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Are Ecotricity as good as they seem...?

2696 Views 24 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  Mark J Constable
Having just recently purchased a Nissan leaf - charging at work and home is currently fine for commuting.

I am now planning a different route, so have been looking at 'on the road' charging possibilities.
I came across Ecotricity - so have signed up and now got my swipe card.

Are they really free? is there a catch?

Darryl.
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They really are free, no catch. They will charge for use of their equipment eventually of course and quite rightly so
It makes you feel guilty for not being their customer and you switch to them for electricity and gas at home......?
It makes you feel guilty for not being their customer and you switch to them for electricity and gas at home......?
Yep. Did that :) Fair dues as we used to say in Scotland.
I'd happily switch to ecotricity if only they'd match the deal I'm on!

I have single rate zero standing charge tariff from ebico. I pay a single, known price per unit that I use and nothing else.

every once in a while we hear how complicated energy tariffs are, yet they don't have to be dual rate or units + charges the Industry formalised pricing structure does allow for a zero standing charge, yet ecotricity won't offer that product. Every time I ask they are 'price-matching the big providers' (who are trying to take lots of profits for the shareholders!)

If you have a large PV solar system or are a low power user(single/small family) I'd advise seeking out a zero standing charge provider.
I must admit my change of provider was a knee jerk reaction, ecotricity were not much cheaper than my existing provider. I am not tied in so I will give them a couple if years and see how things play out
I'd happily switch to ecotricity if only they'd match the deal I'm on!

I have single rate zero standing charge tariff from ebico. I pay a single, known price per unit that I use and nothing else.

every once in a while we hear how complicated energy tariffs are, yet they don't have to be dual rate or units + charges the Industry formalised pricing structure does allow for a zero standing charge, yet ecotricity won't offer that product. Every time I ask they are 'price-matching the big providers' (who are trying to take lots of profits for the shareholders!)

If you have a large PV solar system or are a low power user(single/small family) I'd advise seeking out a zero standing charge provider.
They cost slightly more than the web-only dual fuel deal I had with British Gas. However I would rather ecotricity make a profit from me and use it for good than british gas make a profit from me and use it for evil.

No everything in life needs to be a money driven calculation.
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Ecotricity is actually quite competitive if you sign up for their Green Electricity + Car tariff (it includes free electricity for 1000 miles EV use). I would switch except for penalties with current supplier.
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They cost slightly more than the web-only dual fuel deal I had with British Gas. However I would rather ecotricity make a profit from me and use it for good than british gas make a profit from me and use it for evil.

No everything in life needs to be a money driven calculation.
Lol at Use it for evil :) Big developments are happening in EV charging infrastructure and I want to be part of that rather than look at it from the outside. SDhould be interesting
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Exactly

"Mum, Dad, did you buy gas from fracking wells.....?"
"Ummm, yes, you see, buying it not from fracking wells would have cost an extra £4.83 per month"

Is not a conversation I ever want to have.
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and who else has put charging stations on the motorways? The EU and ? We need Ecotricity so let's support them.

I changed supplier to ecotricity on the day I took delivery of my i3.
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Many years ago I invited myself to sinclairs offices in london. I was given a trial battery powered bike attachment and a look at a full battery powered bike. After a month of trials the outcome was that it was complete crap. Rubber band rubbing on bike tyre with a lead acid battery. There was no innovation going on. I was rather disappointed having gro
Exactly

"Mum, Dad, did you buy gas from fracking wells.....?"
"Ummm, yes, you see, buying it not from fracking wells would have cost an extra £4.83 per month"

Is not a conversation I ever want to have.
Hear hear. Signing up with Ecotricity is one of those rare things - a moral/ethical decision that has the bonus of being reasonably competitive from a financial perspective. Good for them.

Eugene

PS. Saw Mr. Vince the other day in Stroud. Was very tempted to congratulate him on all his good work (and ethos), but figured he deserved an uninterrupted lunch ...
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Coincidentally I have today just signed up with Ecotricity on their Green Electricity + Car package and received a nice bonus courtesy of Paul (Admin) - start a conversation with him for further details. I want to support their free charging network and hope that when they do start charging for the service they give their customers a good discount....
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I have single rate zero standing charge tariff from ebico. I pay a single, known price per unit that I use and nothing else.
If you have a large PV solar system or are a low power user(single/small family) I'd advise seeking out a zero standing charge provider.
I used to be with Ebico but just because a tariff is easy to understand doesn't make it cheap.
I make a note of all my meter readings every Monday morning (sad I know but I like the data, though the first of each month would work too). All if it is then entered into a spreadsheet and I can see exactly how much power I've used in the last week/month/quarter/year and compare it to the previous period.
Once you know exactly how much energy you're using, the comparison websites work much better. Though I recalculate the figures (because I'm like that) anyway. The fact that there is 19p vs. a 29p daily standing charge is irrelevant, as are multiple rates, breaks, cliffs, discounts and freebies. It's the number at the bottom/right of the page that's important. And despite the fact that Ebico were cheapest for two years in row, it didn't stop them getting bumped when they dropped to second cheapest.
That said, I'll be in a bit of a quandary in six months , Ecotricity aren't the cheapest, not by a long stretch. But they give us the Electric Highway, use their profits to build more sustainable generation (I just hate it that they call them windmills), have more ideas in that direction and, well, Dale is dude.
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Having used the Beaconsfield charger twice today I am once again in love (all over again) with the electric highway, and by proxy Ecotricity.
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Having used the Beaconsfield charger twice today I am once again in love (all over again) with the electric highway, and by proxy Ecotricity.
Are both points working now?
Are both points working now?
Yep, used one on the way down and the other on the way up.
Interesting that the 2013 supply mix stats are out, and Ecotricity's proportion of coal generation has risen and thus their CO2/kWh is worse than for 2012. Genuinely surprised at that.
I wonder how the electric highway spread affects that, or just growth in general. UK generally just seems to be going backwards when it comes to renewables and future thinking.
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