When is 'no standing charge' a good idea?

riva

I'm looking to sort my gas/electricity bills and am interested in the way the 'no standing charge' gas accounts might benefit me- if at all. We cook a lot but have recently changed to an induction and also, post renovation now live in a much warmer flat with underfloor gas heating on one level and radiators on another.

I used to think our rather high gas costs was due to cooking so interested to hear others' views reg standing charges.

ollski

Usually if you don't live in the property year round.

cootuk

There's a usage point at which the "standing charge with lower unit price" and the "no standing charge with higher unit price" equal out.
At a lower usage, the no standing charge is cheaper.
You just need to work out your usage with both charges.

Perelandra

There are three general pricing structures:

Option 1: Tiered pricing, with different prices for the first "X" units (Tier 1) and a lower rate thereafter.

Option 2: Standing charge + Fixed Rate (becoming more common, and liked by Ofgem)

option 3: Fixed rate with no standing charge (hardly ever offered).


Which is best for you will depend upon your annual consumption, and on the by-month phasing of your annual consumption.


High consumers, with "normal" phasing: Option 1 or 2. Generally speaking, go for the option with the lowest Tier 2 rate (option 1) or Unit rate (option 2). Avoid option 3 at all costs.

Very low consumers., with "normal" phasing: Generally speaking Option 3 will be the cheapest, but Option 1 might be. Avoid Option 2 at all costs.

Consumers with a number of months in the year where there's no consumption at all (empty property, or you turn the gas off completely), or months in the year where consumption is very much higher than normal: Option 1 will generally be cheaper.


Obviously it will depend on your exact usage and consumption patterns, but those are pretty good rules of thumb.

NB: I work for BG so my views will be biased. They are, however, my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.

utility_csa

riva wrote: »

I'm looking to sort my gas/electricity bills and am interested in the way the 'no standing charge' gas accounts might benefit me- if at all. We cook a lot but have recently changed to an induction and also, post renovation now live in a much warmer flat with underfloor gas heating on one level and radiators on another.

I used to think our rather high gas costs was due to cooking so interested to hear others' views reg standing charges.

I have a prepayment elec meter with being a low usage user no standing charge with ebico is better than any standard tariff.

I have a credit gas meter with ebico and no standing charge as i use around 2 units a month during 9 months of the year its silly cheap.

cally6008

utility_csa wrote: »

I have a prepayment elec meter with being a low usage user no standing charge with ebico is better than any standard tariff.

I have a credit gas meter with ebico and no standing charge as i use around 2 units a month during 9 months of the year its silly cheap.

Ditto, it's brilliant we've saved so much money not having to pay the stupid standing charge
ETA - we're exactly same as this person, ebico prepayment electric (currently on £26-£30 a month running 2 pcs quite a lot), ebico gas credit meter (currently £15 a month direct debit)

dogshome

Ebico are the only supplier I know who do not charge a daily Service Charge, nor operate an "X" quantity of high price units charged each year, but, the cost of each Kwh of Gas & Elec they supply is high.- Consequently they are only good news for low consumers.

The OP's best bet is to calculate a best guess on what his annual Gas/Elec kwh consumption will be with the new set-up, and punch it into several Switch sites.
This will give him a 'best' price regardless of how Service Charges are, or are not, collected

[Deleted User]

Hi,

a no standing charge is ideal for your second home/holiday cottage, where you might only be there 3/4 times a year, so low usage.

riva

Thanks a lot everybody who responded. I think I misunderstood 'low usage'. My usage is probably going to be much lower than it ever was but with 2 young kids, I still anticipate having to use our heating quite a bit esp during the colder months so probably a moderate user. Its been an interesting exercise though!

macman

Unless you are a low user, it will make virtually no difference to your actuals bills. If you compare the same tariff NSC and SC on any comp site you can see that the difference will be measured in pence.