FAQs

WeSwitchU is a new and innovative digital platform built to take the stress and hassle out of switching energy providers. We assist residential customers and farmers to engage with the energy market, reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint with one simple registration.

WeSwitchU is the trading and business name of Connect and Save Your Energy Limited set up in 2019. It is an Irish company set up to monitor the Irish energy market for better and cheaper energy plans for you so you don't have to.

We are an independent and impartial price comparison and switching service for residential gas and electricity plans

Connect and Save your Energy Ltd

Company number: 642915

VAT number: 3598469AH

WeSwitchU aims to remove all the hassle from switching your energy in one simple way: we’ll do it for you. 

It works like this:

You register your details. All you will need is an email address, a recent bill, your meter reading(s) and your IBAN details for direct debit.

We’ll do all the searching and comparing on your behalf. Energy providers reserve their best offers for new customers. You are in full control of what plan or supplier you want.

When your deal ends we’ll repeat the switch process. The only thing you have to worry about is how you spend what you save!

We do all the hard work for you and charge an annual administration fee of 10% of the savings we make for you. You only pay if you save.

You can sit back and relax knowing your energy is in safe hands. 

Although we’d love to cover everyone in Ireland, WeSwitchU currently can’t be for everyone. 

WeSwitchU is for you if:

You are a domestic residential electricity/gas customer (not on a business/ commercial tariff).

The plans/tariffs we show are ONLY for customers who sign up for direct debit and paperless billing and manage their energy account online.

You have a standard electricity meter or day/night electricity meter (not on a prepayment meter or Night Storage Heating meter).

You live in Ireland. Unfortunately, you cannot use WeSwitchU if you live in Northern Ireland. This is because Northern Ireland has a different system and energy suppliers to the rest of Ireland.

No, WeSwitchU is not an energy company as it does not supply electricity or gas to households or farmers. WeSwitchU is an energy switcher, working to get the best deals for you from licensed energy suppliers.

All of your details are completely safe and fully protected as our platform utilises the latest server, database, backup and firewall technologies to ensure it is never accessible to anyone outside of WeSwitchU.

WeSwitchU was set up for the benefit of customers, not to maximise profits for energy suppliers.

We don't receive commissions from suppliers which means we aren’t incentivised to put you onto a "bad" tariff just because it pays us a commission. Our switching service is truly impartial. 

You only pay if you save. The charge is a one off administration fee of 10% of the savings made (€40 minimum) after you give us permission to proceed with your switch. After your switch is processed we monitor your new contract, energy consumption and provide your switch options at contract end to maximise your savings for the following 12 months. 

We will issue an invoice to you within 3 days of processing a Switch. The payment of this invoice will be processed by our Third Party Partner (by way of direct debit) on the date which is 14 days from the date of the invoice.

Energy suppliers offer substantial discounts if you pay your bills by Direct Debit or Level Pay.

Your energy supplier requires your IBAN number so they can establish a secure Direct Debit payment connection between you and your bank.

Your IBAN is a number that identifies you to the bank and is useless to anyone should it fall into the wrong hands. It can be found on your bank statement and will look like this:

IE99AIBK90000012345678

We take our customers’ data protection very seriously and all our users’ data is stored in encrypted files. You are also protected by the Direct Debit guarantee so you can be confident we have your financial security in mind.

Debt flagging applies in instances where a customer has debt on their account over a certain threshold and timeframe and they attempt to switch supplier. The guidelines are set by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) for domestic premises.

For domestic premises, debt flagging will be applied if you try to switch electricity or gas suppliers when you have outstanding overdue payments which are:

• More than or equal to €225
• More than 60 days overdue*

*Means the number of days after the date at which the bills states that payment is due by. ‘Days’ are taken to mean calendar days unless otherwise specified.

Your current supplier will notify your new supplier of the debt and a debt flag will be placed on the account.  So, to make life easier please ensure any arrears are paid off.

For energy customers you could be classified as a vulnerable customer if you meet the following criteria:

If you are critically dependent on electrically powered equipment. This includes (but is not limited to) life protecting devices, assistive technologies to support independent living and medical equipment, or

If you are particularly vulnerable to disconnection during winter months for reasons of advanced age or physical, sensory, intellectual or mental health.

Your MPRN is your Meter Point Reference Number and is unique to your home. You will find your MPRN number on the front right of your latest electricity bill.
 

Your GPRN is your Gas Point Registration Number and is unique to your home. It identifies your connection to the national gas network. You will find your GPRN number on the front right of your latest gas bill.
 

Tables below show the actual average energy consumption data for the 5 main residential dwelling types broken down by period of construction. 

The data for energy consumption per house type was generated using data available from the CSO and SEAI.

Note - National average consumption figures are 4,200kWh for Electricity and 11,000kWh for Gas.

There may be exit fees if you switch before contract is up. We don’t want this to happen.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has implemented new consumer protection measures.

These include;

  1. Annual Prompt

Energy Suppliers are required to send an annual written notification - either separate to or in a prominent position on the bill – to all customers that haven’t switched supplier for more than 3 years. If the customer fails to switch the requirement to send the annual prompt recurs every 12 months until the customer does eventually switch.

This requirement came into effect in November 2017 and energy suppliers should have been sending these notifications for more than a year.

Have you switched tariffs in the past 12 months?

ACTION - SELECT BOX NO

  2. 30 days’ notice of tariff/discount ending

Most gas and electricity price discounts expire after 12 months, after which customers are quietly bumped on to expensive standard rates. This leaves many households paying much more than they have to without even realising it.

Energy Suppliers are required to notify customers when their discount or promotional offer is drawing to a close. The notification must be either separate or displayed prominently on the customer’s bill. Suppliers are required to send this notification between 60 - 30 days before the customer’s promotional discount or offer expires.

Have you switched tariffs in the past 12 months?

ACTION - SELECT BOX YES AND NOTE DATE OF SWITCH

Look for this on top right hand corner of your bill.

DG1 : Urban

DG2: Rural

Select Yes if you see MCC02 on top right hand corner of your bill.

If MCC01 then select No

Whilst we accommodate customers who currently have gas and electricity provided by different providers, we only switch customers into dual fuel tariffs (gas & electricity from the same supplier). This is because suppliers offer better deals for dual fuel tariffs and administrative benefits for customers.

Select your supplier with the bigger 12 month bill as your current supplier in Step One.

An energy assessment can be performed by WeSwitchU. Schedule this assessment feature now available directly through the chat facility on the website.

Click "Login" 

Click the "Forgot Password" button

Type in your email and reset your password. 

If this is your first time logging in, you need to reset the default password. Enter your email address to reset your password at this link or follow the instructions below. 
 

To sign up, all you need is the following:

• Email Address
• Recent Bill 
• Meter Reading
• IBAN details for setting up your direct debit

We will switch your energy once a year. This keeps you off your suppliers expensive Standard Tariffs but means you will only have to give your meter reading once a year. The best of all worlds. However, we are always monitoring the market and if prices move and we can save you a significant amount of money by switching earlier, we’ll be in contact.

WeSwitchU only work with licensed suppliers. In order for a company to supply electricity or natural gas to customers, they must be licensed by the CRU. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator. The CRU license ensures that they are obliged to follow all of the necessary customer protection and safety regulations. 

Competition in the market means that there are many suppliers to choose from and customers are able to switch between them in order to get the best deals.

Yes, although this depends on how much you owe your current supplier. If your arrears exceed the limit set by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, you will need to pay your arrears before switching. If your arrears are under this limit we will contact your old supplier to organise the switch over. They will then send you your final bill

Switching energy supplier does not involve any wiring changes, pipe changes or disconnections. It just means that a different company is administering your bills. It is still the same electricity and gas coming into your house.

We’ll show you the best plans on the market. You can then choose from:

1. The cheapest plan
2. The greenest plan
3. Or you can remain with your existing energy supplier but on a better plan!

Over the last four years, an active customer switching every year could have saved:

• €1,696 on Dual Fuel
• €1,097 on Electricity
• €704 on Gas

Based on average usage and excluding cashback and welcome credit offers

(Source 2018 CRU Figures)

For some customers, that added up to €425 per year!

Cashback and Welcome Credit offers are not included in accredited comparison sites calculations – but we include them.

Users should not assume the cheapest deal shown at the top of accredited comparison sites are actually the best available.

Cashback offers can often make a very big difference to the overall cost- especially for lower usage households.

No, that’s the advantage about WeSwitchU! Your new supplier will contact your old one and request to transfer the account. Your new supplier will also have your opening meter reading, they’ll send these to your old supplier so they can close your account and calculate your final bill.

All you need to do is pay your final bill from your old supplier, or even better they may owe you money!

No, you will never be double charged for the energy you’ve used. Your new supplier will set a “go-live” date with your opening meter reading on that date.

Your old supplier bills for energy used before that; the new one bills for energy used after.

