Economy 10 and Other Restricted Meter Tariffs

An Economy 10 tariff gives a household 10 hours of cheaper electricity in every 24, in return for paying more than the average rate for the rest of the day. During the off-peak hours, the price of electricity could fall by up to half of the average rate, while outside those hours you typically pay much more than that average¹. If you are on Economy 10 you will usually get 10 hours of the off-peak rate per 24 hours, possibly split into chunks throughout the day².

The tariff only works with a specific type of meter that records and keeps separate how much energy you have used in the peak and off-peak hours¹. To get an Economy 10 tariff you must have an Economy 10 meter³. That requirement shapes everything about the tariff: which suppliers offer it, what it costs to move on or off it, and how you read your bill.

Economy 10 is one of a family of "restricted meter" tariffs, older time-of-use arrangements that need compatible meters⁴. It is not as widely used as Economy 7, and it is not offered by many UK suppliers; those who do offer it do not always advertise the fact¹. For a household heated by electricity, it can still be the cheapest way to run storage heaters and hot water, but it locks the home into a metering arrangement that few suppliers support and that comparison sites cannot handle.

Ten cheap hours at up to half the peak rate

Economy 10 provides 10 set hours of cheaper off-peak electricity: three hours in the afternoon, two hours in the evening and five hours through the night, according to one common description³. Other descriptions give the same total but different arrangements of the blocks, which reflects how much the tariff varies between suppliers and regions. Which? summarises it as 10 hours of cheaper electricity, usually in three blocks⁶.

The pricing logic is simple and unforgiving. The off-peak rate can be up to half the price of peak rates, but the standing charges are often higher⁸. Outside the cheap windows, you typically pay much more than the average rate¹. That means the tariff rewards households that can concentrate their electricity use, above all heating, into the off-peak blocks, and penalises daytime use.

Economy 10 tariffs only work with electricity-heated homes and not those with a gas supply¹¹. This is not a tariff for a home with a gas boiler and occasional electric heaters: the whole point is that the largest loads, space heating and hot water, can be timed to run in the cheap hours.

For energy independence, Economy 10 cuts the cost of running an all-electric home but does nothing to reduce dependence on the grid or a supplier. The household remains fully tied to its supplier's peak and off-peak rates, its standing charge and its choice of whether to serve restricted meters at all, a choice that has been narrowing for years.

When the cheap hours fall: usually 7 at night, 3 in the day

The most commonly described pattern is 7 hours during the night and 3 hours during the day, with the daytime block most likely falling sometime in the afternoon or evening¹. Uswitch gives the same split from the other direction: three of the ten hours are in the afternoon, and seven are overnight⁵.

The exact windows vary from supplier to supplier and region to region⁸. Uswitch lists several example patterns: three hours in the afternoon, four in the evening and three in the early morning; or two hours at lunchtime, three in the evening and five overnight; or four hours in the afternoon, two in the evening and four in the early morning⁸. These are examples, not a menu: your own windows are set by your supplier and region.

Not all Economy 10 tariffs operate on the same off-peak hours, and some suppliers change their off-peak hours when the clocks go forward and back¹. That last point matters for households that time appliances or heater charging around the cheap blocks: the windows can shift by an hour in spring and autumn, depending on the supplier.

For comparison, Economy 7's cheaper rate usually runs between midnight and 7 am¹², and time-of-use tariffs aimed at electric vehicles often have their lowest rates overnight, frequently between 00:30 and 04:30. Economy 10's distinguishing feature is those daytime hours: the three afternoon or evening hours exist so that a home can top up heat in the middle of the day rather than relying on overnight charge alone. Indeed, Economy 10 tariffs typically only offer five hours of heat at night, complemented with three in the afternoon and two in the evening⁸.

Telling apart Economy 10, Economy 7 and white meter tariffs

Restricted meters are the meters that support these older multi-rate tariffs. The most common are Economy 7, White Meters and Economy 10, which combined cover around 90% of the meter points in profile class 2, the class that covers domestic two-rate meters¹⁰.

Economy 7 has two set energy price rates, an on-peak rate and an off-peak rate, with the cheaper off-peak rate applying for 7 hours out of every 24, usually at night⁴. White meters, which are usually found in Scotland, are commonly known as Economy 7 meters in England¹⁴. A white meter offers eight hours of off-peak rates rather than seven¹⁴, and uses two different meters showing two different readings, one for normal consumption and one for off-peak consumption¹⁴. Bills on a white meter feature two different unit rates and two different fees, together with any standing charges¹⁴.

White meters can be identified from the bill: if you see two different readings and two different supply numbers, you could be on a white meter, and the MPAN will start with '02'¹⁴. The golden rule quoted for white meters is that if you use 40% or more of your energy at night, one might be worth considering¹⁴.

Beyond these, the Scottish Government's RTS switch-off protections describe meters that switch between peak and off-peak tariff rates, such as Economy 7 or Economy 10, or a Total Heating Total Control tariff¹⁵. Total Heating Total Control is a heating-specific arrangement in the same restricted family. An Ofgem document from 2010 also records EDF Energy's Eco 20:20 tariff as an example of an Economy 10 tariff with a middle rate time slot¹⁶, a reminder that some restricted tariffs carry three rates rather than two.

Where Economy 10 falls short

The limitations are structural, not matters of shopping around.

• Few suppliers. One of the main problems with Economy 10 is that there simply aren't many Economy 10 suppliers available⁸. Many suppliers do not support Economy 10, or may not offer tariffs to new customers⁹.
• Higher standing charges. While Economy 10 offers unit rates of up to half the price of peak rates, the standing charges are often higher⁸, and standing charges can be higher on an Economy 10 tariff than on Economy 7⁷.
• Higher peak rates. Outside the off-peak hours, you typically pay much more than the average rate¹.
• No comparison market. Most energy comparison sites do not allow you to search for Economy 10 tariffs¹, and Uswitch does not currently allow households to switch between Economy 10 plans⁸. Due to the complexity of the three different rates, many price comparison sites, including Uswitch, cannot support comparisons for Economy 10 meters⁵.
• Stuck on the default. The Competition and Markets Authority found that, across GB, roughly 93% of customers on restricted meters were on a Standard Variable Rate tariff¹⁷. With few suppliers serving these meters and no comparison site covering them, most restricted-meter households simply never move.
• Poor fit for low off-peak use. Ofgem's analysis found that 15% of customers on restricted meters in the CMA's final sample, in both periods, had less than 20% of annual usage in off-peak times¹⁸. For those households, the higher peak rate is paid on almost everything, with little cheap-rate use to offset it.

How to get an Economy 10 meter and what leaving it costs

To get an Economy 10 tariff you must have an Economy 10 meter³. You can request one from your energy supplier, but they may charge you to do so⁷, and they may charge a fee because these meters are fairly uncommon⁸.

Moving off the tariff carries its own costs. If you are switching away from Economy 10 to a standard tariff, you may need to pay a fee to have a standard meter installed⁸. If you want to switch back to a fixed tariff you will need to pay to replace the meter with a regular one¹. Even moving between two Economy 10 plans is not frictionless: you may need your meter to be reprogrammed by an engineer⁸.

The practical route is to go directly to suppliers. Uswitch does not support Economy 10 switching and advises households to go directly to suppliers to see which tariffs are available⁹. Citizens Advice sets out the general process for switching supplier and tariff, and the checks to make before you do².

For a household weighing energy independence, this is the core trade-off: Economy 10 lowers the running cost of electric heating but deepens dependence on a single supplier's willingness to serve the meter, and every move, on or off, may cost money. The white meter equivalent is similar: switching to a standard meter means calling your electricity provider, and may require installation costs and fulfilling certain criteria¹⁴.

Whether your supplier supports smart meters on Economy 10

The official answer is yes: Smart Energy GB states plainly, "Yes, you can get a smart meter if you're on an Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariff."¹⁹ The Energy Ombudsman confirms that all smart meters can support tariffs which charge different prices at different times throughout the day and night, and that Economy 10 meters are also available²⁰.

The practical answer is more qualified. You might be able to get a smart meter with your Economy 10 tariff, but this depends on which energy supplier you are with¹. Which? reports that Economy 10 tariffs don't work with existing smart meters, and that many energy suppliers don't sell tariffs for them⁶. Smart Energy GB itself lists a barrier: you have storage heaters, are on Economy 7 or 10, and your supplier does not offer smart meters that work with those tariffs yet¹⁹.

There is a cost angle too. A supplier may charge to install an Economy 10 meter, whereas a smart meter is requested at no additional cost⁷. Smart meters are compatible with Economy 7 tariffs and fixed rate tariffs, and can enable you to join other newer time-of-use tariffs without changing the meter⁷. Ofgem's own guidance notes that a smart meter lets a household access more flexible tariffs, including dual-rate tariffs²¹.

The direction of travel matters here. Economy 7 and Economy 10 are older time-of-use tariffs that need compatible meters, while newer flexible tariffs typically work best with a smart meter⁴. Economy 7 and Economy 10 use fixed cheaper periods, while newer EV and tracker tariffs can be more dynamic⁴. Time-of-use tariffs generally are becoming less common as the legacy meters that support them are phased out²². A household on a restricted meter is on the legacy side of that divide.

Understanding registers, MPANs and off-peak hours on your bill

An Economy 10 meter keeps separate records of peak and off-peak use¹. On the bill, restricted metering infrastructure usually means there is more than one electricity meter point, or MPAN, at the property²³. The MPAN is the supply number printed on your bill, and on a white meter it starts with '02'¹⁴.

What you see on the meter itself varies. Economy 7 meters typically show two meter readings, a low or off-peak rate and a normal, high or on-peak rate, or have a button to press to see each rate on an electronic meter³. The same register structure underlies Economy 10. Your meter or a timer switch controls when the off-peak circuit is live, and a storage heater charges automatically during these cheaper hours²⁴.

To find your exact off-peak times, ask your supplier: the windows vary by supplier and region⁸, and some change with the clocks¹. Your bill will show each rate's unit price and the usage recorded against it, which is also the quickest way to check what share of your electricity is actually being taken at the cheap rate.

Ofgem uses mean consumption values for these meter types when modelling the market, and they give a sense of scale. For Economy 10 meters, the annual mean consumption was 6,083 kWh per meter in GB as of November 2022¹⁰, and 6,819 kWh per meter in Ofgem's 2019 values¹³. For Economy 7 and White Meter meters, the November 2022 annual mean was 4,748 kWh¹⁰, against 5,177 kWh in the 2019 values¹³ and 5,395 kWh in the 2017 values¹⁹. These values are calculated per meter and not per household, so averages may underestimate the consumption of customers on restricted meters, since a household's heating may sit on a separate meter point¹⁹.

Using Economy 10 with storage heaters, appliances and solar panels

Economy 7 and Economy 10 tariffs are mainly intended for homes that run on an electric heating system and use storage heaters⁷. Storage heaters use Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariffs for cheaper energy at night³: the heater charges automatically during the cheaper hours, because your meter or a timer switch controls when the off-peak circuit is live²⁴.

The daytime blocks are what make Economy 10 work for heating. With typically only five hours of night heat, complemented by three in the afternoon and two in the evening⁸, a home can recharge or top up its heaters around the coldest parts of the day rather than relying on an overnight charge alone. Which? notes that storage heater tariffs have cheaper rates for electricity overnight, with times varying but around 12pm to 7am typical²⁶.

Two cautions apply. First, a storage heater's boost function can use the most expensive electricity rate if you are on an Economy 7 tariff²⁴, and the same logic applies to any instant heat used outside Economy 10's cheap blocks. Second, the tariff only pays if the heating actually runs in the cheap hours: the 15% of restricted-meter customers with less than 20% of usage off-peak show what happens when it does not¹⁸.

Beyond heating, the cheap blocks can run washing machines, dishwashers and hot water immersion heaters on timers. Beama notes that some suppliers offer a 10-hour tariff which provides periods of off-peak supply during the day²⁷, which is precisely what makes daytime appliance use cheap on Economy 10 where it is not on Economy 7. The Welsh Government's advice adds that time-of-use tariffs can suit households with green tech such as a heat pump, battery storage or an electric or hybrid car²⁸.

On solar: Economy 10's fixed cheap blocks do not respond to generation, and pairing solar with a restricted meter is a question of how export is paid, covered by the Smart Export Guarantee and the import tariffs designed for solar and battery homes. A home battery charged in the off-peak blocks is one way to stretch the cheap rate across the day, the subject of our page on home batteries with time-of-use tariffs. For the general discipline of moving use into cheap periods, see shifting electricity use to cheap-rate periods.

How many homes have restricted meters and who they are

Around 14% of all electricity meter points are in profile class 2, the restricted two-rate class¹³. Within that class, Economy 7, White Meters and Economy 10 combined cover around 90% of the meter points¹⁰.

Economy 7 dominates the group, and it is unevenly spread: Economy 7 metering arrangements are more prominent in the East of England, East Midlands and the South East, accounting for 59% of all Economy 7 meters installed¹³, a figure Ofgem put at 60% in its 2017 analysis¹⁹. Economy 10 is the rarer cousin: it is not as widely used as Economy 7³, and those suppliers that do offer it do not always advertise the fact¹.

The consumer position is weak. The CMA found that roughly 93% of customers on restricted meters across GB were on a Standard Variable Rate tariff¹⁷, the tariff type households are usually advised to move off. Ofgem has since extended price cap protections to customers on non-Economy 7 restricted meters¹⁸, and its cap summaries set separate levels for Economy 7 customers, for example an electricity-only prepayment cap for Economy 7 meters for 1 July to 30 September 2025²⁹. Ofgem has also issued a decision on supplier compliance with price cap requirements for customers on restricted meters²³.

In Scotland, the Radio Teleswitch Service switch-off brought restricted meters into sharp relief: households eligible for protections include those with a meter that switches between peak and off-peak tariff rates, such as Economy 7 or Economy 10, or a Total Heating Total Control tariff¹⁵. That episode is covered in full on our page about Radio Teleswitch tariffs and the switch-off.

The trend is one-way. Time-of-use tariffs of this older kind are becoming less common as the legacy meters that support them are phased out²². For a household on Economy 10 today, that means the pool of suppliers serving the meter is likely to shrink rather than grow, and the long-term question is not whether to stay on Economy 10 but what replaces it: a smart meter and the newer time-of-use tariffs built on it. The wider choice of tariff types is set out in our guide to UK energy tariffs, and the comparison between the two main restricted tariffs is on our page Economy 7 vs Economy 10.