Standing charge tariffs

Trigger01

Hi, looking at different fixed rates at the moment. But its a bit confusing as the Standard Daily charge is sometimes cheaper than the Unit Rate. Whereas British Gas don't even have a standard daily charge but the unit rates are high.

Whats the best deals to look out for against the daily unit rate or standing charge?

victor2

Depends on your usage. Just put your annual kWh figures into one of the comparison sites and they'll give you a good idea regardless of whether or not the supplier uses standing charges or two tier pricing. You'll only lose out on a competitive standing charge tariff if you have long periods where you don't use a particular utility, like you shut down your gas boiler in the summer.

eurmalian

That all really depends on how many units you tend to use in a day. The fewer units, the more important the standing charge becomes.

For example, if you're using 5 units a day at 10p each then a 50p standing charge doubles your cost, while if you're using 30 units a day at the same prices, an extra 50p on top is a lot less of an issue...

Also, remember that most companise who don't have a standing charge (BG included) charge a higher rate for the first few units each day, but the price then goes down after that.

Premier_2

Trigger01 wrote: »

Hi, looking at different fixed rates at the moment. But its a bit confusing as the Standard Daily charge is sometimes cheaper than the Unit Rate. Whereas British Gas don't even have a standard daily charge but the unit rates are high.

Whats the best deals to look out for against the daily unit rate or standing charge?

As this is MSE, then the cheapest is usually the best (unless you have reasons not to choose it). Use a comparison site to find out. It doesn't matter how the cost is made up, just what is the cheapest annual cost.