or over the phone, rather than paying cash at their local shop. This may be a bit of a snag for those on prepayment meters as they tend to be on lower incomes.
That said, it’ll be easier to budget as customers can receive alerts when their credit is running low, with an emergency £30 credit to help through difficult periods.
With the smart technology you can transfer balances between gas and electricity using the app or going online.
Those who go for the Smart Pay As You Go meter will need a smart meter installed in their home. There is a chance that you may be credit checked before getting a smart meter too, regardless of whether you’re moving into a new home, switching supplier or switching from a prepayment meter.
Get a better energy deal right now with loveMONEY
A little bit about prepayment meters
Prepayment meters measure how much energy you use based on your current credit history.
Typically, you top up a prepayment meter in advance using a token, card or key.
Meters can be good for those on low incomes or people whose incomes fluctuate from month to month as they're easier to budget for. Some providers also offer emergency credit to help you in case you get into a tight spot as E.ON does.
But contrary to what you might expect it's the most expensive way to pay as you can't get discounts for paperless bills, dual fuel tariffs or paying by direct debit. And as well as being more expensive, it’s also difficult to spread the cost of expensive winter bills over the course of the whole year.
Credit and smart meters
There are now two types of prepayment meter available: credit and smart.
With credit meters, you’re charged on either an estimated or accurate basis, depending on the last time you had a meter reading.
Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariffs will display two sets of numbers, one for your day tariff and one for your night tariff. Find out How to cut your Economy 7 bill.
Smart meters use technology to send more accurate readings to energy providers. The Government wants to install smart meters in every home, though the main installation programme is not due to be completed until 2020.
Get a better energy deal right now with loveMONEY
More on household spending:
Income Independence Day: households need to work to work 22 days to cover costs
Where the buy The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cheapest
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature