Economy 7
Economy 7 allows you to pay different unit rates for your energy depending on the time of day. You pay one rate during the day and then a lower rate for 7 hours during the night.
An Economy 7 meter will display two readings:
- ‘Low’ or ‘night’ reading
- ‘Normal’ or ‘day’ reading
If you have an Economy 7 meter, you would also see a difference on your bills. If your electricity is charged at two different rates, one for day and one for the night, you’re on Economy 7.
Find out how to read your Economy 7 meter.
If you have an Economy 7 meter, you don’t have to be on an Economy 7 tariff. If you would prefer to be on a single rate tariff, we’d charge you the same rate for both day and night. So you shouldn’t need to change your meter.
If you have a standard meter, then it's not possible to have an Economy 7 tariff as we have no way of measuring your different day and night usage.
Economy 7 can save some customers money. Whilst others can find the tariff more expensive as the day rate is higher than usual to balance the off-peak rate.
Whether it will save you money will depend on a few different factors:
- When you use electricity – generally, you need to use around 40% to 50% of your electricity during the night for it to be cost-effective.
- How you heat your home and water – If your home uses electric storage heaters and hot water tanks, then an Economy 7 tariff could work well if you heat them overnight to slowly release the next day. If you heat your home and water with gas, then an Economy 7 tariff could also help you save money. So long as you still use most of your electricity at night.
- What appliances you own – It will be useful if your large appliances such as dishwasher, washing machine and tumble driers have timers. This means you can set your appliances to turn on when the off-peak hours start, making use of the cheaper electricity.
- Your lifestyle - if you often work shifts or nights and use most of your electricity at night anyway, then Economy 7 could help you save money.
Economy 7 times will change depending on where you live, the meter and which energy supplier you’re with. It typically falls between 10pm and 8.30am.
Use the map below to find your times (times are indicative).
