Around ten percent of households face a lottery in the current energy market, in terms of price and service. These three million customers, on Economy 7 or similar electricity tariffs, are not getting the price protection they deserve. The tariff was meant for those with night storage heaters that charge overnight and then release heat during the day. Customers have 7 hours of cheaper electricity at night but a more expensive rate than standard tariffs in the day. 

In principle these customers are protected by the Ofgem price cap and the government Energy Price Guarantee; in practice regulation is failing them. Moreover, these customers are often in more vulnerable situations than many, and need greater protection, not less. We have written an open letter  to Ofgem backed by six other organisations, urging the regulator to give this neglected group of customers the attention they deserve. You can see Ofgem's response here.

It is vital that Economy 7 customers check this is the best tariff for them and understand how it works. Further advice can be found at:

This report 'It's a Lottery', is about the treatment of Economy 7 customers and the fact such customers are not being protected by regulation. Commissioned by Glen Dimplex Heating & Ventilation, it was written by independent consultant and energy thought leader Maxine Frerk, through her company Grid Edge Policy. She is also an Associate of Sustainability First.

We recently held a roundtable on Economy 7 cutomers that involved civil society, government and regulators. Despite accounting for a considerable section of households, Economy 7 customers do not feature in Ofgem’s latest Programme of Work for the price cap on which it is currently consulting. In our view it needs to be included as a priority issue.

This unattributed note shares the findings from our roundtable event, which was attended by charities, civil society, government, regulators and business. It includes a set of recommendations to better serve and protect customers on Economy 7

Nowhere in the consultation is there discussion of the impacts of the proposed changes on Profile Class 2 (multi-rate) customers, who pay different amounts depending on when they use energy. It seems changes could have a bigger impact on these customers than it does on customers on a standard rate tariff.

We are disappointed that Economy 7 customers did not feature in Ofgem's Programme of Work for the price cap which it is currently consulting on, and we think it should

One of the factors that is important in Ofgem's calculation of the price cap for Economy 7 customers is the assumption on the split between day and night usage. We are concerned that updating this one aspect in isolation could have adverse consequences.