Energy prices increased despite lower tarriff

50Twuncle

Pagett wrote: »

I don't know which supply region you are in, but in the East Midlands, even that low usage would cost:

FIXED PRICE APRIL 2015 NSC (I assumed online) - £551p.a. (£46 p.m.)

ONLINE ENERGY FIXED PRICE MARCH 2016 - £430 p.a. (£36 pm)

So if you've only been paying £32 for the past 12 months, there's probably quite a big debt now owing, that would be included in the latest monthly payments.

No - we are still £55 in credit
It has been £32 for the last 5 months - reduced from £42 before that

50Twuncle

I await the reply to my email before I do anything else !

System

50Twuncle wrote: »

No - we are still £55 in credit
It has been £32 for the last 5 months - reduced from £42 before that

Is your credit based on actual or estimated readings? If it is the latter then you may as well just ignore it. Might I suggest that you need to review the title of this thread as it would seem that energy prices have not in fact changed: what has changed is your monthly DD.

lvf

Forget estimates, what has been your bill totals for the last 12 months? Or better yet, your actual consumption in kWh for the last 12 months (as displayed on your bills)? And your current tariff prices?

People in this thread are trying to help, but without actually having this information, we cannot know if SPOW are greatly overestimating your bills.

Your DD may have been lower than your actual use for two reasons:
1) You carried a credit balance through from the previous year.
2) You received a one off payment into your account outside of your regular DD schedule, eg. The Warm Home Discount.

If your usage is genuinely this low, and none of the above applies, I cannot see why they would not reduce this for you.

50Twuncle

Hengus wrote: »

Is your credit based on actual or estimated readings? If it is the latter then you may as well just ignore it. Might I suggest that you need to review the title of this thread as it would seem that energy prices have not in fact changed: what has changed is your monthly DD.

it is ACTUAL
And the rates have actually dropped
Electricity
I was paying 24p per unit for first 225unit per quarter - and
12.974 for remaining
I am now paying 10.558 p for all electricity (but with a 20.55p
per day standing charge - ie) £18.75 per quarter)


Gas
I was paying 7.71p per unit for first 225units per quarter and 3.98 for remaining
I am now paying 3.107p for all gas (but with a 20.55p per day standing charge) - ie) another £18.75 per quarter

So my total Standing charge is £37.50 per quarter or approx £12.50 per month - but my power is cheaper !!
So it is not necessarily cheaper for me - although SP claim to offer the cheapest available price - for lower consumption users, it may be cheaper to avoid Standing Charge accounts !!!

50Twuncle

lvf wrote: »

Forget estimates, what has been your bill totals for the last 12 months? Or better yet, your actual consumption in kWh for the last 12 months (as displayed on your bills)? And your current tariff prices?

People in this thread are trying to help, but without actually having this information, we cannot know if SPOW are greatly overestimating your bills.

Your DD may have been lower than your actual use for two reasons:
1) You carried a credit balance through from the previous year.
2) You received a one off payment into your account outside of your regular DD schedule, eg. The Warm Home Discount.

If your usage is genuinely this low, and none of the above applies, I cannot see why they would not reduce this for you.

Good point - last year, We did receive the £145 WHD - This year, I am unsure whether we will receive it or not..

macman

So your annual usage on each fuel is what? That is the only figure that matters here. Electricity at 5kWh per day is 1,825kWh pa. About half the national average, but feasible. What is not feasible is gas at 10kWh per day (if by units, you mean kwh's and not meter units). You cannot possibly be heating and hot watering, maybe cooking too, on such a low a figure as 3,650kWh pa. The UK average is 13,500 kWh.
Unless you have some other form of heating/hot water to gas.

System

50Twuncle wrote: »

it is ACTUAL
And the rates have actually dropped
Electricity
I was paying 24p per unit for first 225unit per quarter - and
12.974 for remaining
I am now paying 10.558 p for all electricity (but with a 20.55p
per day standing charge - ie) £18.75 per quarter)


Gas
I was paying 7.71p per unit for first 225units per quarter and 3.98 for remaining
I am now paying 3.107p for all gas (but with a 20.55p per day standing charge) - ie) another £18.75 per quarter

So my total Standing charge is £37.50 per quarter or approx £12.50 per month - but my power is cheaper !!
So it is not necessarily cheaper for me - although SP claim to offer the cheapest available price - for lower consumption users, it may be cheaper to avoid Standing Charge accounts !!!

It has been many months since OFGEM forced energy companies to drop this method of charging; i.e., they are no longer allowed to build the standing charge into a higher unit price. Energy companies now have to set a standing charge for each tariff and set a unit price. To confuse matters further, OFGEM allows energy companies to set the standing charge at zero.

You are trying to compare apples and oranges. The only true comparison is your usage in kWhs for the past two years. The tariff that you are on is competitive so my guess is that your usage has increased and/or you have carried forward a debit balance.

Remember - the 'bottomline' is that energy companies will only charge you for the amount of energy that you use in line with the tariff/s that you are on. Occasionally, the computer has an algorithm wobble when it looks back over a particularly cold or warm spell but this will resolve itself over a year.