Zero standing charge

ForumJoe

Are there any zero standing charge gas and electric suppliers other than Utilita?
If using very little electricity or gas, is this company a good choice?

GingerTim

Utilita are pretty much your only option. Even then you will still effectively pay a standing charge as it's loaded on to the first two kwh you use each day.

CSI_Yorkshire

E are the same (and are a prepayment only supplier).  Much higher unit rate for the first 2kWh.

wrf12345

You need to complain to your MP or perhaps the PM when he turns up on a radio phone-in program, an absolute disgrace how Ofgem keep increasing the s/c at the same time as politicians take credit for falling prices for the average user - I don't know if it is political ignorance or just removal from reality of people "earning" 100k a year but if enough people complain and refuse to vote for them then it may change.

CSI_Yorkshire

wrf12345 said:

 an absolute disgrace how Ofgem keep increasing the s/c at the same time as politicians take credit for falling prices for the average user 

But there are falling prices for the average user, even after including the standing charge.

Complaining about politicians telling the truth seems a little odd.  

Scot_39

There was user who gave his Utilita electric rates - who was paying iirc 63p for 1st 2kWh then 30p.

So effectively paid 66p extra on the 1st two units rather than SC - on any day used that 2kWh.

How much is 2kWh electric - not a lot 

My small 2 bed house uses around 1.5kWh empty - 0.7+kWh of that the smallest fridge freezer I could find - due to space constraints.

Add a few hours of TV, a shower, a cooked meal etc - well over 2.

My summer use 5-8kWh.

So yes - you can argue its zero standing charge - but it's not going to be most of the time for most of their users.

And not sure we got a definite on whether the c30p was slightly more than Ofgem cap or not.

Duel fuelling with them - it's probably easier to drop gas a large number of days in summer - assuming your appliances don't all have pilot lights burning away.  (Quick google comes up with estimates for an old boiler pilot light range from c2kW a day to nearer c7kWh.)

Dolor

Are standing charges in some form or other here to stay? To date, I have seen no workable alternatives. Low energy use is not a suitable criterion for standing charge free or social tariffs. Where there is genuine need, welfare support to pay energy bills should come from the Government not energy consumers.

Liam Halligan on the eye watering costs of Net Zero policies…

‘Reaching the 2050 target has enormous cost implications not only for households and firms, but also the government. Between now and mid-century, subsidies and other “green investment” will add 21 percentage points to the UK’s national debt-to-GDP ratio, according to a recent Office for Budget Responsibility Report. In today’s money, that’s equivalent to £500 billion. These are vast costs and, as long as “Net Zero 2050” remains in place, the process of spreading them around will become increasingly politically contentious.’

We are all going to have to pay these costs: this is why I believe that standing charges are here to stay.

Ectophile

Dolor said:

Are standing charges in some form or other here to stay? To date, I have seen no workable alternatives. Low energy use is not a suitable criterion for standing charge free or social tariffs. Where there is genuine need, welfare support to pay energy bills should come from the Government not energy consumers.

Some people seem to think that standing charges are a recent introduction to pay for green levies.

I bought my first flat in 1990 - that's 33 years ago.  When gas came from British Gas and electricity came from the local electricity board.

And even then we had standing charges.

Dolor

It is interesting to see what Ofgem is doing re business tariffs and standing charges:

Scot_39

Ectophile said:

Dolor said:

Are standing charges in some form or other here to stay? To date, I have seen no workable alternatives. Low energy use is not a suitable criterion for standing charge free or social tariffs. Where there is genuine need, welfare support to pay energy bills should come from the Government not energy consumers.

Some people seem to think that standing charges are a recent introduction to pay for green levies.

I bought my first flat in 1990 - that's 33 years ago.  When gas came from British Gas and electricity came from the local electricity board.

And even then we had standing charges.

Standing charge free tariffs and banded tariffs were effectively all but ended by the tariff simplification exercise under Cons Lib exercise c2011/2 passed into law eventually c2014 iirc.

Despite a range of sites designed to  take all the maths away from users to give easy absolute cost comparisons for switchers anyway.

Libs held the energy post at time. In fact dept head was Ed Davey, the current party leader for one kf his announcements.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20404659


But all 3 main parties backed it at time.

wrf12345

Yes, that effectively ruined Ebico's business model, not sure why Ofgem did not tell the minister the effect of his actions - getting rid of s/c's at that time and making energy companies have a single kw/hour charge (plus a bit off for DD) would have been much more effective but overpaid politicians are too removed from reality and commonsense to be much use to anyone.