Gas & electric standing charges

TONY_CROSS

30/01/2016.
Dear Martin.
I am currently supplied gas and electric from First Utility on a 2 year fixed price plan ending end March this year.
Because we have quite low consumption I originally chose this plan as it had the lowest daily standing charges @ electric 1.96p and gas @ 2.55p per day.
I have now had 2 emails from them about renewing my 2 year contract with them but notice not only has the actual unit prices increased but the new daily standing charges would be electric and gas both at26.69p per day. How can this be justified is beyond me.
Of course I have already started to use the comparison sites to try and find the best deal for me but it’s a minefield.
I am trying to find the best deal for the lowest daily standing charges and unit prices for the electric and gas, and have even searched the sites for the deals with no standing charges but I think even a professor in maths would have a problem trying to pin it down.
I think it’s high time the government clamped down hard on this subject and would urge you to start a campaign through your money pages web site to force all energy companies to charge the same daily standing charges. This would of course then make it much simpler to compare prices.
Hoping that you can help please.
Yours Sincerely
Anthony Cross.

HappyMJ

No thanks.

Some people would be better off with a low standing charge and higher unit rates and some with a higher standing charge and lower unit rates.

You are usually better off with a standing charge unless you are a very low user. To be a very low user the property you have needs to be heated by another method such as solid fuel or oil and you will be using very little electricity over the year such as a holiday home.

Just put your annual kWh usage figures into a comparison website and pick a tariff from a familiar supplier. You don't really need to know the exact unit charges, the standing charges or anything else. The total amount charged per year is the important figure. As long as your estimate of your future kWh usage is correct you've got yourself a good deal.

If you really don't want to pay standing charges then pick Ebico as your supplier. A word of warning though. They are very expensive on the unit rates. You must be a very low user to benefit.

JJ_Egan

As above .

I know how many days in the year .
I know my energy usage .
SC x whatever
Unit Cost x whatever .

Plus i don't think Dear Leader reads the forums .

Cardew

The debate about standing charges has been held on MSE ever since they were re-introduced.


The whole purpose of privatisation of the gas/electricity was to introduce competition on prices; yet you are advocating one important element of the national pricing structure - i.e. standing charges - be subject to statutory control.


If that was to be the case why not place the same restrictions on discounts for dual fuel or payment by Direct debit etc; why not go the whole hog and make the kWh price the same across UK?


As you state above, you chose FU because you had low consumption and that company 'had the lowest daily standing charges'* Now because that doesn't suit your purposes, you want it changed for everybody!


* Actually FU didn't have the lowest standing charges, Ebico had, and still have, a zero standing charge; albeit very high kWh charges.


Why should someone using tiny amounts of gas for, say, a gas hob, not be free to use the same criteria as you used in choosing FU.


A fixed standing charge wouldn't make it simpler to compare prices. All we need to do is enter our consumption into a comparison network and it lists the 80+ tariffs in order of price. This takes into account the(variable) standing charges, kWh charges, and the various discounts available.

Robin9

OP - What do you call "low" in kwh not £ ?

footyguy

TONY_CROSS wrote: »

30/01/2016.
Dear Martin.
I am currently supplied gas and electric from First Utility on a 2 year fixed price plan ending end March this year.
Because we have quite low consumption I originally chose this plan as it had the lowest daily standing charges @ electric 1.96p and gas @ 2.55p per day.
I have now had 2 emails from them about renewing my 2 year contract with them but notice not only has the actual unit prices increased but the new daily standing charges would be electric and gas both at26.69p per day. How can this be justified is beyond me.
Of course I have already started to use the comparison sites to try and find the best deal for me but it’s a minefield.
I am trying to find the best deal for the lowest daily standing charges and unit prices for the electric and gas, and have even searched the sites for the deals with no standing charges but I think even a professor in maths would have a problem trying to pin it down.
I think it’s high time the government clamped down hard on this subject and would urge you to start a campaign through your money pages web site to force all energy companies to charge the same daily standing charges. This would of course then make it much simpler to compare prices.
Hoping that you can help please.
Yours Sincerely
Anthony Cross.

Very simple to compare prices. Use a comparison site to find the best deal for you (especially whenever a previous deal you opted for is coming to an end)

I can't see MSE wanting to change this as it's a nice little earner for them if you use their comparison site (and then switch via them).

We don't need more restriction in the market. The restrictions so far imposed have done nothing to reduce prices ... in fact the restrictions if anything have increased prices.

