Mains gas: avoiding standing charge

simonmjones

I am a dual fuel (gas and electricity) customer wth a mainstream supplier. I pay for gas using a key meter whose card I top up at Paypoint terminals in local shops.

I only use gas for heating during the winter and I don't need gas from approximately April to October.

The problem is that throughout all the time I am not using gas (around 6 months of the year) my key meter makes a standing charge of approximately 20p per day which it records as a debt, which must be paid off when I start using gas again.

Is there any way I can avoid the standing charge? My thoughts are:

- Maybe I could get the supply 'disconnected' in spring and 'reconnected' in autumn. But I have no idea whether disconnection/reconnection simply requires someone at the supplier to do something electronically that tells my meter to stop charging and keep the gas off until it is reset, or if disconnection/reconnection requires an engineer to be sent out to physically manipulate the gas supply. Either way, the supplier aren't going to want to do it because it means they'll lose their standing charge. If they DO agree to do it, I would imagine the cost of disconnection/reconnection might be greater than the accumulated standing charge (around £40). . .

- Maybe I could tell supplier I've moved and to terminate the gas supply contract. However I'll still be buying electricity from them, so I doubt if they'll fall for that. It would also look very strange when I want to start buying gas from them again at the same address in six month's time.

- Maybe I should terminate my gas supply contract and simply start up with another supplier in the autumn. But there's only a limited number of suppliers and if I keep having to change them once a year, I'm going to run out of suppliers in a few years. I'd also quite like to stay with my present supplier because I find their prices and service reasonable and they seem to treat key meter users fairly.

Is there any way I can avoid the standing charge for the six months I don't use gas? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

Incidentally, I haven't asked a representative from the supply company about this yet because I don't want anyone to make an entry on their system to the effect that I might be trying to wriggle out of making payments. It may or may not be possible for them to waive or reduce the standing charge but I want to know where I stand and explore all the options before I get them involved.

Thanks!

lemontart

temporary disconnection you would have to speak to your supplier about as is the standing charge..............so best to call them asap - just out of curriousity does your boiler only do the radiators ? how do you heat your water?

HappyMJ

Ebico doesn't charge a standing charge but they do charge quite a high rate for all units of gas used but if the annual amount of gas used is quite low then it might be something to consider.

macman

The cost of disconnection and reconection every year willl be vastly higher than the standing charge!

stewie_griffin

HappyMJ wrote: »

Ebico doesn't charge a standing charge but they do charge quite a high rate for all units of gas used but if the annual amount of gas used is quite low then it might be something to consider.

I don't think BG or E.ON have a standing charge on gas prepayment meters nowadays either. Others might not either. It could still work out more over the year as a whole depending on the OP's current standing charge and the other suppliers unit prices.

stewie_griffin

sacsquacco wrote: »

I see two types of key meters on my rounds,one of them does support the " no standing charge useage" ( actaris key meter) where the standing charge is built into the Tier 1 unit price. Its quite a commonly used meter and I am sure you could exchange your ( prob Landys and Gyr} key meter for this one. I think 6 months useage of the meter would be too much and you would end up paying the approx £85 a year standing charge anyway.

Just because the meter supports a no standing charge tariff doesn't mean his supplier has a no standing charge tariff.

Terrylw1

They won't want to disconnect/reconnect for this reason since every customer would be wanting it not just you.

You can't terminate the contract because the contract is automatically deemed when you move in regardless of deals you may sign up for. They don't for that as they would see your other fuel and you must have a live account whilst you live there to bill any usage. You would also lose any dual fuel discounts this way if they did it.

lemontart

there is always the issue that if no gas is being used and you do not wish to pay the standing charge that the transporter may end up disconnecting in the street for safety reasons, which is a whole other ball game

Premier_2

simonmjones wrote: »

I am a dual fuel (gas and electricity) customer wth a mainstream supplier. I pay for gas using a key meter whose card I top up at Paypoint terminals in local shops.

I only use gas for heating during the winter and I don't need gas from approximately April to October.

The problem is that throughout all the time I am not using gas (around 6 months of the year) my key meter makes a standing charge of approximately 20p per day which it records as a debt, which must be paid off when I start using gas again.

Is there any way I can avoid the standing charge? My thoughts are:

- Maybe I could get the supply 'disconnected' in spring and 'reconnected' in autumn. But I have no idea whether disconnection/reconnection simply requires someone at the supplier to do something electronically that tells my meter to stop charging and keep the gas off until it is reset, or if disconnection/reconnection requires an engineer to be sent out to physically manipulate the gas supply. Either way, the supplier aren't going to want to do it because it means they'll lose their standing charge. If they DO agree to do it, I would imagine the cost of disconnection/reconnection might be greater than the accumulated standing charge (around £40). . .

- Maybe I could tell supplier I've moved and to terminate the gas supply contract. However I'll still be buying electricity from them, so I doubt if they'll fall for that. It would also look very strange when I want to start buying gas from them again at the same address in six month's time.

- Maybe I should terminate my gas supply contract and simply start up with another supplier in the autumn. But there's only a limited number of suppliers and if I keep having to change them once a year, I'm going to run out of suppliers in a few years. I'd also quite like to stay with my present supplier because I find their prices and service reasonable and they seem to treat key meter users fairly.

Is there any way I can avoid the standing charge for the six months I don't use gas? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

Incidentally, I haven't asked a representative from the supply company about this yet because I don't want anyone to make an entry on their system to the effect that I might be trying to wriggle out of making payments. It may or may not be possible for them to waive or reduce the standing charge but I want to know where I stand and explore all the options before I get them involved.

Thanks!

Yes of course.
Of the 'big 6' BG, SSE and E.On all have no standing charge tariffs for prepayment gas supplies.

However, best advice would be to consult a comparison site.
It may possibly be best to pay a standing charge if the annual cost to be less than non-standing charge options.

Or you can work your way down the list until you find the cheapest non-standing charge price. (click on individual tariffs to find out)

Or perhaps if you want to be a real MSE'er, why not switch to the cheapest tariff during the winter and a no-standing charge supplier during the summer?

HappyMJ

How does the meter figure out these no standing charge tariffs? Does it charge the first X number of kWh at the higher primary rate every year or is it every quarter, weekly or daily? Could someone go for 6 months using no gas and not charged anything only to find the meter will now charge a higher primary rate on the gas used to cover the last 6 months?

left-right

Physical disconnection and reconnection of standard gas pipe would be in the many hundreds of pounds and even more.... they will get the money out of you somehow!

The gas suppliers are charged by the gas network for maintaining the infrastructure, dealing with emergencies etc. The suppliers obviously want to pass this onto you somehow, but some are more transparent than others.

If a supply isn't used then it can be disconnected in the street by the network but this would usually be after 12 months or if mains replacement is being done in the street and the property is empty so they can't replace it at the time.