Standard Variable Tariff(SVT)

Cardew · 5 October 2021 at 2:31PM

I think most of us are aware that on 01 Oct 2021 that the capped SVT increased to £1277pa.

That is below the cost of current wholesale prices, however some firms had placed 'future contracts'. But it seems highly likely that the capped SVT will be increased considerably in April next year.

There has been considerable speculation that with the huge charges for new fixed tariffs, the SVT is the cheapest tariff; and those with a fixed tariff expiring soon should simply allow their present company to switch them to their SVT.

I have been trying, without success, to find out exactly how the charges on an SVT are calculated.

The Ofgem website simply states that the £1277pa SVT is based on the ‘average user consumption.’

However what is ‘average user consumption’? For those on dual fuel it used to be 3,100kWh electricity and 12,500kWh gas but it could be any combination of gas and electricity consumption, or all electric. However all companies must have a kWh charge and Daily Standard Charge(DSC)for gas and electricity(depending on area)

Understandably it seems no energy company will put a new customer on their SVT and the comparison networks are not working. So it seems impossible to find out the unit charges.

I am with OVO in Midlands and can’t get the SVT charges from that firm.

Anyone on an SVT who can state their charges?

QrizB · 5 October 2021 at 2:39PM

In brief:

Ofgem publish a set of tables showing maximum costs for the SC and for a typical user based on 3100 kWh/yr elec and 12000 kWh/yr gas
If you divide the SC cap by 365 you get the daily SC cap
If you subtract the annual SC cap from the 3100 kWh/yr electric cap, then divide by 3100, you get the kWh price
Ditto for the 12000 kWh gas cap.

In practice there's a little bit of flexibility as suppliers can charge less SC and then bump their kWh rates up proportionately. The hard cap on electric kWh is the cap/3100, and for gas kWh the cap/12000.

Oh, and Ofgem's published figures don't include VAT so add 5% to whatever you calculate (assuming a residential property).

Edit to add:

Ofgem's table is here (look at "subsidiary documents" for full details):

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/default-tariff-cap-level-1-october-2021-31-march-2022

And rate table (my work, E&OE):

MWT · 5 October 2021 at 3:39PM

... and that £1277 figure that is being mentioned everywhere is based on the average of the regions and 2900kWh rather than 3100, just to be confusing...

It also assumed DD payment and a single rate tariff, there are other caps for different payment methods and E7 etc.

Cardew · 5 October 2021 at 3:50PM

Thanks fo that link.

Being a masochist I checked the increase against my current fixed tariff.

Assuming the daily standing charge stays the same, Gas unit charge increases by 77%, electricity unit charge increases by 40% and for my consumption, my overall bill increases by 56.4%

Merlin139 · 5 October 2021 at 4:20PM

Being a bit dumb or me thinks I am!

Does Standard Credit mean Direct Debit?

On all the lists of costs Other payment method works out as the cheapest.

wittynamegoeshere · 5 October 2021 at 4:22PM

You'll have to hope that no more than a tiny minority of your supplier's customers are on the same tariff as you, otherwise they won't be around for long.

I was paying Symbio 13p a unit, which will rise to about 21p with Eon, a rise of 62%. The daily standing charge has more than doubled too.

I definitely will be sticking to whatever SVT they have for now at least.

QrizB · 5 October 2021 at 4:47PM

Merlin139 said:

Being a bit dumb or me thinks I am!
Does Standard Credit mean Direct Debit?
On all the lists of costs Other payment method works out as the cheapest.

Standard Credit is "pay on receipt of bill". "Other" includes monthly DD on some sort of budget plan. "Prepayment" is key meters and the like.

PeterGr · 5 October 2021 at 4:52PM

Standard Credit is paying each bill on receipt (monthly or quarterly), so that your payments occur after you have consumed the energy. The Other payment term used by Ofgem includes Direct Debit payments, as if set up correctly after 12 months the DD payments equal the charges for the energy, and there is a balance of 0.00

[Deleted User] · 7 November 2021 at 10:23AM

So for myself (a low user paying Octopus £38 per month dual fuel by DD) 3.01p gas and 16.11p electricity) - what could that potentially increase to in Feb when my fixed price expires??

QrizB · 7 November 2021 at 10:57AM

Roughly 4p gas, 21p electricity, 25p per day SC for each fuel.

You can check on the Octopus site, look for the current "Flexible Octopus" tariff.

The_Fat_Controller · 7 November 2021 at 11:05AM

@Deleted_User, it depends on how you pay and where you live !

The best thing to do is a comparison on the MSE Energy Club website, put in your current tariff and annual usage (not the DD amount) , it will show the SV tariff onto which you move in February with the current rates.

https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub

When my fix with EDF ends in June 2022 ends, I am currently looking at a 47% increase in my bill, but that is likely to go up once the energy cap is recalculated in April.

Be prepared for a big shock.

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Standard Variable Tariff(SVT)

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