Communal gas bill extreme price hike - 500%

DaffodilSpringtime

We have to pay the heating/hot water part of our gas bill through our service charges to the council.  There is no way to opt out of this, even if we tried to get our boiler supplied privately - this is not allowed so the communal gas bill charge is unavoidable. Last year it was under £300 which is the usual amount this has been. This coming year it will be £1500 a more than 500% increase. This seems an enormous price hike - I believe it is because the council buys this gas on the open market and therefore it is not subject to the 'domestic energy price cap'. Perhaps it is not even subject to the business price cap because I guess the council is not classified as a business. Is there anything I can do about this? We will be subject to the normal 'domestic' price cap for our cooker gas supply. I wondered if anyone else is in this position.

The_Fat_Controller

Do you actually mean you are paying for a district heating system and have a heat meter which records your own usage or do you pay a flat fee for all the heating and water you use ?

The increase is actually 400%.

Do you have a separate meter and account for your cooking gas ?

Aylesbury_Duck

As above, it's a 400% increase.  As I understand it, no, there's nothing you can do about it.  The only solace is that you've probably benefitted from lower unit costs and standing charges until now.

MWT

Is it just a 'gas bill' or does that include associated running costs, boiler maintenance etc.?

Usually there would be some accounts to back up the next years charges, do you have that information?

danco

Note that Liz Truss did say that people on heat networks would receive support just  as those on ordinary utility bills. However, we don't have any details yet.

macman

Of course the council is classed as a business. Gas bought to power a district heating scheme will be charged on the basis of a business tariff.
What are you actually being billed for, gas units as a fixed share of a communal boiler system, or heat units via a heat meter in the property\?

DaffodilSpringtime

Thanks everyone for replies and correction of my maths! 
I am not metered for the 'communal gas' charge for my heating. Think it's just for the gas itself as there are other charges for 'maintenance, management' etc. The total annual bill is £3400 for service charges. I have a separate meter for my cooker gas and can choose supplier for that. The amount I use for my boiler is unmetered and yes I just pay a 'fixed share' as you describe - although I think it's a fixed share of a predicted amount as I pay in advance monthly, so I guess they don't know what everyone is actually going to use.
Some of you seem certain the business fix applies to the council but I'm still not sure. But I heard some news yesterday about temporary fixing of rates for schools and hospitals and i wonder if that might apply to the gas the council buys for the communal system.

Help_me1_please

I live in a one bedroomed flat and there are 18 flats in total that use the communal boilers for personal heating and hot water,  we have had our news bills and we all pay £41.10, my point is I've never used my heating since I moved in 3 years ago but still have to pay, I think it's unfair, they do not even turn heating off in summer so it's stifling hot, is this allowed or not?

Scot_39

My understanding is yes currently - possibly though only older systems.

There were a few posts last spring when annual reviews saw rates jump from £10pw to low £30s to £40.

Newer installs - at least when my sisters blocks were upgraded by her HA - admittedly North of the Border -   were told have to be metered.  But those were high rise units.

She was on the HA committee as a tenants rep - complaints went from low users complaining to high users complaining.

So tennants were then paying unit costs - via metered heat interface units - but that still leaves the non trivial share long term recovery of  localised capital installation / depreciation over lifetime and regular maintenance costs.

But have you no radiator valves or thermostat linked to any hiu flow  etc to control temp.

If not try asking council to fit them.

PS

They are also often priced in arrears based on past costs - not current.

So may have been paying far less in recent months years than true wholesale costs.

My sis unit rates were reviewed in arrears too - but at least she only paid for actual usage at the new rate.

Robin9

Help_me1_please said:

I live in a one bedroomed flat and there are 18 flats in total that use the communal boilers for personal heating and hot water,  we have had our news bills and we all pay £41.10, my point is I've never used my heating since I moved in 3 years ago but still have to pay, I think it's unfair, they do not even turn heating off in summer so it's stifling hot, is this allowed or not?

£41.10 actually sounds like a good deal - It's your choice to use the heating or not.

Have you a residents or management committee to talk to the landlords ?

Scot_39

Re the possible delays in price.

Ask yourself if rates you've actually been paying have realistically reflected energy market prices.

Take a look at the wholesale gas pricing underpinning other domestic prices - capped admittedly by epg last winter.

People on private heat networks were often paying these rates in real time - their pricing based on daily and weekly prices that reached those over 700p/therm levels.

See graph bottom of covering period to previous cap.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/increased-wholesale-energy-costs-lead-rise-price-cap


And compared to 20/21 lows prices were still 2-3x those levels.