Standing Charge for uninhabitable property

aurora279

Hi,
I'm in the process of renovating my house and am living elsewhere. There delays due to COVID and now the cost of materials and labour.

I had to take edf to the ombudsman in 2022 to waive the standing charge and now edf have come back saying they've updated their system and do not waive standing charge anymore.

The property is not habitable as we have removed the boiler, radiators, cooker, bathroom, toilets etc. The house needs replumbed and rewired.

On reading some reviews someone said if the house is not habitable then you don't pay standing charge.

I'd like to hear some advice if possible.

Netexporter

If you have a working supply and meter, whether you choose to use it, or not, then you pay the standing charge. You could pay to have the supplies removed but you'd then have to pay to have them reinstated. I think you'll find the SC is cheaper.

DE_612183

you could always move to a supplier / tariff that doesn't have a standing charge but has a higher rate - but as you are not using any juice that should not be a problem.

CliveOfIndia

It doesn't really matter whether the house is habitable or not - the supply is available for you to use, so you have to pay the SC.  Not meaning to sound condescending, them's just the facts

So you could get the supply removed, and prepare yourself for a hefty re-connection charge in the future.  Or, as suggested by the previous poster, look around for a different tariff that charges a much higher unit rate in return for a much lower SC.

wrf12345

Or you could take the opportunity to super insulate the house, have solar and battery fitted and go grid-free, possibly use a multi fuel burner for heating and generator back-up for electric. Unless there is a political change, the retail energy companies are likely to keep loading the s/c's until the bubble bursts (they just don't believe people will walk away from them).

CliveOfIndia

wrf12345 said:

Or you could take the opportunity to super insulate the house, have solar and battery fitted and go grid-free, possibly use a multi fuel burner for heating and generator back-up for electric. Unless there is a political change, the retail energy companies are likely to keep loading the s/c's until the bubble bursts (they just don't believe people will walk away from them).

A novel - and very appealing, I must say - idea.

It did make me think of something though.  The long-term plan of the powers-that-be is to ban oil- and gas-fired boilers, and to ban diesel- and petrol-powered cars.  In the utopia you describe, you're going to need that generator, as you'll never be able to generate/store enough power all of the time just from solar and/or wind, even with a hefty battery.  And even log-burning stoves are starting to become the devil's offspring these days.

I wonder if they'll ban generators as well?  After all, they're going to burn either petrol or diesel.  I've never heard of any such plans, but it wouldn't surprise me .....

Alnat1

Surely you'll be using power tools during the renovation and require a power source as and when needed? If you want a supply then you have to pay the standing charge.

Scot_39

aurora279 said:

Hi,
I'm in the process of renovating my house and am living elsewhere. There delays due to COVID and now the cost of materials and labour.

I had to take edf to the ombudsman in 2022 to waive the standing charge and now edf have come back saying they've updated their system and do not waive standing charge anymore.

The property is not habitable as we have removed the boiler, radiators, cooker, bathroom, toilets etc. The house needs replumbed and rewired.

On reading some reviews someone said if the house is not habitable then you don't pay standing charge.

I'd like to hear some advice if possible.

Legally any one of those things doesn't make the home uninhabitable - you might not like the idea of living there - but thats far from the old (AFAIK possibly still as read it again a few years ago) the standing legal definition.

Covid restrictions ended in July 2021 - in England - that was the so called "freedom day" - thats nearly three years ago.

Others pay SC for gas for 8-9 months of year without using for heating.  Not sure many of them would think you getting a SC waiver was fair.

Simple really - pay up or pay to disconnect / reconnect.

DE_612183

Alnat1 said:

Surely you'll be using power tools during the renovation and require a power source as and when needed? If you want a supply then you have to pay the standing charge.

Most power tools these days run on battery packs - I've had people to house to do work when the electricity has been off and it does not pose a problem to them. 

MeteredOut

DE_612183 said:

Alnat1 said:

Surely you'll be using power tools during the renovation and require a power source as and when needed? If you want a supply then you have to pay the standing charge.

Most power tools these days run on battery packs - I've had people to house to do work when the electricity has been off and it does not pose a problem to them. 

So, no-one has every used electricity in the house?

DE_612183

MeteredOut said:

DE_612183 said:

Alnat1 said:

Surely you'll be using power tools during the renovation and require a power source as and when needed? If you want a supply then you have to pay the standing charge.

Most power tools these days run on battery packs - I've had people to house to do work when the electricity has been off and it does not pose a problem to them. 

So, no-one has every used electricity in the house?

Don't know tats a question for the OP - @aurora279 but they did say it needs to be re-wired - so possibly not - but the point is moot as the SC is payable anyway.