At our Quaker convention residence now we have truly tried to help the world by switching our fuel central heating boiler for an air useful resource heatpump. We requested our distributor, Crown Gas & &Power, to complete our provide, and have been amazed to learn that we wanted to keep up paying the 99p a day standing price until the meter was gotten rid of.
However, the big shock got here when it billed us ₤ 486 to eliminate the meter. We inquired this, but have been knowledgeable it was applicable. We wanted to pay it, or else we would definitely want to keep up paying 99p a day.
For a reliable fuel designer, it’s a primary activity to detach the provision pipeline, and cap it off securely. In the event, it took one man a lot lower than an hour to do it. It seems to us that their price is inflated.
The Energy Networks Association claims some corporations do that completely free. Can we check it?
JJ, Bristol
As I’m a follower of stating on this column, no glorious motion goes unpunished.
It should be free-and-easy to eliminate a fuel meter but alas that isn’t the occasion as Richard Lowes of the Regulatory Assistance Project, which is related to tidy energy plan, verifies.
“Non-residential supplies are regulated differently to residential supplies and, in either case, it is up to the supplier how much they charge,” he claims. “Octopus Energy is notable for not charging for domestic gas meter removals and other suppliers should follow suit – many are installing heat pumps, for goodness sake.”
Crown Gas & & Power claims its price remained in keeping with the nationwide normal and referred us to the Citizens Advice website, which claims it’d set you again something from ₤ 400 to better than ₤ 1,000 relying upon “how much work needs to be done”.
Regarding the standing charges, it mentioned that “whether gas is being consumed or not, meters require monitoring and management” and this lined the value of that.
It seems to me that the ability regulatory authority, Ofgem, requires to do one thing regarding this gray location.
In the in the meantime, in case you are a house proprietor altering over and taking into account a heatpump in future, attempt to discover a supplier that can definitely eliminate the previous meter completely free.
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