Standing Charges: Gas & Electricity

WibbleBaaaaaa

wrf12345 said:

Falling electric and gas prices make for the ideal moment to abolish standing charges, unit rate will still go down but not as much as if the s/c remained. Once that has settled down, forced efficiencies by lowering the difference between wholesale and retail prices (currently a multiple of 2.2-2.5) will help keep the unit rate down. AI driven systems that constantly monitor and reset/repair smart meters, as well as dealing with payments, may eventually pare down retail energy companies, even further narrowing the gap between retail and wholesale prices.

Well said.

mmmmikey

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

wrf12345 said:

Falling electric and gas prices make for the ideal moment to abolish standing charges, unit rate will still go down but not as much as if the s/c remained. Once that has settled down, forced efficiencies by lowering the difference between wholesale and retail prices (currently a multiple of 2.2-2.5) will help keep the unit rate down. AI driven systems that constantly monitor and reset/repair smart meters, as well as dealing with payments, may eventually pare down retail energy companies, even further narrowing the gap between retail and wholesale prices.

Well said.

... might be what you hope for but unfortunately demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of what the changes cover and how they are set. To be realistic, I think you'll have more chance of seeing a unicorn than that happening. 

matelodave

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

wrf12345 said:

Falling electric and gas prices make for the ideal moment to abolish standing charges, unit rate will still go down but not as much as if the s/c remained. Once that has settled down, forced efficiencies by lowering the difference between wholesale and retail prices (currently a multiple of 2.2-2.5) will help keep the unit rate down. AI driven systems that constantly monitor and reset/repair smart meters, as well as dealing with payments, may eventually pare down retail energy companies, even further narrowing the gap between retail and wholesale prices.

Well said.

I'm not sure how you and your mate can be so obtuse. 

The standing charges aren't related to the wholesale cost of the fuel, they are related to the cost of the infrastructure of getting it to your house, billing you and all the add ons that the government think is appropriate to pay for those who fail to pay their bills and to fund green policies.

Its much like having a car - tax, insurance , maintenance and depreciation are the fixed costs or standing charge which you have to pay even if you dont drive it.

The cost of fuel is the variable that you pay depending either how much leccy you use or how far you drive and may go down or up depending on the wholesale price, it doesn't affect the standing charge.

WibbleBaaaaaa

Dewpoint said:

I'm a pensioner living in a well-insulated flat and I try to minimise my impact on the environment by using as little water, electricity, and gas as I can.

My actual usage for all these is low, but the bills I pay don't reflect this because the standing charges for G & E represent between 30% and 50% of the total.

It seems to me I'm subsidising those who are not as careful. They pay the same standing charges as me, but it represents a far smaller proportion of the Bill.

Not fair in my opinion. I think standing charges should be scrapped, and those who use the most should pay the most in direct proportion.

Well said sir, totally agree.

MattMattMattUK

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

Dewpoint said:

I'm a pensioner living in a well-insulated flat and I try to minimise my impact on the environment by using as little water, electricity, and gas as I can.

My actual usage for all these is low, but the bills I pay don't reflect this because the standing charges for G & E represent between 30% and 50% of the total.

It seems to me I'm subsidising those who are not as careful. They pay the same standing charges as me, but it represents a far smaller proportion of the Bill.

Not fair in my opinion. I think standing charges should be scrapped, and those who use the most should pay the most in direct proportion.

Well said sir, totally agree.

Why do you keep selecting factually incorrect, emotional and hyperbolic posts and saying "Well said"?

mmmmikey

MattMattMattUK said:

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

Dewpoint said:

I'm a pensioner living in a well-insulated flat and I try to minimise my impact on the environment by using as little water, electricity, and gas as I can.

My actual usage for all these is low, but the bills I pay don't reflect this because the standing charges for G & E represent between 30% and 50% of the total.

It seems to me I'm subsidising those who are not as careful. They pay the same standing charges as me, but it represents a far smaller proportion of the Bill.

Not fair in my opinion. I think standing charges should be scrapped, and those who use the most should pay the most in direct proportion.

Well said sir, totally agree.

Why do you keep selecting factually incorrect, emotional and hyperbolic posts and saying "Well said"?