Now suppliers are being forced down the road of ever increasingly using 'hidden tariffs' otherwise known as collective tariffs only available from a specific source (usually a comparison site) in order to offer their best deals.

But to follow your suggestion further, what daily standing charge would you like the supplier to be forced to set???

Remember it was Ofgem that decided all suppliers should be forced to charge a daily standing charge (thereby eliminating the previous 2 tier tariffs many suppliers used to offer). However at least one supplier whose whole business model is based on zero standing charges objected very strongly to this proposal (on the basis they say you should only be charged for what you use, and if you use nothing then you should pay nothing, aligning with their 'green' principles of attempting to reduce consumption and hence pollution)... so to save face but keep everyone happy Ofgem said suppliers will still be forced to charge a daily standing charge, but can set that at any level they wish, including zero.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

TONY_CROSS wrote: »

30/01/2016.
Dear Martin.
I am currently supplied gas and electric from First Utility on a 2 year fixed price plan ending end March this year.
Because we have quite low consumption I originally chose this plan as it had the lowest daily standing charges @ electric 1.96p and gas @ 2.55p per day.
I have now had 2 emails from them about renewing my 2 year contract with them but notice not only has the actual unit prices increased but the new daily standing charges would be electric and gas both at26.69p per day. How can this be justified is beyond me.
Of course I have already started to use the comparison sites to try and find the best deal for me but it’s a minefield.
I am trying to find the best deal for the lowest daily standing charges and unit prices for the electric and gas, and have even searched the sites for the deals with no standing charges but I think even a professor in maths would have a problem trying to pin it down.
I think it’s high time the government clamped down hard on this subject and would urge you to start a campaign through your money pages web site to force all energy companies to charge the same daily standing charges. This would of course then make it much simpler to compare prices.
Hoping that you can help please.
Yours Sincerely
Anthony Cross.

I think you will find that these low standing charge plans have almost disappeared from the market over the last few years. Companies vary their standing charge rate, and the public have been at liberty to vote with their feet during this time as well. I have regularly over the last three years changed my plan, free of charge, to reflect market conditions and currently pay £56 a month, though my own standing charge has risen during this period, my actual payment has dropped from over £100 a month.

I have had a look at uswitch, and all the current plans are around 22 to 27 pence per day.

Unless you put up your actual usage, or put your actual usage into the switching sites, you will not benefit. And keeping the same tariff during falling prices has not benefitted you either. I am waiting for my supplier to drop their prices, before I fix again. Knowingly, they will increment the standing charge on a new plan as well.

Or you could wait till you term ends, revert to the normal rate and pay around 36 pence per day.

Electricity usage is around 3,000 kW, heating, gas or electric is around 13,000 kW per year.

matelodave

It costs just as much to deliver gas or leccy to the house next door as it does to you or the house son the other side of the street.

Likewise meters, maintenance of the network infrastructure and all the other costs of delivering a supply get shared around so you have to pay your share of the fixed costs.

Whether you do that via a standing charge or higher priced units is up to you by shopping around for the best deal that suits your circumstance.

TONY_CROSS

I cant understand why so many people are against putting more restrictions on the energy companies. This would of course give a more even playing field for consumers to choose a supplier.
I am not trying to force all companies to charge the same for unit prices as this would not be allowed under the competition laws.
Even with the all charging the same daily standing charges they can still compete for customers by way of length of contract, pre payments, direct debits and so on. I am aware that some comparison sites do not give 100% results for all energy suppliers tariffs and spend many hours investigating this issue.
Three years ago I invested in a 4kw per hour solar panel system at mu own expense. I also use this for heating during daylight hours and gas heating at night. This is the reason my consumption is low and why I want the lowest daily standing charges.

TONY_CROSS

Im not thick, I know how to work out what im using. my post is about making pricing fairer for all.

TONY_CROSS

I cant understand why so many people are against putting more restrictions on the energy companies. This would of course give a more even playing field for consumers to choose a supplier.
I am not trying to force all companies to charge the same for unit prices as this would not be allowed under the competition laws.
Even with the all charging the same daily standing charges they can still compete for customers by way of length of contract, pre payments, direct debits and so on. I am aware that some comparison sites do not give 100% results for all energy suppliers tariffs and spend many hours investigating this issue.
Three years ago I invested in a 4kw per hour solar panel system at mu own expense. I also use this for heating during daylight hours and gas heating at night. This is the reason my consumption is low and why I want the lowest daily standing charges.