Cheapest gas standing charge?

Geoff9999

I don't currently have gas turned on in my house but I don't want it removed so will continue to pay the standing charge until my plumbing and boiler is fixed.
Does anyone know who has the lowest standing charge with no exit fees at the moment?

Robin9

Use a comparison site and put your annual consumption at 1kWh (or whatever small figure it will accept)

Tallerdave

For me (London), it would be PFP Energy. Not the cheapest standing charge 20p/day but an online discount of £20 brings the total down. However that might only get paid at the end of a year - worth checking.  SSE are 15p/day for me, but £30 exit fee. 

rebel_2

To be honest, you need to be careful here. The Standing Charge is a bit of a 'dilemma' (not a good thing), it's whatever the energy companies want it to be. For example, some will have it at 20p per day, but that will reflect in the unit charge in the Tariff. Some will have it at 12p per day, but that will reflect in the unit charge in the Tariff. It's all a bit 'ridiculous'.    

JJ_Egan

But if OP uses no gas then unit cost does not matter .

Tallerdave

rebel_2 said:

To be honest, you need to be carefully here. The Standing Charge is a bit of a 'dilemma' (not a good thing), it's whatever the energy companies want it to be. For example, some will have it at 20p per day, but that will reflect in the unit charge in the Tariff. Some will have it at 12p per day, but that will reflect in the unit charge in the Tariff. It's all a bit 'ridiculous'.    

As @JJ_Egan says, unit cost is irrelevant for someone with a broken boiler using no gas.

It's not 'ridiculous', it's a market catering for a range of user profiles. I once paid a gas standing charge of over 40p a day because it gave access to an eye-wateringly low unit rate. But that was only sensible due to high consumption, over 50,000kWh a year.

It irritates me when the regulator meddles with the market - allegedly making it simpler for people who are too lazy to shop around anyway.

rebel_2

Tallerdave said:

rebel_2 said:

To be honest, you need to be carefully here. The Standing Charge is a bit of a 'dilemma' (not a good thing), it's whatever the energy companies want it to be. For example, some will have it at 20p per day, but that will reflect in the unit charge in the Tariff. Some will have it at 12p per day, but that will reflect in the unit charge in the Tariff. It's all a bit 'ridiculous'.    

As @JJ_Egan says, unit cost is irrelevant for someone with a broken boiler using no gas.

It's not 'ridiculous', it's a market catering for a range of user profiles. I once paid a gas standing charge of over 40p a day because it gave access to an eye-wateringly low unit rate. But that was only sensible due to high consumption, over 50,000kWh a year.

It irritates me when the regulator meddles with the market - allegedly making it simpler for people who are too lazy to shop around anyway.

It is 'ridiculous' because the 'standing charge' 'added to most gas and electricity bills'. It's a fixed daily amount that you have to pay, no matter how much energy you use. A standing charge covers the cost of supplying your property with gas and electricity, basically the i.e. infrastructure etc.
All the suppliers will have a similar cost, but there is a huge difference in what is charged as a 'standing charge' in tariffs. Do we actually know what it costs to maintain the i.e. infrastructure etc?
It's another case of the energy companies being 'disingenuous'. 

Tallerdave

Is line rental for a landline or mobile also "ridiculous"? 

Verdigris

There's something ridiculous here but I don't think it is the daily charge.

rebel_2

Tallerdave said:

Is line rental for a landline or mobile also "ridiculous"? 

A landline charge in itself isn't 'ridiculous', but what's charged for it is. BT has a monopoly on the infrastructure because it own's pretty much all of it because of past telecom 'legacy's'. There was at one time one 'telecoms' company.
You've missed the point, the 'standing charge' is ridiculous because 'nobody' actually knows what the infrastructure costs because of the variation attributed to the 'standing charge' by suppliers. 
 

rebel_2

Verdigris said:

There's something ridiculous here but I don't think it is the daily charge.

Let me guess? You.