Warm Home Discount Costs To Be Shifted From SC To U/R

bristolleedsfan

https://x.com/MartinSLewis/status/2021933533611122779

tfhnota

Tiny amount but every little helps, this now means the average unit rate is going down £150-40 in April and perhaps minus some other junk costs Ofgem is planning to throw into the mix? My guess is s/c's will end up back where they started before they were hugely inflated by Ofgem and everyone will have to be "happy" with that, no "need" for zero s/c's after all. Bunch of ,,,,,,,

t0rt0ise

I don't understand how this is good news. Moving the cost from standing charges to unit rates means anyone with higher than average bills loses out. So that'll be disabled people, the elderly (who tend to feel the cold more), and larger families. That's nice!

WiserMiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882252#Comment_81882252

... and those in Scotland, in hillside or windswept locations, who work from home, who have large rambling properties but can't even think of downsizing because of crippling costs of stamp duty and all the other expenses etc, etc.

tfhnota

None of them will be affected because unit rates are going down at the same time, just by less than was expected…

Swipe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882421#Comment_81882421

Of course they will be. Their bills will now go down by less.

QrizB

I don't understand how this is good news.

Saint Martin of Lewis has been campaigning for lower standing charges so that low users will pay less. Under this change, low users will pay less. Therefore, SMoL sees it as good news.

Moving the cost from standing charges to unit rates means anyone with higher than average bills loses out.

Yes, that's a natural consequence of moving cost recovery from the SC to the unit price. It's what SMoL has been campaigning for.

So that'll be disabled people, the elderly (who tend to feel the cold more), and larger families. That's nice!

Several of us have been pointing this out on the forum for many years, but SMoL hasn't changed his stance.

Personally, this is likely to reduce my energy bills. But I don't think it's a good move.

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881630#Comment_81881630

there is no £150 - it was actually calculated as iirc £154 - and a nonsense average produced by the treasury from 2 different things that arent applied to all households in the UK as many have no gas and eco scheme split that way - and at cap tdcv lefel for a duel fuel home is more like £133 - which is split - I did the maths in another thread from a n others p/kWh figures from Ofgem - but c£95 and c£38.

Assuming Ofgem were to use simple tdcv to move whd from sc to unit rates (thry may not) and if £20 per fuel as ML.

So if take £20/ 11500 for gas the eco move to tax (not saving - movement to tax) the £38/0.33p gets dropped by say £20/ 0.17p (20/11500) - to £18/0.16p - to save 20/365 = 5.5p on SC

and electric 3.54p gets dropped by c0.7p (£20/2700) to 2.8p/kWh

ML might be "pleased" with the move from SC - but has he ever stopped to consider tge harm this will do to many of the most vulnerable in society who need more than average energy consumption for heating - the frailer elderly and the disabled.

People who want low SC are supposedly to get that option - if so - surely time he and others stopped trying yo impose their choice on those who dont - even if they too may save a few p a day per fuel.

And Ofgem Stopped listening to loud voices when it comes to zero or low SC tarifs and got on with fixing real problems that would save everyone - especially during likes of Ukraine gas crisis - like the grid bid auction system.

A schemr that awarded gross profits to non CfD renewables (windfall price levy added but months too late) nuclear and other non gas generation. Adding unnecessary I suspect in £bns to cost of EPG scheme, based on relative costs to govts of subsidies in other EU nations without our in si plistic terms "highest bid wins" system.

If anything WHD should have been an obvious choice for the govt / treasury to move back to general taxation. It only really exists to subsidise bills for those on means tested benefits - when the real solution is surely to ensure benefits actually cover essential bills - like a reasonable basic amount of energy.

And the rest of us didnt tgen have to pay the £40 on our energy bills - unit rates or SC - for others to save £110 - not £150 - because AFAIK they too pay the total including the £40 - tge £150.. We dont tax many benefits to avoid that sort of claw back - why are we treating WHD differently.

And if t4ue and you follow that logic, then the 3.4m who were on WHD before tge extension to 2.7m - are now actually £24 worse off at cap tdcv level -just like the majority of homes not on WHD (regardless of their income - maybd just above benefit thresholds).

Ildhund

@QrizB wrote:

I don't think it's a good move.

I suppose that depends on what you mean by 'good'. Every other 'policy' cost is levied on suppliers per MWh supplied. This latest decision (yet to be made, I think) will just bring WHD into line in this respect, and that can only make suppliers' accounting for what is essentially 'public money' a bit simpler.

Ofgem have a habit of juggling costs between unit rates and standing charges for the price cap. I expect they'll continue to do so, so WHD being henceforth levied per MWH doesn't necessarily mean that it will (all) be shifted from the standing charge ('per household') to the unit rate ('per kWH') as far as the SVT consumer is concerned. We'll have to wait and see.

bristolleedsfan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882711#Comment_81882711

As you know Suppliers are free to set SC and UR on tariffs that are not Price Capped SVR how they want to.

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882819#Comment_81882819

And most choose not to set zero SC - have those advocating zero SC tariffs so strongly ever wondered why ?

Or why in the last comprehensive charging review, Ofgem decided standing charges for the grid were far too low - so moved another iirc £103 into them between 2022 and 2024 ?