Energy firm E.ON Next has launched a new tariff which rewards customers who change the time of day they use various appliances including washing machines and kettles.
E.ON has launched a new ‘time of use’ tariff which charges people much lower rates at different times of day, with three different usage periods being tracked each day, all with different prices. Its Next Smart Saver tariff changes prices in ‘off peak’ hours, ‘super off peak’ hours and ‘peak time’ hours.
Those who switch to the deal and are able to move their usage of various appliances to different times of day could save a packet against the £1,849 Ofgem energy price cap – although if you failed to organise your usage well, it could cost you more.
The cheapest time of day to use energy on the E.ON Next Smart Saver tariff is 2am to 5am, then 5am to 4pm and 7pm to 2am are the next-cheapest. Then, peak hours of 4pm-7pm are much more expensive.
E.ON said about the tariff: “This smart energy tariff gives you the option to use electricity at a lower price (pence per kilowatt hour unit rates) during defined ‘off-peak’ hours of 5am-4pm and 7pm-2am, and during ‘super off-peak’ hours of 2am-5am, whilst charging a higher price during ‘peak’ hours of 4pm-7pm.
“On average over the course of a year, 2am-5am tends to be the cheapest period of the day for customers. We deemed 3 hours would be enough time for households to schedule their appliances, whilst keeping prices as low as possible.
“At peak times of demand between 4pm-7pm we see the highest costs of the day. This is reflected in Next Smart Saver with a higher rate during this period. However this enables the remaining 21 hours to be even cheaper than usual and allows for homes to save on their bills, by moving some of their evening usage outside of those three hours.”
E.ON sets out which appliances you should avoid using at those times. It said: “Don’t worry, you don’t need to turn the lights off! During the peak period you should try to avoid using appliances that use more electricity than most. Here are some examples of those appliances:
