Standing Charge

GeCon

Hello,

Can anyone please explain to me what the standing charge is?

Thanks.

MrBlonde_2

standing charge is another charge for just having a supply with that company regardless of whether you use any energy or not. Think of it as like a line rental on a phone...even if you do not make any calls you still pay the standing charge

GeCon

Is it correct though that it really works out cheaper for people who either use very little or are away from the property a lot?

krisl

GeCon wrote: »

Is it correct though that it really works out cheaper for people who either use very little or are away from the property a lot?

Paying a standing charge is better for high users,

No standing charge is better for low use people, so those you mention.

Think if your usage is really low you don't want to be paying a per day charge when its not used. Its better to pay on days its used only.

xpl51

A standing charge is charged by all companies . It`s a daily charge for rental/upkeep of the meters so if yours was to go wrong you wouldn`t be charged for it.
All a NSC tariff means that it is incorporated into unit price so when you get bill so many units are at higher price to reflect this. It can work out a bit cheaper depending on consumption but you need both prices from your supplier & do the maths to see if it is. This is useful if your usage is extremely low or property is Hol home or unoccupied

Ken68

Look up Ebico,Geo, best for low users, no standing charge and no tier system.

midflight

xpl51:

A standing charge is charged by all companies . It`s a daily charge for rental/upkeep of the meters so if yours was to go wrong you wouldn`t be charged for it.
All a NSC tariff means that it is incorporated into unit price so when you get bill so many units are at higher price to reflect this. It can work out a bit cheaper depending on consumption but you need both prices from your supplier & do the maths to see if it is. This is useful if your usage is extremely low or property is Hol home or unoccupied

Not quite true. As Ken68 rightly says, Ebico don't have either a standing charge or take part in the "No standing charge" charade (also known as the initial units/subsequent units con trick), which seems to have been invented (by British Gas, initially, I presume?) with two main purposes in mind:
(1) to fool people into thinking they're not paying a standing charge, when really it's just hidden
(2) to make it even more difficult & confusing to work out your bill/compare like-for-like with other suppliers, etc

This is useful if your usage is extremely low or property is a holiday home or unoccupied

True, but not quite as useful as having no standing charge in the first place, and just getting charged at one rate, for what you actually use (ie Ebico). Use nothing = pay nothing. Use a bit = pay normal rate, not some inflated "initial units" rate. Use a lot = pay same rate. Pre-Paid meter? No problem, sir. Fair to you too.

So simple, so effective...