Martin Lewis issues ‘batch cooking’ warning to British Gas, EON, EDF and Octopus customers
Martin Lewis issued a 'batch cooking' warning to British Gas, Octopus Energy and EOn customers
Money saving expert Martin Lewis has issued a warning to British Gas, Octopus Energy, EDF and EON customers over ‘batch cooking’ to save money.
Batch cooking is a process where people cook several meals at once in order to save money on gas or electricity costs.
Martin urged his followers to consider exactly how batch cooking works after a woman asked a question during Tuesday night’s General Election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer about how she saves money by cooking at ‘off peak’ times.
But Martin Lewis was quick to point out to his followers that the process of batch cooking only works to save the most money if you have a tariff which changes price at peak times.
Traditionally, a tariff known as Economy 7 gives you a cheaper price at night, usually 12 midnight to 7am, which is used by people with night storage heaters.
But other ‘agile tariffs’ exist such as Octopus’ Agile Tariff, which changes its prices twice hourly depending on demand in order to spread usage, and British Gas Peak Save Scheme which gives cheaper rates on Sundays.
Martin explained to his followers that unless you’re on one of these tariffs, you won’t maximise the savings from batch cooking.
He said: “Just a little note on "batch cooking at weekends so its not at peak times." Most people are not on time of use tariffs, you pay the same rate whenever you use energy. #ITVdebate
“The exceptions are Eco7, a smart tariff (like Octopus's) or the British Gas Peak save scheme on Sundays. Yet you'll know if you're on one of these, so don't feel you need do this to save, unless you are #ITVdebate
“PS the aim of this tweet isn't to question what was asked, but just i often read people confused about whether their prices vary and didnt want people to think that this was a standard thing. She said "so its not at peak times".”
The Octopus Agile Tariff changes rates every 30 minutes. It is based on a forecast of wholesale prices (what firms pay for energy) for the next day. It typically gives cheaper rates in off-peak periods and higher prices mornings and evenings.
