Just had a look on mums bill - standing charge ?

Cyril

My standing charges are a higher price than the usage kwh price.

What are standing charges please and can they be reduced in anyway.

Atidi

Cyril wrote: »

My standing charges are a higher price than the usage kwh price.

What are standing charges please and can they be reduced in anyway.

Standing charges are a fixed charge applied daily irrespective of your usage.

Use a comparison site to find the best deal for you

good_advice

We all pay standing charge in some way. Some pay upfront and people like me pay through Kwh use. The first charge will be...and then drop when you have paid your share.

Atidi

good_advice wrote: »

We all pay standing charge in some way. Some pay upfront and people like me pay through Kwh use. The first charge will be...and then drop when you have paid your share.

Standing charge as far as electricity & gas are concerned relates to a fixed daily charge applied to your account, irrespective of consumption.

Yes, some suppliers/tariffs do not charge a standing charge, and then they usually have a traiff with 2 tier pricing.

Ebico have neither 2 tier pricing nor a standing charge on their tariffs.

macman

Unless your mum is a very low user, SC's make no difference whatsoever. NSC tariffs simply charge a higher unit rate to make up the difference. The difference over a year is pence, as a comp site comparison on average consumption will show.

Cyril

Thanks all.

ic

Yep, standing charges are the fixed part of the bill in relation to the cost of managing the account, providing the network to deliver the gas and electric, send out bills - stuff that doesn't vary based on your usage. The per kW rate is then charged in direct relation to your usage.

Consider it like a phone line - you have line rental, and then a charge for the calls you make.

No-standing charge plans just hide the standing charge in the higher rate units that are charged initially, before dropping to the second rate. They also complicate the pricing and make it more difficult to compare - which is why the utility companies love them.

Atidi

ic wrote: »

...
No-standing charge plans just hide the standing charge in the higher rate units that are charged initially, before dropping to the second rate. They also complicate the pricing and make it more difficult to compare - which is why the utility companies love them.

And many of us customers love them too especially if we don't go above tier1 pricing.

Admittedly not easy for electricity, unless the home is left empty at least some of the year, but very easy for many gas users in the summer periods