KWh verses standing charge?

Gerry1

Verdigris said:

I've just tried the CA comparison site and it doesn't have the particular Yorkshire Energy tariff I'm on, so would not provide an accurate comparison.

You will get an accurate comparison if you always ignore all the projections and claimed savings, as you always should.

Thanks to dozy Ofgem's formula, they're meaningless because they're based on the standard tariff to which you would end up if you did nothing, but by definition you're not going to allow that to happen because you're comparing !

This is actually one area where the CEC does better than the others because it defaults to showing you the genuine saving rather than the imaginary one, although it still misses out some suppliers and tariffs.

You know the annual cost of what you're spending at present, so just see whether the comparison results show that anything else is cheaper.  Remember to check separate suppliers because convenience is often more expensive.

I seldom bother to enter my existing tariffs, it's easier just to say it's British Gas standard.

MWT

moonpenny said:

I put in my kWh used but the ones that had a slightly lower price had a higher standing charge and versa visa hence my question.

Your annual cost for energy is just 365xstanding charge + kWh x price price per kWh

The annual cost is the part that matters, and as you can see from the calculation, relatively large differences in standing charge make less difference than smaller changes in the per kWh price.

If you divide your estimated annual usage in kWh by 365 you can see the ratio of price difference for your level of consumption.

So if you use 4,000kWh a year then the ratio is roughly 11, so an 11p difference in standing charge would have the same effect as a 1p difference in the per kWh cost.

Talldave

Verdigris said:

I've just tried the CA comparison site and it doesn't have the particular Yorkshire Energy tariff I'm on, so would not provide an accurate comparison. I think the lesson is that no comparison site is perfect and trying all the "neutral" sites, mentioned in this thread, is advisable. The heavily advertised switching sites that prioritise their commission over your bill are best avoided.

As others have said, your current tariff is irrelevant because the "savings" quoted are total fiction. All you're actually interested interested in is the order of the list and the total cost per annum. You know what you pay now, so can easily check the difference. If you don’t know what you pay now, you should! 

If you're a savvy moneysaver it's worth running a check every couple of months, just to see if there's a rare hot deal that makes it worth paying exit fees to switch to. Again, do the calculations yourself once you know the annual cost. For example, this summer's Ebico gas deal was a no brainer for medium/high gas users.

Separate suppliers is currently almost always cheaper and makes life so much easier for swapping to hot deals.

Gerry1

Talldave said:

If you're a savvy moneysaver it's worth running a check every couple of months, just to see if there's a rare hot deal that makes it worth paying exit fees to switch to. Again, do the calculations yourself once you know the annual cost. For example, this summer's Ebico gas deal was a no brainer for medium/high gas users.

Exactly !  I bagged that offer direct from Robin Hood Energy, and it was worth paying the exit fee from Gulf, who had been pretty cheap.

Became even better when it was transferred to British Gas following RHE's predictable demise: an extra month added on, and the exit fees were scrapped.

Anyone who signs up to Autoswitch, Look After My Bills etc is likely to miss such offers.  There's no substitute to doing the spadework yourself, it's not difficult.

Malchester

When I look for a comparison price I do one of two things - put my existing tariff in with an end date more than 1 year ahead, therefore get a realistic comparison with what I am currently paying; or I just ignore my existing tariff, get best prices and look at the tariff information re standing charge and p/Kwh. The current arrangement, as others have said is totally meaningless as it compares possible tariff charges with something you wouldn't go for anyway!!

moonpenny

Thanks everyone, some really good tips especially the calculations given.

teddysmum

As comparison sites don't give a simple cost for a year ( easy for each company to show calculations for the same low, medium and high usage) , I have always used details from company sites (not always easy to find) and the above mentioned equation. A couple of years ago, this found me a long term fix that was cheaper than just a 12 month fix and with my current company . Sadly it ends in the Spring and I will have to make a move , as I don't want to stay with Eon and their no deal without a smart meter policy. People have made many complaints about nPower, but I had good service and prices low enough to make moving pointless and they didn't pester about or insist on Smart meters.

Talldave

teddysmum said:

As comparison sites don't give a simple cost for a year ( easy for each company to show calculations for the same low, medium and high usage) , I have always used details from company sites (not always easy to find) and the above mentioned equation. A couple of years ago, this found me a long term fix that was cheaper than just a 12 month fix and with my current company . Sadly it ends in the Spring and I will have to make a move , as I don't want to stay with Eon and their no deal without a smart meter policy. People have made many complaints about nPower, but I had good service and prices low enough to make moving pointless and they didn't pester about or insist on Smart meters.

They do - I'm looking one now (Citizen's Advice) - it says:

 Symbio Energy   Low, Fair and Green 12M Fixed Saver SE01  Annual cost: £583.56 per year 

Can't get simpler (or cheaper) than that???

Verdigris

If you look elsethread you'll see that Symbio may soon be going bust.

Talldave

Verdigris said:

If you look elsethread you'll see that Symbio may soon be going bust.

Pure speculation and I'm already a customer anyway.  I'm simply pointing out the false statement made by @teddysmum.