Held to ransom

weneedawrittenconstitution

I can’t surely be the only energy consumer that thinks the utilities have us ‘over a barrel’ on gas and electricity bills. I still pay for my energy even when I don’t use it! The energy companies have ramped the increase in wholesale gas and electricity prices on the daily standing charges!!!! So don’t use still pay!!! You can’t escape not paying!!!! This is a travesty and needs to be addressed at the highest level!

jobdone1

Yep, woke today to a new dawn, I popped the kettle on to my morning coffee with a thought in my mind just how much is boiling a small amount of water actually costing me. I dread to think how pensioners and low income households are going to pay these prices. My wage sits at £36k so I'm fortunate enough to tolerate this one with a massive pinch of salt. Come October that may well change

Ultrasonic

Whilst I understand the frustration this isn't some sort of travesty, with the standing charge covering legitimate costs that exist whether you use energy or not.

This may be of help:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-is-the-energy-price-cap/#accordion-content-0336620245-1

weneedawrittenconstitution

So suddenly the ‘standing costs’ of maintaining the utilities infrastructure has coincidentally ramped up just as wholesale energy prices have skyrocketed? No way!

GingerTim

The big increase on the standing is owing to the failure of multiple energy providers - we're all going to be paying for that for some time.

Ultrasonic

weneedawrittenconstitution said:

So suddenly the ‘standing costs’ of maintaining the utilities infrastructure has coincidentally ramped up just as wholesale energy prices have skyrocketed? No way!

Try reading the link I posted...

wild666

Ultrasonic said:

Whilst I understand the frustration this isn't some sort of travesty, with the standing charge covering legitimate costs that exist whether you use energy or not.

This may be of help:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-is-the-energy-price-cap/#accordion-content-0336620245-1

18.6p of the increase in the electricSC is for OFGEM to recoup the money theSoLR taking over the supplies of companies that have gone bust  

weneedawrittenconstitution

So let’s look at the following 

We asked Ofgem this question, and it told us the rise is due to: 

• The cost of moving everyone whose firm went bust to new suppliers.
  
  
• Increases in fixed network costs (the cost of maintaining the energy networks). 
  
  
• An increase in policy costs (such as green levies and the rise in the warm home discount rebate).

Point 1 - this cost should have been carried by the taxpayer through the government and recovered from direct taxation.

Point 2 - whilst there will have been increased in fixed costs - wages, materials, maintenance, the infrastructure is in place and these costs should come off the bottom line before profits are declared and dividends distributed.

Point 3 - Green levies have been in place for some time now and in fact there was talk of reducing these to offset the massive increase in business and domestic energy bills.

So that’s all a bit of a flat argument.

Ultrasonic

weneedawrittenconstitution said:

Point 1 - this cost should have been carried by the taxpayer through the government and recovered from direct taxation.

That may be your view but it has nothing to do with your original point. What we've done is to explain that what you were complaining about has nothing to do with energy companies having anyone 'over a barrel' and that the SC rises were outside of their control and not for their benefit.

For me there is logic in the SOLR costs being shared across all energy bill payers since all benefit from the protection. I'm a low energy user and so disproportionately affected by SC increases, but I was also with Pure Planet when they went bust and benefited from the SOLR protection.

I suspect it was written into OFGEM's terms somewhere that SOLR costs would be recouped in the way that they are too, rather than it being a recent decision. We could debate this being reviewed for the future though.

[Deleted User]

weneedawrittenconstitution said:

Point 1 - this cost should have been carried by the taxpayer through the government and recovered from direct taxation.

But that would mean higher taxes so we still wouldn't be any better off. These companies have to make a profit to stay in business and if the big 6 went bust we would all be a bit stuck, even those with solar and batteries in their houses.

Sky, BT, Council tax, water........they have all gone up this year. I am not getting £2.43 more internet from BT, it's not a couple of megs faster. That's just the cost of living.
Every businesses costs are up, not just energy. 

GunJack

weneedawrittenconstitution said:

So that’s all a bit of a flat argument.

No, it's the real world.... the govt(i.e. taxpayer's money) has just got us through covid and is putting some discounts to the least well-off. Upping standing charge for the things listed is a pragmatic move....perfect? possibly not, but pragmatic.