Are suppliers slyly nipping up standing charges?

C_Mababejive

My current tarriff ends at end of July 2017

It is as follows;

Electric SC 9.42p perday 12.168 per kw
Gas SC 10.99p per day 2.595 per kw

I know my annual total kw useage per fuel. Comparison sites seem to just spew out false info and looking directly at tarriffs, many seem to be ramping up the daily SC to make up for restraint in ramping up the unit price.

JJ_Egan

But S/C have always varied from nil upwards .

Shavuot

C_Mababejive wrote: »

My current tarriff ends at end of July 2017

It is as follows;

Electric SC 9.42p perday 12.168 per kw
Gas SC 10.99p per day 2.595 per kw

I know my annual total kw useage per fuel. Comparison sites seem to just spew out false info and looking directly at tarriffs, many seem to be ramping up the daily SC to make up for restraint in ramping up the unit price.

Most suppliers have very complicated tariffs. They balance the SC and the unit costs (and any other surchrges/discounts they may also apply) to come up with the detail.

Higher standing charges and lower unit costs tend to favour high users.
Lower SCs and higher unit costs tend to favour low users.

Because of the colicated and varied nature of tariffs, the only way to find the best deal for you is from a comparison site - that is the reason they were created.

C_Mababejive

Yes,one has to be careful of comparison sites. For example, my contract ends in July. Comparison sites are currently showing me such huge savings but they are false as they are mostly comparing me with the standard variable tarriff that i will be on when my contract ends if i dont change to one of their listed suppliers !

Not a lot of people know that..

molerat

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Yes,one has to be careful of comparison sites. For example, my contract ends in July. Comparison sites are currently showing me such huge savings but they are false as they are mostly comparing me with the standard variable tarriff that i will be on when my contract ends if i dont change to one of their listed suppliers !

Not a lot of people know that..

Use the comparison sites correctly and you will get the correct answers. MSECEC defaults to the non OFGEM misleading mandated method.

C_Mababejive

Just as an example ,having done the maths

My current supply ends on 31 July
Electric
SC 9.42 p per day
KW 12.168p

Gas
SC 10.99p per day
Kw 2.595p

Now the cheapest 12 mnoth fix i could find is via Green network energy as follows;

Electric
SC 25.13p per day
Kw 11.918p

Gas
SC 24.60p per day
Kw2.688p

So we can see that the actual energy costs are almost the same but the SCs have risen dramatically.

So what has changed?

Charts of OFGEM suggest that actual energy prices exc SCs nipped up in around Brexit time and their is an upward trend post brexit.

teddysmum

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Yes,one has to be careful of comparison sites. For example, my contract ends in July. Comparison sites are currently showing me such huge savings but they are false as they are mostly comparing me with the standard variable tarriff that i will be on when my contract ends if i dont change to one of their listed suppliers !

Not a lot of people know that..

The majority on here know.


The sites (government backed) base savings on an assumption that you will go onto the variable rate once your fix is over, so with 2 months to go, your prediction is based on 2 months fix and 10 on variable. (I suppose the use of variable is because they don't know what fix you will take ,especially as it's in the future and fix offers change by the month).


I find it easier to tell the comparison site that I am on variable with my provider, then compare 'savings' with the 'saving by going from variable to fix with my present provider.


If the fix with my provider 'saves' £200,compared to going onto variable, and an offering from another company 'saves' £280,then the actual save is just £80 (as I would fix anyway).

C_Mababejive

Good idea teddy,,


I have yet to find a site that doesnt "compare" but simply lists all available tarriffs as thats really what we want to know and filter !

molerat

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Just as an example ,having done the maths

My current supply ends on 31 July
Electric
SC 9.42 p per day
KW 12.168p

Gas
SC 10.99p per day
Kw 2.595p

Now the cheapest 12 mnoth fix i could find is via Green network energy as follows;

Electric
SC 25.13p per day
Kw 11.918p

Gas
SC 24.60p per day
Kw2.688p

So we can see that the actual energy costs are almost the same but the SCs have risen dramatically.

So what has changed?

Charts of OFGEM suggest that actual energy prices exc SCs nipped up in around Brexit time and their is an upward trend post brexit.

I have just renewed with the same SC as last year but a higher unit rate. You have chosen a different supplier, each supplier determining their own SC. SCs are just another number crunched in the big plan the suppliers have for the overall profitability of a given tariff across all customers. It bears no relationship to actual costs. E.On I believe recently had a tariff with a silly 80p ish SC and low unit price, their other tariffs remained at the usual lowish SC - it was just a number in the plan and nothing to base an argument on.

molerat

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Good idea teddy,,


I have yet to find a site that doesnt "compare" but simply lists all available tarriffs as thats really what we want to know and filter !

Comparison sites do list in cheapest to highest order. Using different methodology gives different "savings" amounts but does not alter the tariff cost or order in the list.

JJ_Egan

(Using different methodology gives different "savings" amounts but does not alter the tariff cost or order in the list.)

From the very first days of swapping that is all i have ever looked at the prices .Add on top of that any discounts and penalty's .