Energy prices postcode lottery

davemar

Hi, I only found out when switching supplier today that electricity tariffs vary within the UK depending on where you live - at least that's what EDF told me. Is this general knowledge? Why when we have national suppliers, national grid and a competitive market, should this be the case? I have written to Ofgem seeking an explanation. Dave

JJ_Egan

Yes its general knowledge over many many years .

ChumpusRex

Yes. This is because it costs more to deliver electricity to different addresses.

In the South West the power lines are very long, but carry less power because there are fewer people. They need more maintenance, they waste more energy and so they cost more per unit if electricity.

In London, power lines are short, the system is very efficient because of this - so it costs less to deliver the power

In Liverpool, a special extra-reliable grid was built designed to be state of the art when Liverpool was rebuilt in the 40s and 50s. The problem with this design is that it is loads more expensive to run and much more complicated to manage and maintain.

The local distribution operator will bill your supplier for delivering your electricity, so the supplier will add this cost onto the energy price.

Nada666

It is not a lottery. There is regional pricing.