Standing Charge Abuse

wavelets

Cardew wrote: »

But very low users can be better off with a Zero DSC

You have to be really, really low to be better off on a zero daily standing charge.

I think for gas, someone worked out it was at about 1000kWh (based on Ebico charges)

We've currently secured a 1 year fix for gas with standing charge that beats any zero standing charge tariff for all but the very minimum of usage.(sadly not available any more to new applicants)

3.30p/kWh & 3.15p/day (£11.50 p.a.)
... less £10 p.a. Online billing discount :money:

http://www.brilliant-energy.co.uk/docs/Fair_Deal_37b_Gas.pdf

On that, anything more than about 75kWh per year works out cheaper than Ebico charged on their zero DSC tariff.

Just goes to demonstrate how appropriate my advice in post#2 really is

Robin9

gsmlnx wrote: »

Sorry but your maths is incorrect

25.82p per day x 365 days = £94.243
32.393p per day x 365 days = £118.23445

So quite a bit more in reality.

Gsminx = (minus) £.0.00855 In my mind is not "quite a bit more." than Banksy's approximation of £24 - actually its less

The_Green_Hornet

Standing charge

A fixed monthly/daily amount that you pay your electricity/gas supplier for maintenance and other costs, such as maintaining connection to the power network.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/key-term-explained/standing-charge

matelodave

A lot of people dont understand the concept of the standing charge whether it be for water, gas, telephone or leccy.

It's to actually get the service to your your house from the waterworks, gas supplier, phone exchange and even the power station.

It cost lots of money to dig holes, put up pylons, string cables or bury pipes together with renewing and maintaining them.

Even if you dont use much it still costs the same to provide all the infrastructure. Dont forget all the kit inside the power station, telephone exchange or water/sewerage works as well - some of it is ever so expensive and costly to maintain especially if you want 365/24/7/ d service to be available.

However they try to average it out so the bloke who lives 100miles from the power station doesn't have to pay 100 times what those who live next door to it.

Likewise it doesn't cost any less to get it to the door for those who use less than those who use more.

However the energy companies do at least try to give you a choice of whether to pay more s/c or less per kwh so you can optimise your costs unlike the water or phone companies

PennineAcute

JJ_Egan wrote: »

I prefer SC to the old method of charging more for the first XX used .

Great for high users but not for low users,

Cardew

wavelets wrote: »

You have to be really, really low to be better off on a zero daily standing charge.

I think for gas, someone worked out it was at about 1000kWh (based on Ebico charges)

We've currently secured a 1 year fix for gas with standing charge that beats any zero standing charge tariff for all but the very minimum of usage.(sadly not available any more to new applicants)

3.30p/kWh & 3.15p/day (£11.50 p.a.)
... less £10 p.a. Online billing discount :money:

http://www.brilliant-energy.co.uk/docs/Fair_Deal_37b_Gas.pdf

On that, anything more than about 75kWh per year works out cheaper than Ebico charged on their zero DSC tariff.

Just goes to demonstrate how appropriate my advice in post#2 really is

I have a little used annex with Ebico(zero DSC) with an estimated annual usage of 1,147kWh/136kWh gas/electricity costing £56/£24pa.



Some people have posted that they had a separate metered electricity supply to a detached garage or barn.



For some years with BG on the old 2 tier tariffs. I had to pay £1 monthly by DD for both gas and electricity. However there was quite generous fixed payments for dual fuel and payment by DD. Most quarters this meant that these payments were more than the gas/electricity cost; so in practice BG were paying me for letting them supply my property!

SteveJB58

Cardew wrote: »

The costs associated with getting gas/electricity to premises are just another overhead - like salaries, meter reading, accounts tax etc - for the energy compnay to take into account in their tariff pricing structure.


If, as you appear to advocate, the Daily Standing Charge(DSC)should cover actual costs, how would you reconcile the different costs involved in getting a supply to different properties. e.g. a terraced house with no front garden a few feet from the main supply or a house a couple of hundred yards from a mains supply. Should they each pay a different DSC?


The idea of competition in the Energy sector is to allow companies to offer customers a 'package' for each tariff. That package has variables - gas/electricity price, DSC, discounts, incentives, leaving penalties etc.

I am not advocating the standing charge should cover 'actual' costs, I am simply saying that for a single supplier, the standing charge should be the same irrespective of what tariff someone is on. It appears that the Ofgen cap restricts energy prices (usage prices), so companies change the standing charge to bolster income i.e. I cannot charge any more for the gas the person is using, but I can increase their standing charge.

molerat

SteveJB58 wrote: »

I am not advocating the standing charge should cover 'actual' costs, I am simply saying that for a single supplier, the standing charge should be the same irrespective of what tariff someone is on. It appears that the Ofgen cap restricts energy prices (usage prices), so companies change the standing charge to bolster income i.e. I cannot charge any more for the gas the person is using, but I can increase their standing charge.

Incorrect assumption, the energy companies cannot charge more than the cap overall and there is also a separate ap on the 0 use price which is the standing charge.

matelodave

If the OP wants a no standing charge tarriff then why not find a company that will supply him with one rather than whinging about a specific supplier's pricing policy.

That's what competion is supposed to be about - much like the price of a tin of beans. Go to the place that sells them at the price you want to pay. However be careful that it doesn't cost you more in fuel or time just to save a couple of pence on the beans.

PennineAcute

It is a fallacy that standing charge is used for transport costs,etc, even if this is what the energy companies tell you.

The energy companies come up with a figure to charge, that will make them a profit. That charge is split between unit rate and standing charge.