BEenergy have been active in the Irish market for a few years but have now really started to push for new customers with the introduction of several new offers. BEenergy is the ‘sister’ company of Budget Energy who have over 63,000 domestic customers in Northern Ireland, or around 8per cent of the market.
And it seems BEenergy are providing offers that will appeal to a wide range of customers by giving them more choice over the type of tariff they can sign up to. Their two main offers provide customers the option to go with a variable (discount) tariff or a two year fixed price plan.
BEenergy ‘Budget Bonus’
This is aimed at customers who prefer to take advantage of a discount rate. The tariff offers a 15% discount off the BEenergy Standard Rate. The discount is guaranteed for a year and the tariff comes with a 12 month contract. The rate is competitive and is probably best for those consumers who want to benefit from an initial discount term.
BEenergy ‘Budget 2Yr Fixed Deal Bonus’
This tariff provides a guaranteed fixed price deal for two years. With this tariff you can take comfort that the rate will not change – so if prices go up you’ll continue to enjoy the same rate throughout the full two years of the contract. This tariff is aimed at people who want to ‘lock-in’ their electricity price so they can be confident that what they pay will stay the same over the next two years.
Who can avail of BEenergy deals?
Both these deals are available to new customers of BEenergy. You must sign up to pay by Direct Debit and receive online bills. If you don’t then a security deposit may be required on your account. A €100 exit fee will also apply if you leave the contract early. At the moment BEenergy only supply electricity so they can’t provide you with gas or dual fuel deals.
What type of tariff is best?
There is no right answer to this – it’s really the best deal for you and they type of deal you prefer.
For the Budget Bonus tariff the discount rate (15%) is fixed but the actual tariff rate you pay could go up or down during the year (i.e. a variable tariff). This is because the tariff rate is discounted from the BEenergy Standard Tariff – the discount is almost like a tracker which follows the standard rate.
Although the 2 Year Fixed Deal rate is slightly higher than the discount rate it does provide certainty that the price you pay will not change over the two years of the contract. Many people, especially when they think about the number of price rises over the last year, will value this certainty. If prices continue to increase then a fixed price can work well for consumers – however if prices fall the tariff rate will also stay the same.
Consumer Choice..
The great thing about the new offers from BEenergy is that they provide more choice for consumers in Ireland. So whether you want to take a discount tariff or have the certainty of a fixed price tariff its really up to you.
Finding the right deal for you will depend on what type of offer you prefer, how much energy you use, type of meter etc. So if you’re thinking of switching then the best place to start is with Power to Switch. We compare all suppliers, deals and offers to make finding the right deal easy
