Pricing structure encourages waste?

gnvqsos

I currently use Powergen dual fuel and find that the tarrif drops as one uses more units.This seems to penalise the lower user (usually the poor and retired ) who therebt susidise the higher user.This seems to be highly regressive.Does anyone know of a supplier who imposes either a constant or rising charge(per unit)as I would consider transferrring to such a service?

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Ebico use a single rate for all gas and electricity; and it is the same regardless of how you pay.(DD,quarterly, pre-pay)

The rates are not as competitive as they were before the last rounds of price cuts.

If you buy a property in the USA you will find many companies increase their electricity prices once you exceed a level of consumption; dont know of any in the UK who do the same though.

Of course the USA are well known for encouraging economy in power consumption!!!!!

To be serious, I can't agree with your point about higher users having a subsidy from the low user.

The infrastructure is a large proportion of the costs of providing electricity/gas. I am sure that any company makes a bigger profit from somebody using say 40,000kWh a year than they do from somebody using 10,000kWh a year.

Terrylw1

Yeah I've never heard of anyone over here.

Standing charges went through a phase where Suppliers were looking to outbid each other and they came up with the 2 tier prices as a way to say thay had abolished SC. They didn't, they just shifted the pricing round.

So, low users are not really subsiding the high users, they are paying for a standing charge that they would have paid before.

A low to high tier would be a fair better idea. However, we would all save and these companies would make less. Would be nice, but unless 1 of them does it - it won't ever happen across the industry.

The tier 1 higher pricing also penalises lower users e.g. holiday homes, landlords with no let...but it's still cheaper for them that SC used to be.