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

ariarnia

i actually kind of get the reason for the £ even if its not helpful. 

mil isnt a stupid woman but if you try to talk to her about kwh she glases over. is 1000kwh a lot? what is it in cups of tea or an hour of heating? she has to convert it to £ for it to actually 'mean' anything to her. 

she can do it but when there's a lot of other things that need her attention then she wont because its an extra step removed from how she thinks about things. like if your a measurement hight in cm. she can work it out to foot and inches or yards but its an extra step before understanding. 

but if you tell her she needs to find an extra 20% for her bills or £40 a month then she knows what you mean and its easy to remember. 

sevenhills

Spoonie_Turtle said:

The other side of it is if they start talking in national 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).

But are people getting ripped off if the standing charge in Leeds is 25% more than they pay in Sheffield?

Spoonie_Turtle

sevenhills said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

The other side of it is if they start talking in national 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).

But are people getting ripped off if the standing charge in Leeds is 25% more than they pay in Sheffield?

I'm not saying they are, just that people in general are prone to misunderstanding and immediately crying foul rather than taking a minute to understand what they've seen/heard.  Quoting a mathematical average as the headline figure would be virtually pointless when no region actually matches that figure. 

I guess there are ways of saying it that are clearer than others but it wouldn't be immediately crystal clear to start with, people would still need educating that 'average' means a mathematical average of all the regional prices, not that most people are paying that price.

mongoose2009

the smartfone means that people cant do simple maths anymore

let alone understand Kwh

drsquirrel

michaels said:

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

Most people don't know how many units they use - I find the issue crazy but I believe this is the main reason.

It would be easier if the issue was forced though... then people would be forced to learn.

drsquirrel

mongoose2009 said:

the smartfone means that people cant do simple maths anymore

let alone understand Kwh

You're being sarcastic with _fone_ right?

Scot_39

sevenhills said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

The other side of it is if they start talking in national 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).

But are people getting ripped off if the standing charge in Leeds is 25% more than they pay in Sheffield?

Their are some large differences in the standing charge across the 14 billing regions.  For electric.  Curiously not for gas though.


From Ofgem April 1 2023 tables, released yesterday the figures currently range - for SR electric paid by direct debit.

London is by far the cheapest £132.73 (ex VAT if iirc) - I guess as the most densely populated area.
NW & Mersey the most expensive £ 214.90
( S Scotland a close 2nd £214.37, SW region, N Scotland also over £200 pa) for SR  electric.

Curiously the relative cost penalties vs DD for standard credit and prepay different between electric and gas.

InvertedVee

Agree with most of what's been written.

I understand that a 4-pint bottle of milk costs £1.65 but I have no idea what a statement like "the average annual cost of milk has risen to £225" means.

Sea_Shell

drsquirrel said:

michaels said:

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

Most people don't know how many units they use - I find the issue crazy but I believe this is the main reason.

It would be easier if the issue was forced though... then people would be forced to learn.

Maybe these figures need to be IN BIG TEXT on the top of every bill, so they can't be missed in the small print.   

But unless you're on smart meters, and have been for a little while, these figures themselves may not be accurate, depending on if any readings have been submitted.  So round in a circle we go again!!!

GunJack

drsquirrel said:

mongoose2009 said:

the smartfone means that people cant do simple maths anymore

let alone understand Kwh

You're being sarcastic with _fone_ right?

Unfortunately not... It seems that such simple mental tasks (and not just maths) require an ever increasing number of people to have to "look at my phone" to find solutions.... If Mr Google says it, it must be so ☹️