Standing charge increased

MWT

QrizB said:

Why do you think there are no standing charges in the USA?

I just checked one of our Dallas bills, the complexity that may be confusing the OP is that where deregulation has occurred, the energy suppliers do not charge anything equivalent to a standing charge, everything is simply based off of the kWh.

... but you do get charged a 'base fee' by the energy distribution company (equivalent to our DNO) which is collected by the energy supplier, in our case that is around $3.42/month from memory.

So if you look at the quoted costs  from the energy supplier you do not see it mentioned as it is not their cost.

Briskly

QrizB said:

Now this is interesting (well, it is to me): at least in LA, there's a "power access charge" which is higher for higher users. The more energy you use in a month, the higher your standing charges are.

http://rates.ladwp.com/UserFiles/PAC_Explained.pdf

Thanks. This is interesting. So low use is encouraged in the USA and high users take on more of the standing charges. Sounds a more progressive system?

PennineAcute

SC form part of your overall bill.  The money they raise from the SC just goes towards paying their bills, whether that be transportation costs, purchase of energy, staff costs, etc.

QrizB

Briskly said:

QrizB said:

Now this is interesting (well, it is to me): at least in LA, there's a "power access charge" which is higher for higher users. The more energy you use in a month, the higher your standing charges are.

http://rates.ladwp.com/UserFiles/PAC_Explained.pdf

Thanks. This is interesting. So low use is encouraged in the USA and high users take on more of the standing charges. Sounds a more progressive system?

Low use is encouraged in Los Angeles, but LA does not equal the USA. There may be other parts of the USA which are less progressive.

MWT

QrizB said:

Now this is interesting (well, it is to me): at least in LA, there's a "power access charge" which is higher for higher users. The more energy you use in a month, the higher your standing charges are.

http://rates.ladwp.com/UserFiles/PAC_Explained.pdf

California is very different to most other States, they also have measures like fitting power limiters to prevent the A/C kicking in if you do not comply with cooling limits etc.

They also have a lot of incentives for installing solar and whole-home battery back-up to reduce stress on their rather fragile grid.

It has less to do with being 'progressive' and more about trying to avoid proper investment in infrastructure.

When the power grid is failing and starting wild fires on a regular basis it is a good sign that maintenance is falling behind...