Energy price cap from July 2023 (merged)

Spoonie_Turtle

wrf12345 said:

… whichever idiot allowed s/c's on prepayment meters really does need to be in prison for all the misery he has caused.

Yes, how dare customers have to pay a share of the running costs for a service they're using(!)

Edit: regular readers will already know I sympathise acutely with the poorest and most vulnerable people and am well aware just how impoverished some people are, no matter how hard they're fighting to stay afloat.  I fully understand how the jump in standing charges has hit certain people far, far worse than others.  My somewhat flippant response above was to the idea of SCs on PPMs in principle, not wishing to belittle the problems some people face.

MouldyOldDough

Is there a online calculator to put your useage in
That calculates the new charges? 

CSI_Yorkshire

MouldyOldDough said:

Is there a online calculator to put your useage in
That calculates the new charges? 

I think they've updated the MSE calculator.

Krakkkers

Energy Price Cap calculator - MoneySavingExpert

MouldyOldDough

Chrysalis said:

There seems to be no political appetite for addressing SC sadly.  Unit rates and overall annual typical usage cost is what grabs the headlines.

I agree 
I use 4000kWh gas and 1200kWh electricity pa 
SC makes up a large percentage of the total bill 

The_Green_Hornet

Dolor said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

MattMattMattUK said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

MattMattMattUK said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Chrysalis said:

There seems to be no political appetite for addressing SC sadly.  Unit rates and overall annual typical usage cost is what grabs the headlines.

Why does the Standing Charge to be "addressed"? It is there to cover specific costs, there is a legitimate reason for it to be charged as it is, why should it be "addressed"?

Greg Jackson, CEO and Founder of Octopus Energy says:

“High standing charges are egregious. This £40m package is the beginning of our battle to bring them down. Far too many costs have been loaded onto standing charges - from grid and distribution charges to failed suppliers. These charges just make it more difficult for hard-pressed customers to save money through efficiency and Octopus is making a stand to change that.”

https://octopus.energy/press/octopus-takes-stand-against-standing-charges-with-40m-package/

Marketing statements to the media to appeal to the uneducated public do not constitute a valid analysis of the costs and merits of the billing structure. 

You are absolutely correct. It is much better to listen to the uneducated public posting anonymously on internet forums,

Or maybe look at the factual analysis published by Ofgem and research bodies. You can tell the post from Jackson is a marketing statement because he does not actually propose how the costs from standing charges should be recovered if they are not on the standing charge, and when pressed in interviews he has declined to answer that part, only that they should be lower. 

Again you are 100% correct. Ofgem is a a shining example of how an industry should be regulated for the benefit of its' customers. Allowing dozens of suppliers into the energy market without proper due diligence for the sole reason on introducing competition to break up the big 6 dominance was an absolute master stroke. 

I would suggest that Octopus has done more to disrupt the domestic energy sector (in a good way) than any other supplier. If competition is not allowed, then we might as well pay £Bns to ‘buy out’ all the existing suppliers and renationalise the energy sector. 

I absolutely agree with your suggestion. Octopus are the exception but then they are competing on innovative products and customer service as opposed to price point. They were/are also well funded.

With the price cap, and the Energy Price Guarantee, some may say that the energy sector has already been renationalised in all but name.

MSE_James

Video from Martin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOXorpT7MSA

More details from MSE here, and also check our calculator here.

MikeJXE

mmmmikey said:

groan - here we go....

Not moaning as it is what it is but it's a fact I will be paying more for less

The only reduction worth while on my dual fuel is the reduction in the gas kWh rate 

That makes sense for the energy company (and others) but not for me, over the next few months I won't be using any gas so they will charge more for less energy I use 

Yes I know the energy company doesn't benefit from the standing charge but it is hardly fair to say our bills are going down when (for some) they are not 

mmmmikey

@MikeJXE - I know the predictions were that SCs would go up but when I look at the Ofgem rates they appear not to be. Am I missing something here? What will you be paying more for? Thanks, Mike.

MikeJXE

mmmmikey said:

@MikeJXE - I know the predictions were that SCs would go up but when I look at the Ofgem rates they appear not to be. Am I missing something here? What will you be paying more for? Thanks, Mike.

According to the above rates my standing charges are up for both electric and gas while kWh is down slightly

My energy use at the present time is lower than my standing charges so by July I will be worse off, not complaining just making a point  

I have not done this calc on the back of a cigarette packet, I keep a spreadsheet for every month so I switched the numbers and compared the results