Much easier to understand energy prices if it was always talked about in terms of price per unit

MattMattMattUK

dunstonh said:

And yet apparently it is done because people find standing charge and pence per unit too complicated to understand?!

For several generations, the position has been to dumb down rather than educate up.  

The information is there for those that want it, but most people choose to ignore it, dumbing down is a consequence of the change in the general public, not a cause of their ignorance and stupidity. 

What_time_is_it

Spoonie_Turtle said:

The other side of it is if they start talking in regional averages, you'll get people complaining they are being "ripped off" because their unit rate and/or standing charge are higher than the mathematical average (especially with the electricity standing charge, where every region differs wildly and none of them pay the quoted average).

The current way is not helpful though, I completely agree.

No need for regional averages. Just report a UK average rate of, e.g. 30p a unit for electricity, 10p a unit for gas. Just like with petrol prices. 

TheElectricCow

MikeyPGT said:

Even more confusingly is the use of the 'average' household bill.  What is the average household bill for food/cars/clothes?  Personally I use very little actual gas or electricity - well over 90% of my gas bill is the standing charge and about a third of my electric ...

Very much agree with this, the average figures that media outlets like to base their headlines on seem to do more harm than good, and puts a heavy reliance on people knowing where they individually stand in relation to that average before any price changes can be accounted for.

Personally, my energy use costs me around 25% of the current “average” bill, so headlines claiming energy costs are going up by hundreds of pounds don’t really apply in my case. Naturally I’m aware of this, but for a less savvy equally low user may be less so which could cause some degree of distress.

And on the opposite end of the scale for the people who may use twice the average, if they’re not aware of the fact they’re particularly high users they may be in for a bit of a shock when their bills rise by significantly more than these headline figures.

But as always the most accurate reporting doesn’t necessarily drive the most user engagement, so many outlets have no interest in doing so.

Spoonie_Turtle

What_time_is_it said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

The other side of it is if they start talking in regional averages, you'll get people complaining they are being "ripped off" because their unit rate and/or standing charge are higher than the mathematical average (especially with the electricity standing charge, where every region differs wildly and none of them pay the quoted average).

The current way is not helpful though, I completely agree.

No need for regional averages. Just report a UK average rate of, e.g. 30p a unit for electricity, 10p a unit for gas. Just like with petrol prices. 

Whoops, I meant national average - brain skipped ahead of my fingers.  The problem being with regional variation, people then cry scam/ripoff because their region is more expensive than the national average.

The_Green_Hornet

Quoting unit rates is all well and good but your target audience probably doesn't have a clue as to their annual usage, only what they pay each month, so they will be no better off in their understanding.

Alnat1

The_Green_Hornet said:

Quoting unit rates is all well and good but your target audience probably doesn't have a clue as to their annual usage, only what they pay each month, so they will be no better off in their understanding.

If the unit rate was what people saw/heard in the media, and the public was encouraged to find out what their annual kWh use is, so much confusion would be avoided.

With the silly headline grabbing "£3000 a year for the average customer" too many think this is exactly what they will pay because they feel they are an average person.

Spoonie_Turtle

Alnat1 said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

Quoting unit rates is all well and good but your target audience probably doesn't have a clue as to their annual usage, only what they pay each month, so they will be no better off in their understanding.

If the unit rate was what people saw/heard in the media, and the public was encouraged to find out what their annual kWh use is, so much confusion would be avoided.

This is true, but given how many people don't actually look at their bills or check the meter readings (because smart meters are/were marketed as meaning you never have to look at it again … ) that might be an uphill battle.

chubsta

Headlines like ‘things won’t change much’ won’t get clicked on, whereas ‘we are all doomed to freeze to death’ are generally more popular.
the media will use the headline figure that gets the most attention, so will say bills are going up by an average of £500 a year!!! Not mentioning that that should be pro rated for only 3 months until prices are possibly going to drop…

Mstty

chubsta said:

Headlines like ‘things won’t change much’ won’t get clicked on, whereas ‘we are all doomed to freeze to death’ are generally more popular.
the media will use the headline figure that gets the most attention, so will say bills are going up by an average of £500 a year!!! Not mentioning that that should be pro rated for only 3 months until prices are possibly going to drop…

£50-100 I make it for the notional average for those 3 months and the ones most in need get £301 in April which if frugal will pay the energy bill in its entirety Apr-Jun.

Not really a headline grabber either 🤔

Scot_39

michaels said:

And yet apparently it is done because people find standing charge and pence per unit too complicated to understand?!

No - the standing charge and fixed price per unit - were the Cons Lib simplified solution.

They argued it was the mix - with some charging banded rates for first x00 / next x00 etc - made it to difficult for people to compare - with others.