On 27/03/2021 14:04, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Scott wrote:
My monthly DD is based on my use the previous month. Meters are read
monthly. And I can check on my account whether there is any long term
discrepancy.

That is just as good - possibly better from the budgeting point of
view. I think the criticism is where suppliers estimate a whole year
and set an average, which is typically higher than the actual usage,
leaving a credit at the year end.

I leave it all to Flipper. But have noticed that once a fixed monthly DD
was common, but the last couple of changes have gone to variable.

Everything being equal, paying as soon as possible for what you use should
give you the best deal. And a fixed monthly payment would mean you'll be
in credit some parts of the year and in debit at others. Or lending the
supplier money. Neither of which make it the best deal.



The companies are not necessarily buying the energy the same way as the
customer and a constant cash flow over 12 months may be better for their
buying needs. With a variable DD that reflects only the bill amount the
cash flow in summer may be a third to half what it will be in the winter
months.

Even some of the better deals may not be available to some of the bigger
auto swapping organisations. While the big energy companies can
accommodate say 100,000 switches in one go the smaller companies cannot
cope with this number in a single hit. Even some of the Cheap Energy
Club switches have been limited to the first, say, 25,000 customers that
apply.

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