Emotion seems to have taken over to the point where any factual and reasoned argument is likely to be futile, I suspect.

This has gone the way of all the other standing charge threads.

Thankfully we have a secretary of state for energy who is not afraid to intervene and make unpopular decisions, so I expect this will end up OK.

That's not really meant to be a political standpoint in favour of the current government, more and observation on how things are changing.

At a general level it's my belief that we have got to the "pay later" bit of "buy now, pay later" when it comes to much of our shared infrastructure and services, whether they are in the public or private sectors. We've underinvested for years in pursuit of popular low prices and it's caught up with us. I hate to say it but I really think that collectively we've been a me, me, me, more, more, more generation and although I think a large part of society realises that and are prepared to knuckle down, tighten their belts and do their bit, there's still a large contingent who don't understand the situation and want to go on paying for things on the never never and run up huge debts.

Personally, I find the greed a bit depressing if I'm honest  😢 

MattMattMattUK

mmmmikey said:

MattMattMattUK said:

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

Dewpoint said:

I'm a pensioner living in a well-insulated flat and I try to minimise my impact on the environment by using as little water, electricity, and gas as I can.

My actual usage for all these is low, but the bills I pay don't reflect this because the standing charges for G & E represent between 30% and 50% of the total.

It seems to me I'm subsidising those who are not as careful. They pay the same standing charges as me, but it represents a far smaller proportion of the Bill.

Not fair in my opinion. I think standing charges should be scrapped, and those who use the most should pay the most in direct proportion.

Well said sir, totally agree.

Why do you keep selecting factually incorrect, emotional and hyperbolic posts and saying "Well said"?

Emotion seems to have taken over to the point where any factual and reasoned argument is likely to be futile, I suspect.

This has gone the way of all the other standing charge threads.

Thankfully we have a secretary of state for energy who is not afraid to intervene and make unpopular decisions, so I expect this will end up OK.

That's not really meant to be a political standpoint in favour of the current government, more and observation on how things are changing.

At a general level it's my belief that we have got to the "pay later" bit of "buy now, pay later" when it comes to much of our shared infrastructure and services, whether they are in the public or private sectors. We've underinvested for years in pursuit of popular low prices and it's caught up with us. I hate to say it but I really think that collectively we've been a me, me, me, more, more, more generation and although I think a large part of society realises that and are prepared to knuckle down, tighten their belts and do their bit, there's still a large contingent who don't understand the situation and want to go on paying for things on the never never and run up huge debts.

Personally, I find the greed a bit depressing if I'm honest  😢 

I have got to the point when I am fed up with it as well. So many people want "someone else" to pay but are entirely unwilling to contribute themselves. They spew out a whole list of factually incorrect and/or emotional reasons why they should be subsidised whilst again and again demonstrating that they have little to no actual understanding of energy supply, although they do seem to regurgitate a certain kind of ideology found in less rational corners of the web.

WibbleBaaaaaa

twopenny said:

Well I'd be happy with that 
My standing charge for electricity is higher than my usage. Which is really annoying.

You and me both sir, well said.

GingerTim

MattMattMattUK said:

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

Dewpoint said:

I'm a pensioner living in a well-insulated flat and I try to minimise my impact on the environment by using as little water, electricity, and gas as I can.

My actual usage for all these is low, but the bills I pay don't reflect this because the standing charges for G & E represent between 30% and 50% of the total.

It seems to me I'm subsidising those who are not as careful. They pay the same standing charges as me, but it represents a far smaller proportion of the Bill.

Not fair in my opinion. I think standing charges should be scrapped, and those who use the most should pay the most in direct proportion.

Well said sir, totally agree.

Why do you keep selecting factually incorrect, emotional and hyperbolic posts and saying "Well said"?

Obviously just on a wind up. Best ignored.

Qyburn

WibbleBaaaaaa said:

twopenny said:

Well I'd be happy with that 
My standing charge for electricity is higher than my usage. Which is really annoying.

You and me both sir, well said.

Question for those who think that some sort of natural justice suggests that the standing charge should make up no more than a certain percentage of the total bill.

We're currently using between 0.3 and 0.6kWh per day, so around 8p at SVT. What does your natural justice think I should be paying as S/C?