All electric tariffs: One meter with two rates

What is Economy 7 or Domestic Economy?

It's easy to use Economy 7 and Domestic Economy, you get one meter which has two rates. One rate records all energy used during the day, and the other rate records energy used overnight.

You'll make the biggest savings if you have storage heating and hot water, which you can heat up on your off-peak, overnight rate. This way, you'll have heating and hot water throughout the day. Storage heaters should be wired to only use the off-peak rate, and water heaters can be timed to come on overnight.

All the electricity you use during the off-peak times is charged at cheaper rate, not just your heating and hot water. Energy used outside of these times is more expensive than our standard rate, so we'd advise you to use more energy in your off-peak hours.

What are the off-peak times?

Economy 7 times differ in terms of on-peak and off-peak periods depending on where you live. In most cases, the off-peak hours are in one overnight block, starting from around 11pm during winter months, although this may change by one hour during British Summer Time.

In some areas the times might be split. You might get two shorter blocks overnight instead or perhaps a small top-up boost during the day.

For Domestic Economy, the eight hour off-peak period runs between 11:30pm and 7:30am during the winter and 12:30am and 8:30am during British Summer Time.

We’ll soon be ending our support for some of our meters.

If you have a meter that’s affected, we’ll be in touch to arrange a meter and tariff upgrade to keep your heating and hot water working.

Or contact us now to arrange your upgrade.

Heatwise

Heatwise offers 10 hours of cheaper electricity split across three periods each day. You'll know if you're on this tariff, as it's only available for approved, hard-wired loads. It also has to be in combination with the Standard Domestic or Standard Domestic plus Economy 7 option.

One rate records all the electricity you use during the afternoon and the other records electricity used in the evening/night and boost. To get the best from this particular energy tariff, you should control your heating to come on during the off-peak times.

What are the cheaper off-peak times for Heatwise?

You get three times over the day where your electricity is cheaper; one in the afternoon, one in the evening and one overnight.

Afternoons

• Monday to Friday – 3 hours between 1pm and 4.30pm

• Saturday and Sunday – 3 hours between 1pm and 5.30pm

Evenings

• Monday to Sunday – 2 hours between 5.30pm and 10pm

Nights

• Monday to Friday – 5 hours between midnight and 7am

• Saturday and Sunday – 5 hours between midnight and 8am

White Meter

With White Meter, you get one meter with two rates; one records energy used during the day, and the other records energy used overnight. You'll make the biggest savings if you have storage heating and electrically-heated hot water.

This tariff gives you 8 hours of cheaper, off-peak electricity overnight. You should try and use more energy in that time, where possible, as energy used during the day costs more than our standard rate.

When are the cheaper off-peak times for White Meter?

You get your 8 hours of cheaper rate electricity for your stored heat between 11.30pm and 7.30am

Evening & Weekend

Evening & Weekend offers cheaper off-peak electricity in the evening and at weekends. This means energy you use during the day costs more than our standard rate, so it's great for people who are out during the day on weekdays.

This tariff works in a similar way to our other tariffs that have one meter with two rates. One rate records all the electricity you use in the evening and at weekends, and the other records electricity used during the day on weekdays. The main difference is it's usually better for homes with gas or oil heating, rather than storage heaters, but it depends on your individual circumstances.

What are the cheaper off-peak times for Evening & Weekend?

The times depend on whether you live in Wales, England or Scotland, have a look at the table below for your exact times. The weekend counts from Friday evening all the way through to Monday morning.

All-electric heating help

Get support and advice about all-electric heating. We've got information about how storage heaters work, tariff timings, and how to use an electric wet radiator system plus much more.

Do you have an online account? Register for one now and you'll be able to give us your meter readings, view your bills, and make payments.

If you can't find the information you need online, you can contact us and we'll do our best to help.