standing charge

syrevid

Standing charge on Electric, water & sewage, when my use is low, I can't get my outgoings down when I don't use anything.

GingerTim

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6457615/martin-lewis-why-are-energy-standing-charges-so-high-what-can-be-done#latest

dunstonh

I can't get my outgoings down when I don't use anything.

If you don't use anything, ask to be disconnected from the mains water, sewage and electric.  That will end the standing charge.

However, standing charge is not about your volume of use.  It is broadly to cover the cost of the infrastructure. i.e. plumbing and cabling to get to your house.      

Netexporter

The grid and pipelines and all the associated equipment still has to be maintained.

The alternative is to go off-grid. You'll need to get quotes for a borehole, a septic tank and solar panels with batteries. If the total comes to, say, £50,000, divide that number by the number of days you expect to live and see whether it is less than 50p/day for each service.

EssexHebridean

AS already explained, that this to a large extent (although in the case of electric, not entirely) is about the infrastructure is the issue here. If you're saying you never use any mains water, or electricity of gas from the grid because you are entirely self sufficient in utilities, then the disconnection option would without question be your best way forwards - it is a possibility, and other people have done it. If however that what you are meaning is that "some days" you use none of those things, perhaps when you are away from home for all or part of a day, but on other days you make drinks, flush the toilet, put the heating on and watch the TV, all powered by mains utilities, then you are still using the infrastructure which has to be paid for. 

The electricity SC IS high, and I think we all suspect will go higher still yet, and a large proportion of this relates to central costs and policies which do not relate specifically just to get the supply to our homes. Your best bet to challenge that would probably be in the first instance to really look into exactly how the SC is made up, and then to write to your MP, and encourage others to do likewise. Whether it would do any good however would depend on the sympathies of both your MP themselves, and the party they stand for - and right now, the green agenda and social policies are seen as vote-winners. 

One option to you might be to switch to Utilita if they are accepting customers - they do have tariffs without any standing charges which could be worth you exploring. 

wrf12345

It will only become a political issue if one of the parties has the wit to promote the ending of UK fixed costs (standing charges, council tax, TV licence) that would save households around £2000 a year but with MPs on over 80k a year they are unlikely to be too bothered with such "paltry" savings even though it could be done in a way that costs the government nothing.

matt_drummer

wrf12345 said:

It will only become a political issue if one of the parties has the wit to promote the ending of UK fixed costs (standing charges, council tax, TV licence) that would save households around £2000 a year but with MPs on over 80k a year they are unlikely to be too bothered with such "paltry" savings even though it could be done in a way that costs the government nothing.

So you can save us all £2,000 a year and it won't cost the government anything.

What a fantastic idea, have you contacted anybody who could implement this?

Why aren't we already doing this?

I'm sure that even MP's would love an extra £2,000 a year.

MattMattMattUK

wrf12345 said:

It will only become a political issue if one of the parties has the wit to promote the ending of UK fixed costs (standing charges, council tax, TV licence) that would save households around £2000 a year

Who exactly do you expect to pay those costs if is not the people who are using those services, would it be "someone else" by any chance? You seem to be demanding that you are subsidised by other people. 

wrf12345 said:

but with MPs on over 80k a year they are unlikely to be too bothered with such "paltry" savings even though it could be done in a way that costs the government nothing.

It is not about "savings" because those costs still have to be paid, the money has to come from somewhere, anyone with even a basic understanding of finance and economics would understand that.

pallyman

syrevid said:

Standing charge on Electric, water & sewage, when my use is low, I can't get my outgoings down when I don't use anything.

So you do not charge your phones/laptop etc & do not use the toilet or drink or use water for cooking or washing,I am interested to know how you manage this.

pseudodox

Standing charges are a sting in the tail for everyone & more especially seem out of proportion for low users.  However I regard them as funding the service supply that I want to have instantly available on demand.  My car sits in the garage most of the time, but it is costing me road tax, insurance, annual MOT/service.  These costs are the same whether I drive 500, 5,000 or 10,000 miles.  It is instantly available for my use & all I have to do is fill it with petrol when I do want to travel.  Annual running costs per mile are much higher if I only ever go to the local shops.  But lower if I do a lot of mileage.  I continue to pay the fixed costs even if I cannot afford a tank of fuel.  So really no different to energy standing charges.

TheElectricCow

wrf12345 said:

It will only become a political issue if one of the parties has the wit to promote the ending of UK fixed costs (standing charges, council tax, TV licence) that would save households around £2000 a year but with MPs on over 80k a year they are unlikely to be too bothered with such "paltry" savings even though it could be done in a way that costs the government nothing.

Could you expand upon your idea for removing all these costs to households while not costing the government anything? I’d be very interested in hearing how this would work, it sounds like your proposal would be really beneficial to everyone if we can get all these services and utilities for free without anyone having to pay for them either directly or through taxation.