Energy Standing Charges

ALBYHERE01

Just been informed my Electricity standing charge is going up another 11pence a day taking it to 61.7pence.
That's around 25% of my monthly bill.
I have no gas use oil for heating and hot water and burn logs for additional heat yet gas standing charge is only around 22 pence (do they manage to dig cheaper holes)
Why are more people not making more noise about the injustice of this forced charge.
When the market was competitive so to where the standing charges.
I feel I am being mugged considering the obsurd profits these companies make.
Let's get rid of standing charges.

Reddleman79

Standing charges are to stop people cutting down on their energy use. If it was charged for like petrol/diesel, ie. pay as you go, with infrastructure costs factored into the unit cost, people would use less, as they would see the difference straightaway in their bills.

GingerTim

ALBYHERE01 said:

Just been informed my Electricity standing charge is going up another 11pence a day taking it to 61.7pence.
That's around 25% of my monthly bill.
I have no gas use oil for heating and hot water and burn logs for additional heat yet gas standing charge is only around 22 pence (do they manage to dig cheaper holes)
Why are more people not making more noise about the injustice of this forced charge.
When the market was competitive so to where the standing charges.
I feel I am being mugged considering the obsurd profits these companies make.
Let's get rid of standing charges.

Energy companies don't get to keep the standing charge nor do they make a profit on them.

Spoonie_Turtle

Reddleman79 said:

Standing charges are to stop people cutting down on their energy use.

That's a bold claim, got a source for that?

BUFF

ALBYHERE01 said:

I have no gas use oil for heating and hot water and burn logs for additional heat yet gas standing charge is only around 22 pence (do they manage to dig cheaper holes)

there are a no.of other charges lumped in with the electricity standing charge that gas doesn't have,

EssexHebridean

No energy suppliers are making "absurd profits" right now - they are allowed to make a maximum of 2% profit, and in fact most have bee falling short of that since the energy crisis hit.  

MattMattMattUK

ALBYHERE01 said:

Just been informed my Electricity standing charge is going up another 11pence a day taking it to 61.7pence.
That's around 25% of my monthly bill.
I have no gas use oil for heating and hot water and burn logs for additional heat yet gas standing charge is only around 22 pence (do they manage to dig cheaper holes)
Why are more people not making more noise about the injustice of this forced charge.
When the market was competitive so to where the standing charges.

Standing charges are there to cover the cost of the grid connection, regulation, network resilience, investment in carbon reduction, SoLR etc. People are not "making more noise" because most people make an attempt to understand the issue, rather than just having a tantrum.

ALBYHERE01 said:

I feel I am being mugged considering the obsurd profits these companies make.

The energy suppliers make a maximum of 2% profit, most of them spent a significant proportion of the last two years operating at a loss, the fact that you feel "mugged" because you refuse to understand how the energy networks work is irrelevant. 

ALBYHERE01 said:

Let's get rid of standing charges.

They should be kept, they cover the fixed cost of being connected to the grid and other essential costs, if they are removed then that cost would have to be moved to unit rates which would punish all but ultra low users, who are very often those with solar, with higher users who are often pensioners and the disabled made to shoulder the majority of the burden.

MikeyPGT

Standing charges do unfairly impact low users - my gas standing charge is over 90% of my actual spend and for electricity around a third.  To my mind a fairer option would be to add a small percentage to the unit price so that higher users contribute more.  Also the madness of the National Grid (and the energy companies in general) being in private hands needs to be addressed

MattMattMattUK

MikeyPGT said:

Standing charges do unfairly impact low users - my gas standing charge is over 90% of my actual spend and for electricity around a third.  To my mind a fairer option would be to add a small percentage to the unit price so that higher users contribute more.  

Why is it "fair" for low users to pay less for the physical connection that average or high users? Firstly "fair" is subjective, secondly low user does not equal low income and high usage does not equal high income. Secondly, you have a connection to the grid the same as everyone else, everyone (in a region) pays the same for their standard connection (high capacity, three phase etc. pay more). Thirdly, why should average and higher users subsidise low users?

MikeyPGT said:

Also the madness of the National Grid (and the energy companies in general) being in private hands needs to be addressed

There can be an argument made that national infrastructure should be in public ownership, but it would make little difference to bills, their margins are capped by regulations and are very small. 

matt_drummer

MikeyPGT said:

Standing charges do unfairly impact low users - my gas standing charge is over 90% of my actual spend and for electricity around a third.  To my mind a fairer option would be to add a small percentage to the unit price so that higher users contribute more.  Also the madness of the National Grid (and the energy companies in general) being in private hands needs to be addressed

I pay an electricity standing charge.

I buy virtually no electricity as I have loads of solar panels and batteries.

I am not rich but had the the resources and the home to be able to do this.

If the standing charge was zero and added to unit rates I would contribute nothing to maintaining the network and you would be paying part of my share of the fixed costs.

Does that sound fair to you?

There are lots of people like me.

Moving standing charges onto unit rates will punish those that can least afford it, people in poorly insulated homes, people at home all day like pensioners, sick people who use more.

Your idea is fatally flawed!

Mstty

MikeyPGT said:

Standing charges do unfairly impact low users - my gas standing charge is over 90% of my actual spend and for electricity around a third.  To my mind a fairer option would be to add a small percentage to the unit price so that higher users contribute more.  Also the madness of the National Grid (and the energy companies in general) being in private hands needs to be addressed

You need to ditch your gas supply in that case then and save circa £106 a year SC for gas.