Gas Standing Charges..

pseudodox

amanda1024 said:

pseudodox said:

Chris_b2z said:

With all due respect, this question was raised because OP received an email stating that discounts were forthcoming from April only to discover that they were not going to benefit from them because of low usage.

So, can anyone please explain exactly why standing charges are increasing next week?

Probably for the same reasons Council Tax, water, telephone, broadband, insurance, petrol, baked beans, coffee, train fares, cars, clothes, fish & chips, meals out, Easter eggs etc have all increased in price.  That's life.  

But easter eggs, for example, have increased in price because of severe droughts in West Africa. Council tax has increased because councils are being required to do more on adult and child social care, with less money from central government, and many also made poor investment decisions. I can’t see how either of those would affect the gas standing charge, so it’s still a valid question

As I said - that's life, which means prices go up for all sorts of reasons surrounding each commodity.  Energy infrastructure costs are not the same as the cost of the gas heating your home or cooking your dinner.  And they don't increase thanks to a drought in Africa - you are not seeing the difference between cost of supplying gas & the cost of the gas supplied.  If you don't like paying a s/c go off grid, generate your own energy.  I would rather have energy available 24/7/365 at the flick of a switch.

Phones4Chris

Chris_b2z said:

Phones4Chris said:

Oh dear, I cannot understand why no-one had quoted the OFFICIAL source
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/changes-energy-price-cap-between-1-april-30-june-2024

Thank you for the link but it still doesn't answer my question.

Did you read it thoroughly -
"Covering debt costs 

We are also allowing a one-off extra payment of £28 per year (£2.33 per month) to make sure suppliers have sufficient funds to support customers who are struggling. This will be added to bills of people who pay for their energy by Direct Debit or standing credit. The temporary payment is partly offset by the end of an allowance worth £11 per year that covered debt costs related to the COVID pandemic. "

OFGEM also previously increased the SC during the energy crisis to help suppliers cover the enormous costs incurred for the Supplier of Last Resort process when taking on millions of customers from companies that went bust.

Not that of course, we necessarily agree with the way the whole process of regulation has been carried out!!

yippeekiay

I had to have my gas meter disconnected last September (it cost me nothing) as I was a lower user & my bills were ridiculous if you worked out cost per unit.

I understand the cost of the network needs paying for but they (suppliers & Ofgem) don't seem to be even trying to encourage lower use, increasing the unit rate rather than the SC would achieve that much better, then people who use it without regard will notice it more clearly.

High/wasteful users absorb the SC with ease whereas those already trying to reduce consumption (for whatever reason) are being penalised heavily for it. It's tricky as I know in some cases high use is a necessity, but that could be catered for.

And don't get me started about the Electricity SC, mine just increased by 25%.

I had my gas meter removed but I'm not sure I could live without the electricity as I don't think there's an alternative - likely why the suppliers know they have us by the short & curlies.

GingerTim

yippeekiay said:

I had to have my gas meter disconnected last September (it cost me nothing) as I was a lower user & my bills were ridiculous if you worked out cost per unit.

I understand the cost of the network needs paying for but they (suppliers & Ofgem) don't seem to be even trying to encourage lower use, increasing the unit rate rather than the SC would achieve that much better, then people who use it without regard will notice it more clearly.

High/wasteful users absorb the SC with ease whereas those already trying to reduce consumption (for whatever reason) are being penalised heavily for it. It's tricky as I know in some cases high use is a necessity, but that could be catered for.

And don't get me started about the Electricity SC, mine just increased by 25%.

I had my gas meter removed but I'm not sure I could live without the electricity as I don't think there's an alternative - likely why the suppliers know they have us by the short & curlies.

Except lots of high users have complex health issues, are pensioners, live in poorly insulated rental properties etc, so increasing the unit rate to absorb the standing charge will put further financial strain on a lot of people who are high energy users through no fault of their own. I don't see how you can build a system that takes millions of individuals'personal circumstances into account without it being massively expensive.

My problem with any suggested change to how the standing charge is distributed is that any alternative I've seen proposed on the forum would be worse for those who can least afford it.

(Full disclosure: I say this as a very low user who would benefit from the standing charge being loaded onto the unit price.)