A 14-day cooling-off period applies, so if you are not happy with the terms and conditions of your contract, you can cancel it by contacting the provider you signed up to.

Your electricity credit is not affected by switching suppliers. When you switch, you'll be issued a closing bill from your previous supplier. Any credit on your old account will be allocated to paying this bill, and the remaining amount will be refunded via the same payment method you used to pay your bills. You may need to contact your previous supplier to arrange this refund. 

Smart meters are a new type of meter being rolled out by ESB networks as part of the Irish government’s National Climate Action Plan. 

Smart meters communicate your day, night, and peak electricity usage directly with your energy supplier, eliminating the need for estimated meter readings or meter reading submissions. Without estimated meter readings, you won’t run the risk of overpaying for your electricity. 

ESB Networks is currently replacing standard 24-hour meters and installing smart meters in their place in all Irish homes. Day/Night meters are not in the current roll out. ESB has targeted installation completion for 2025. If you would like to request an early smart meter installation, call ESB networks at 1800 928 123. 

Smart meters allow for greater accuracy in measuring your energy consumption. They also save your time by eliminating the need for estimated meter readings or meter reading submissions on your behalf. With more information regarding your usage, making an informed decision on the right energy tariff for you is easier. 

Smart meters are also good for the environment because they allow consumers to increase their energy efficiency and become more mindful of their usage. 

Everyone should get a smart meter. However, this does not mean everyone should ACTIVATE the Smart Services on their meter (in other words, sign up for a smart tariff). You can’t reverse this decision. 

Smart tariffs, also known as time-of-use (TOU) tariffs, charge different rates for different times of the day. With a smart tariff, peak times (usually in the afternoon) tend to cost more per unit of electricity than on a standard tariff, and night time rates tend to be cheaper. Some smart tariffs also offer a super cheap boost unit rate overnight.

Smart tariffs aren’t right for everyone. Smart tariff rates and standing charges are often higher than regular tariff rates during peak times. In order to take advantage of the lower night and cheap boost rates that smart tariffs offer, you need to adjust your energy habits. 

If you are prepared to change your energy habits, or if you own an electric vehicle, have solar panels/battery, or use a heat pump, you are likely suited to a smart tariff. 

MCC stands for Meter Configuration code, which can be found on the top right of your bill. If you have activated your smart meter and moved to a smart tariff, your MCC code is either MCC12 or MCC16. 

MCC16: You are on a standard smart tariff. Your day, night and peak electricity data are collected on a bi-monthly basis. 

MCC12: You are on a half-hourly TOU (Time of Use) tariff. Your day, night and peak electricity data are collected every half hour.

Insulate yourself from rising energy prices

Energy prices are known to fluctuate seasonally, but have certainly risen within the last decade. This is of course is likely to keep rising with increased carbon taxes. By investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy today, you could start cutting your energy bills to avoid being financially impacted by the unpredictable energy prices of the future.

Reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a more sustainable Ireland

The effects of global warming are said to be irreversible by 2030. All of us have a responsibility to act on climate change, and improving our home’s energy performance is a significant step in decreasing our collective carbon footprint.

The following table gives approximate installed costs of the various measures per house type.

1. Apartment 

2. Terraced 

3. Semi Detached

4. Bungalow

5. Detached (200sqm)

A contractor who is registered on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Registered Contractor List including; 

• Domestic BER Assessors
• Renewable Energy Installers
• SEAI Registered Technical Advisors or
• Contractors registered under the Better Energy Homes Scheme
• SEAI registered contractors have completed over 370,000 energy efficient upgrades in Irish homes.

A contractor who appears on the SEAI 'Registered Contractor list' does not infer any warranty or endorsement of that contractor by SEAI and WeSwitchU.

Before choosing a contractor it is recommend that you:

• Get a number of quotes and compare the offers.
• Request and check the contractor’s references.
• Formalise the relationship with your chosen contractor by drawing up a contract detailing the required works, prices, timescales, payment terms and warranties.

Sample Contract - https://www.seai.ie/publications/Model-Contract.pdf

There are seven steps

1. Decide what you’re getting done and what grant you’re applying for
2. Pick an SEAI registered contractor
3. Apply for the SEAI grant and get approved
4. Get the work done by the SEAI registered contractor
5. Get your house assessed by a BER (building energy ratings) assessor
6. Submit your completed forms to the SEAI
7. Get the grant direct to your bank account (about 4-6 weeks after you apply)

Note - The grant offer is only valid for six months. You must get all your works done in that time.