Standing Charge...

The_Economist

Lots of comments & thoughts......
Maybe I need to look into why standing charges vary so much from region to region...
It does feel like an extra cost that I need to justify....
I don't go to the petrol pump and fill up & then get hit with a standing charge...

The_Economist

till_man wrote: »

I understand the infrastructure costs will increase in line with inflation but the standing charge is clearly not linked.

My standing charge with Scottish power is currently 7.8p on Online Fixed Price Energy December 2019

The renewal standing charge tariffs range from 23p-35p.

Almost triple.
There is no way the material cost or salaries have tripled in the last year.

I agree.
Seems like profiteering.

Gerry1

The_Economist wrote: »

Maybe I need to look into why standing charges vary so much from region to region...
It does feel like an extra cost that I need to justify....
I don't go to the petrol pump and fill up & then get hit with a standing charge...

Why waste your time? How the standing charge is set utterly irrelevant and there's nothing you can do about it anyway. It simply doesn't matter whether it's all down to the depreciation of the distribution network, the phase of the moon or the number of letters in the supplier's name. Just accept that there's a fixed daily charge plus an amount directly proportional to usage.

Even if standing charges were abolished, you'd have to pay more via an increase in the unit price, a minimum annual charge, increased exit fees or whatever. Just concentrate on the annual cost together with customer services ratings, and your personal preferences about fixed/variable tariffs, ethical / green issues etc. Fretting about standing charges is just a distraction.

BTW, if a petrol station sold unleaded at 99.9 p/litre plus an attended service charge of 25p per visit, would you refuse to fill up there?

badmemory

I have been paying for gas & electric for a good 50 years now. Standing charges were there going back then in one form or another. Back then it was the first *** units at ??p & then the next at ??p. It is what it is! There are much bigger issues to worry about than this. Suppliers incompetence would be a good one. Ofgems would be another. And as for smart meters well that would be the number one level of incompetence.

joncombe

The problem is you cannot reliably work out what the cheapest tariff will be. A lower standing charge tariff tends to have higher unit rates and one with a high standing charge a lower unit rate. So to work out if a tariff is a good deal you need to know how much you are likely to use. Not easy if you've just moved. It's also very dependent on the weather in the UK, a cold winter and you will likely use much more than a warmer winter.


This is why a fixed standing charge or no standing charge is better because then it becomes simple to work out which tariff is cheaper. At the moment you have to guess at your likely usage and if you get it wrong, can end up paying much more.



They are just another way of obfuscating prices and making it harder to compare.

The_Economist

Gerry1 wrote: »

Why waste your time? How the standing charge is set utterly irrelevant and there's nothing you can do about it anyway. It simply doesn't matter whether it's all down to the depreciation of the distribution network, the phase of the moon or the number of letters in the supplier's name. Just accept that there's a fixed daily charge plus an amount directly proportional to usage.

Even if standing charges were abolished, you'd have to pay more via an increase in the unit price, a minimum annual charge, increased exit fees or whatever. Just concentrate on the annual cost together with customer services ratings, and your personal preferences about fixed/variable tariffs, ethical / green issues etc.

Fretting about standing charges is just a distraction.

Thank you, my point exactly

BTW, if a petrol station sold unleaded at 99.9 p/litre plus an attended service charge of 25p per visit, would you refuse to fill up there?

No if I had a choice of paying that 25p per visit. If there was no choice on that extra cost id go else where...:D

The_Economist

badmemory wrote: »

I have been paying for gas & electric for a good 50 years now. Standing charges were there going back then in one form or another. Back then it was the first *** units at ??p & then the next at ??p. It is what it is!

There are much bigger issues to worry about than this. Suppliers incompetence would be a good one. Ofgems would be another. And as for smart meters well that would be the number one level of incompetence.

After the conversation I had I agree.....

The_Economist

it doesn't seem to be getting any easier....

The_Economist

joncombe wrote: »

The problem is you cannot reliably work out what the cheapest tariff will be. A lower standing charge tariff tends to have higher unit rates and one with a high standing charge a lower unit rate. So to work out if a tariff is a good deal you need to know how much you are likely to use. Not easy if you've just moved. It's also very dependent on the weather in the UK, a cold winter and you will likely use much more than a warmer winter.


This is why a fixed standing charge or no standing charge is better because then it becomes simple to work out which tariff is cheaper. At the moment you have to guess at your likely usage and if you get it wrong, can end up paying much more.




They are just another way of obfuscating prices and making it harder to compare.

Doesn't seem to be getting any easier on getting an answer to the question.....

The_Economist

Does anybody know who sets the standing charge rates, is it the individual companies.
Or is it a central body that advises what should be charged.
So as I understand it, suppliers are all on the same network.
So is it the company that supplies us as customer that keeps the standing charge payment or does it go into a fund....