standing charge v no standing charge

[Deleted User]

the utilities all offer the option of standing charge and no standing charge, has anyone got the figures and the calculator out to see if this is a racket designed to extract a larger standing charge from the bigger energy user. I automatically select no standing charge on price comparison sites as i consider myself a low user.apologies if this subject has been covered before

HappyMJ

You need to be an unrealistically low user to benefit from a no standing charge tariff. i.e use nothing. The charge will be the same whether or not a standing charge is seperate or built into the tariff in the form of higher primary unit charges.

[Deleted User]

thanks, as meter reader its a question i get asked a lot on my rounds by customers, everyone seems to grab the no standing charge option it seems.. standing charges for prepays are approx £85 a year, are you saying no one would end up paying more than this even if they were a huge 7 bedroom 4 cars in the drive energy munchers, i have miniscule gas bills and low electric of maximum £120 a quarter in the winter.

macman

Check the difference on any comp site and you will see that the difference is miniscule for the average user.

st999

I have seen it posted that the tier 1 figure of 2680 kWh of gas from Eon is calculated as a daily amount of 2680/365 kWh = 7.34 kWh.

What happens if someone only uses gas for 6 months. Will they still be charged for 2680 kWh at the tier 1 rate or only 1340 kWh at the tier 1 rate in a year?

I ask because my sister has just moved into a 1 bedroom flat that only uses gas for heating, a gas fire in the lounge, everything else is electric including hot water and cooking so in the summer she will hopefully not be putting on her gas fire.

She lives alone.

spiro

st999 wrote: »

I have seen it posted that the tier 1 figure of 2680 kWh of gas from Eon is calculated as a daily amount of 2680/365 kWh = 7.34 kWh.

What happens if someone only uses gas for 6 months. Will they still be charged for 2680 kWh at the tier 1 rate or only 1340 kWh at the tier 1 rate in a year?

I ask because my sister has just moved into a 1 bedroom flat that only uses gas for heating, a gas fire in the lounge, everything else is electric including hot water and cooking so in the summer she will hopefully not be putting on her gas fire.

She lives alone.

My understanding is that the T1 is applied quarterly, so if you only use gas for 2 quarters you will only get 1340 at the T1 rate.

jalexa

spiro wrote: »

My understanding is that the T1 is applied quarterly,

I do not *know* the answer with 100% certainty, however published E.ON tariff pricing, as a matter of fact, states "first 2680kWhrs per year". In comparison, SSE brand tariffs state a quarterly ceiling.

*If* the E.On description is applied literally possibly a switch to an SSE brand may be beneficial. Or if very low consumption perhaps Ebico.

yabbadoo

Re Standing or No Standing charge -

Taking the time and effort to establish actual usage is the "right" way to answer it, but not always easy.

There's a simpler way to do it, equally effective. All that's needed are "start" and "end" billing units (and totals) over several months including the winter period, and basic maths. The following calculations can be done on paper, but a simple spreadsheet is quicker and better.

It also works whether there are Standing Charges or not (or a combination of both when comparing).

Step 1 - calculate the no. of days between the Start and End dates of the bills, then divide 365 by that no. This will give a figure of 1.xxx if period is more than 6 months but less than a year - the longer the period, the better.

Step 2 - for both Gas and Electricity - deduct the Start billing reading from the earliest bill from the End reading on the last bill, then multiply it by the factor estabilshed in Step 1 - this will give an annual usage figure.

Step 3 - Total the individual bills' summary energy charges (excluding standing charges if applied) and multiply by the factor from Step 1. This will give annual cost of Gas and Electricity.

Step 4 (only if Standing Charges apply) - multiply the daily standing charge by 365 to establish annual cost.

Step 5 - Add the figures from Steps 3 and 4 together to arrive at the annual cost of your current supplier, then deduct any offerings such as £10 a year for direct debits, paperless billing, dual fuel, etc.

You now have usable figuress for comparison purposes (and whilst there may be an element of inaccuracy since either or both Start/End readings may be estimated readings on your bills, the comparison is valid, as is the effective averaging of "split" rate cost (the first X units at a higher rate per quarter).

Step 6 - compare competitive offerings, using the Annualsied usage figures established in Step 2.
Using their Unit rate figures EXCL VAT, calculate the annual cost and compare it to your figure established in Step 5. (If Standing charges apply, compare it to Step 4)

It's longer to type this than to do it ! As Alexandre says, SIMPLES !!

FWIW - I made my own spreadsheet some years ago, which comes in useful each year. I update it each year. I was with Scottish Power (who didn't use Standing Charges) I switched last Oct to OVO (who do) and my bills today are what I was paying 4 years ago, with no changes in average consumption.

You might like to check them out - www.ovoenergy.com - single rate billing, lowest standing charges of all suppliers when I last checked. Horses for courses - it worked for me!

Their single rate billing appears to be the right solution for anyone only using gas for 6 months of the year. Whilst they would still pay a modest annual sum for the meter, they would only pay for gas actually used (without complication of split rates charged quarterly) - the stepped calculation above might be useful, just modify the gas usage figure to the 6 month actual.