Standing Charge :( where to switch to?

SeriouslyStressed

Hi,

I've been with NPower for years ( yes I know *sigh* )

Recently they introduced a new way of working out the bill for GAS.

The problem is, because of the small amount of gas I use per year, I'm now facing a £200 hike. Here's an example from the bill I just paid yesterday...
9th April 2013 to 30th April 2013 = 32 kWh @ 7.245p = £2.32
1st May 2013 to 26th July 2013 = 64 kWh @ 3.642p = £2.33

Standing charge to cover the period @ 45.1p per day = £25.71
that comes to £30.36 then add the vat @ 5% and total is £31.88
( for using a total of 96 kWh of gas ! )

Half of you might be saying wow.. that's not much gas.. and the others might be saying so it's only £31.88 where the problem?

Well, I have a VERY limited income and I use very little gas per year as I KNOW I can not afford to use any more than I do. The standing charge has effectively added £200 to my yearly GAS bill, and I simply DO NOT have it, or will ever have it.
As an indicator to finances, I'll let you know my FOOD budget per week is limited to £10. This budget was set BEFORE Npower changed their charging tariff methods.

So, I've had a look at other suppliers using uswitch, but I'm at a loss, I need to find cheapest gas supplier with NO standing charge
( as that's what will cripple me ). There's no much information still out there I'm numb from looking.

Does anyone have any pointers? Npower say my yearly usage of gas is 1277kWh, and electric it's 2795kWh, although when I was working it out from previous bills I came to 2300kWh electric.

MillicentBystander

What's your billing area? On those figures it looks like either Utility Warehouse Low User tariff or Ebico TBH.

Certainly in my (Yorkshire) region the figures look like this:

GAS

Ebico £64
Utility Warehouse £62

But neither of them come near the top for Electric. Cheapest is British Gas Online Variable August 2014 with Energy Smart at £331 but it has an exit fee of £30 (UW is £354 and Ebico is £362, both with no exit fees)

Wywth

SeriouslyStressed wrote: »

Hi,

I've been with NPower for years ( yes I know *sigh* )

Recently they introduced a new way of working out the bill for GAS.

The problem is, because of the small amount of gas I use per year, I'm now facing a £200 hike. Here's an example from the bill I just paid yesterday...
9th April 2013 to 30th April 2013 = 32 kWh @ 7.245p = £2.32
1st May 2013 to 26th July 2013 = 64 kWh @ 3.642p = £2.33

Standing charge to cover the period @ 45.1p per day = £25.71
that comes to £30.36 then add the vat @ 5% and total is £31.88
( for using a total of 96 kWh of gas ! )

Half of you might be saying wow.. that's not much gas.. and the others might be saying so it's only £31.88 where the problem?

Well, I have a VERY limited income and I use very little gas per year as I KNOW I can not afford to use any more than I do. The standing charge has effectively added £200 to my yearly GAS bill, and I simply DO NOT have it, or will ever have it.
As an indicator to finances, I'll let you know my FOOD budget per week is limited to £10. This budget was set BEFORE Npower changed their charging tariff methods.

So, I've had a look at other suppliers using uswitch, but I'm at a loss, I need to find cheapest gas supplier with NO standing charge
( as that's what will cripple me ). There's no much information still out there I'm numb from looking.

Does anyone have any pointers? Npower say my yearly usage of gas is 1277kWh, and electric it's 2795kWh, although when I was working it out from previous bills I came to 2300kWh electric.

Why do you need the cheapest supplier with no standing charge?
As this site is all about money saving, why don't you want the cheapest supplier for you??? :huh:
(Especially given your financial situation)

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

MillicentBystander

Wywth wrote: »

Why do you need the cheapest supplier with no standing charge?
As this site is all about money saving, why don't you want the cheapest supplier for you??? :huh:
(Especially given your financial situation)

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

But the point is, on the very low gas usage that the OP has, Ebico and UW Low Tariff really ARE the cheapest options (certainly in my Yorkshire region and i would be surprised if it was any different in all the other regions). And I don't think it's co-incidence that neither of those tariffs have a standing charge (or exit fees for that matter).

Nada666

MillicentBystander wrote: »

But the point is, on the very low gas usage that the OP has, Ebico and UW Low Tariff really ARE the cheapest options (certainly in my Yorkshire region and i would be surprised if it was any different in all the other regions). And I don't think it's co-incidence that neither of those tariffs have a standing charge (or exit fees for that matter).

But the electricity usage is very high (or, rather, entirely average). As such those are not necessarily the best options. Indeed, in my area, Utility Warehouse medium user is cheaper than the low user option and both are more expensive than Ebico - but there are SIX tariffs cheaper than Ebico's (and some of them are fixed).

MillicentBystander

Nada666 wrote: »

But the electricity usage is very high (or, rather, entirely average). As such those are not necessarily the best options. Indeed, in my area, Utility Warehouse medium user is cheaper than the low user option and both are more expensive than Ebico - but there are SIX tariffs cheaper than Ebico's (and some of them are fixed).

You have to deduct £18 from the UW price (in fact if you are using energyhelpline you may have to deduct £36!). They are waiving the club fee in July (lifetime free membership, even the top price one one with monthly paper billing and accidental death cover; you obviously missed my belly aching about it as an existing customer who still has to pay it every month on the UW thread ) plus the OP is really only asking about Gas AFAICT?

Recently they introduced a new way of working out the bill for GAS.

So, I've had a look at other suppliers using uswitch, but I'm at a loss, I need to find cheapest gas supplier with NO standing charge

Wywth

MillicentBystander wrote: »

But the point is, on the very low gas usage that the OP has, Ebico and UW Low Tariff really ARE the cheapest options (certainly in my Yorkshire region and i would be surprised if it was any different in all the other regions). And I don't think it's co-incidence that neither of those tariffs have a standing charge (or exit fees for that matter).

But the point is, you can only know that if you use a comparison site
(and it may well vary, region to region)

MillicentBystander

Wywth wrote: »

But the point is, you can only know that if you use a comparison site
(and it may well vary, region to region)

I'm afraid you've completely lost me here. Are you admitting you were wrong in a sort of roundabout, Wywth, way?

Nada666

MillicentBystander wrote: »

plus the OP is really only asking about Gas AFAICT?

Yup, I am entirely sure that that was a fundamental and necessary restriction to the help and advice that was requested and was not just incidental phrasing on account of the standing charge only being significant for gas due to the low consumption of that fuel.

Wywth

MillicentBystander wrote: »

... plus the OP is really only asking about Gas AFAICT?

Whilst single fuels can sometimes work out cheaper, the dual fuel alternatives should also be looked at, especially for someone in the OP's financial situation as discounts are usually available

(But as I said, this needs to be compared with the total price of single fuel options)

MillicentBystander

Wywth wrote: »

Whilst single fuels can sometimes work out cheaper, the dual fuel alternatives should also be looked at, especially for someone in the OP's financial situation as discounts are usually available

(But as I said, this needs to be compared with the total price of single fuel options)

Admittedly I've only had a cursory look but I would predict that the OP's consumption would actually suggest that splitting the fuels between different suppliers would be the cheapest option here. But of course, unlike some, I would be only to happy to admit I was wrong if proved otherwise.