Standing charges leap by 100%

C_Mababejive
C_Mababejive Posts: 11,654 Forumite
Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
in Energy
Why is this happening and why is the toothless regulator #ofgem allowing it?

My current deal ends at the end of July and my standing charges were typically 10p per day per fuel. Now everywherei look its typically 20p per day per fuel and up.

I can find no explanation for it.
Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    C_Mababejive wrote: »
    Why is this happening and why is the toothless regulator #ofgem allowing it?

    My current deal ends at the end of July and my standing charges were typically 10p per day per fuel. Now everywherei look its typically 20p per day per fuel and up.

    I can find no explanation for it.

    Higher standing charges tend to be linked to lower unit costs so these tariffs favour high users. Tariffs with no standing charges tend to have high unit prices so favour low users. Suppliers are setting their charges to target the customers that they want to attract. Whatever your view, we all have to pay for the Grid and infrastructure that gets power to your property. If you are not happy, then switch suppliers to one that has low standing charges.
  • FullForce
    FullForce Posts: 177 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    C_Mababejive wrote: »
    Why is this happening and why is the toothless regulator #ofgem allowing it?

    My current deal ends at the end of July and my standing charges were typically 10p per day per fuel. Now everywherei look its typically 20p per day per fuel and up.

    I can find no explanation for it.

    The CEC, as one example, has the option to filter results to only those tariffs that have zero standing charge ... and the number of options that now throws up is greater than it has been for a very long time:)

    But surely all you really want is the cheapest price for you??? Any comparison site should give you that (assuming they display whole of market, again like the CEC promises to do if you do not apply any filters)

    The explanation you appear to be seeking is known as a competitive marketplace :cool:
  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    FullForce wrote: »

    But surely all you really want is the cheapest price for you??? Any comparison site should give you that (assuming they display whole of market, again like the CEC promises to do if you do not apply any filters)

    If you are confident that you will only use the projected amounts of energy that you use when comparing deals, then the lowest deal is the cheapest deal. However, let us say that the coming Winter has a prolonged cold snap in December/January then the comparison may be flawed. As gas is my biggest variable, I run two further comparisons at +/- 15% of my projected annual usage. It often gives options that need a bit more thought; that said, I tend to favour deals with a low unit price.
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,606 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Hengus wrote: »
    If you are confident that you will only use the projected amounts of energy that you use when comparing deals, then the lowest deal is the cheapest deal. However, let us say that the coming Winter has a prolonged cold snap in December/January then the comparison may be flawed. As gas is my biggest variable, I run two further comparisons at +/- 15% of my projected annual usage. It often gives options that need a bit more thought; that said, I tend to favour deals with a low unit price.

    I'm a leccy only customer but do the same as Hengus - use my average consumption (based on 7 years worth of monthly data) and do it again with a +/- 10 or 15% to see whether it makes much of a difference. I also do my own sums to work out how much I'm going to pay rather than just relying on fictious "savings".

    The neter gets read every month and my actual consumption is compared with my historical averages to make sure that my dd is on target to zero out at the end of the fix. The monthly readings are also sent through to the supplier and my on-line account gets checked to ensure that it's up to date with accurate readings & billing. I get any estimates corrected immediately

    All of that takes around 10 minutes a month and ensures that I don't get any surprises and that any problems are only a month old.
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
  • C_Mababejive
    C_Mababejive Posts: 11,654 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    Hi all ,yes i have good data on how many Kw of each i use. What im saying is that my SC used to be 9.4p per day and now i cant find any provider anywhere near that. They are all around 20p . It smacks of profiteering to me.
    Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,606 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Of course it is - now everyone is trying to reduce their consumption the power companies have to try an make up the shortfall.
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
  • C_Mababejive
    C_Mababejive Posts: 11,654 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    But why or how are they allowed to do it? The stnading charges represent irfrastructure and transportation costs so unless they have justifiably and/or demonstrably gone up then surely it is wrong and they should be challenged by the gutless regulator?
    Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..
  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    edited 8 July 2017 at 10:50AM
    C_Mababejive wrote: »
    But why or how are they allowed to do it? The stnading charges represent irfrastructure and transportation costs so unless they have justifiably and/or demonstrably gone up then surely it is wrong and they should be challenged by the gutless regulator?

    You are rather missing the point. Let's assume that you buy 'X' units of energy per year and the total cost is £1000 per year. You may find a deal where you pay £50 a year in standing charges and £950 for the 'X" units, or another deal where you pay £100 a year in standing charges and £900 for 'X' units. Provided you only use 'X' units, then you will only pay £1000.

    That said, the Government could take the view that distribution costs (standing charges) should be abolished (indeed, Ofgem already allows suppliers to have a standing charge of zero) but it would just mean an increase across the board in unit prices.

    Have a look at the link below:

    http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/customers/about-your-energy-bill/the-breakdown-of-an-energy-bill.html

    Note that in 2010/11, the wholesale cost of electricity accounted for 51% of your bill and other costs 44% (excluding VAT) Compare it to 2016/17 where the wholesale costs account for 32%. The other 63% (an increase of nearly 50%) are fixed costs that hit every bill. I am not defending this increase just explaining it.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards