Standing Charges for Elec & Gas

DragonQ

FYI, the nPower tariff that had no standing charge for electricity (if paying by direct debit) is no longer available. Ebico is likely your only choice.

[Deleted User]

Ebico do comply with Ofgems new ruling and dont do 2 tier charging they just decide to set their daily standing charge at zero pence, but with very high tariffs to compensate. They are ideal for the super low users only. I noticed First Utilitys July Fix ( in my area of S.Yorks ) was a quite low 16 p a day compared to a lot of the others at 26 p a day

silverwhistle

I'm with NPower and will shortly go to Ebico (I think). Work out the cost of your annual standing charge and then divide it by the difference between the unit rate for your current supplier and prospective supplier. That'll give your break-even point in annual units. In my case and with my low usage Ebico should work out cheaper, but I do have PV panels, well insulated and this summer will be getting a wood burner. (I've been stockpiling free wood...).

Plus avoiding the need to spend hours on the phone to Npower must also be worth a fair bit, I'd have thought..

silverwhistle

PS: It also means that there is a very direct correlation between reducing consumption and reducing your bills. Turning off my microwave, printer and spare phone charger is worth doing, as is buying LED bulbs. I sympathise with those who come on here with unexpected bills, but although I haven't had a bill for 5 months, I know roughly what it'll be, and it won't be too much. Even less with Ebico next year, taking the summer period into account.

Ilona

I have recently changed to Ebico, I am a super low user. I'm sticking with the quarterly paper bills because it doesn't cost any more than direct debit. It seems there is more of a level playing field with them. Even with a slightly higher cost per kw hours, I should be still better off than sticking with BG. I await the first bill, probably about March/April time.
Ilona