Associate
Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)
- Thread starter DXP55
- Start date
Commissario
Aye IIRC generally you probably want a deal with a standing charge if your usage is normal/high as the slightly lower unit cost averages it out a bit.
You don't want a standing charge if you don't use much/the property is vacant for long periods (IE a second home/house that is only occupied for a few hours a day).
From memory the "standing charge" was originally intended to offset the cost of infrastructure and repairs to the supply so wasn't linked to the actual unit cost, effectively it was almost an insurance everyone paid to help cover the cost of replacing the cables if something goes wrong (similar to line rental for the phone where it helps cover the physical costs of the wiring and doing repairs to the incoming cabling).
I'm a little worried about how much ours is going to go up, so far I don't think I've had any actual information from British gas, but I'm expecting it to be nasty, we're already paying around 35-40 a week
(4 bed dethatched with 3 people in it almost all the time).
On the plus side we've got it about as energy efficient as we can realistically manage*, and I finally sorted out insulation for the loft hatch last year which seems to have made a surprising difference as at times I used to be able to feel a draft under it (I bought some kingspan foil backed insulating foam and cut it so it's 3x 25mm layers that are a really snug fit).
*Thank god for LED lights, my dad's eyes are bad so we've got to have plenty of lighting in rooms he uses a lot, the living room used to have ~600 watts of incandescent, it's now around 30 watts of LED.
You don't want a standing charge if you don't use much/the property is vacant for long periods (IE a second home/house that is only occupied for a few hours a day).
From memory the "standing charge" was originally intended to offset the cost of infrastructure and repairs to the supply so wasn't linked to the actual unit cost, effectively it was almost an insurance everyone paid to help cover the cost of replacing the cables if something goes wrong (similar to line rental for the phone where it helps cover the physical costs of the wiring and doing repairs to the incoming cabling).
I'm a little worried about how much ours is going to go up, so far I don't think I've had any actual information from British gas, but I'm expecting it to be nasty, we're already paying around 35-40 a week
(4 bed dethatched with 3 people in it almost all the time).On the plus side we've got it about as energy efficient as we can realistically manage*, and I finally sorted out insulation for the loft hatch last year which seems to have made a surprising difference as at times I used to be able to feel a draft under it (I bought some kingspan foil backed insulating foam and cut it so it's 3x 25mm layers that are a really snug fit).
*Thank god for LED lights, my dad's eyes are bad so we've got to have plenty of lighting in rooms he uses a lot, the living room used to have ~600 watts of incandescent, it's now around 30 watts of LED.
I also got a notification. Why are standing charges increasing massively. Makes no sense.
My unit rate looks better than quite a few in this thread though.
Because the price cap only deals with a fixed amount of usage and adds all costs together, companies are clearly optimising their standing charge and unit prices. So they hit the cap but also maximise revenue for their particular customer base, who they might be predicting actually reduce their usage.
My unit rate looks better than quite a few in this thread though.
Because the price cap only deals with a fixed amount of usage and adds all costs together, companies are clearly optimising their standing charge and unit prices. So they hit the cap but also maximise revenue for their particular customer base, who they might be predicting actually reduce their usage.
Last edited:
Associate
Well I messed up.
Signed up to a contract to sell our wind turbine electricity in June on advice of a broker for a contract starting now before it all kicked off.
Think it's around 6.8p kwh.
Signed up to a contract to sell our wind turbine electricity in June on advice of a broker for a contract starting now before it all kicked off.
Think it's around 6.8p kwh.
That's the rate you are selling at? What are you buying it back for when you need it?
Associate
Usual commercial buying price. I keep looking at commerciall batteries. Looking more promising by the day.
The energy price cap is based on unit rates per kWh and for the daily standing charge. It is not based on a fixed amount of usage but a total price for "typical usage" is often quoted.
It varies a little by region but the average April capped rates are:
- Gas - Unit rate 7.37p per kWh, standing charge 27.22p per day
- Electricity - Unit rate 28.34p per kWh, standing charge 45.34p per day
I can't be dealing with aldi/lidl
The stock is so erratic and the shops I just hate. I tried it for a little while and always had to go to go to tesco after. It just made shopping half a day basically!
I much prefer tesco online. Home delivery and good range. So went back to tesco
Not that I'm doubting you as what you say makes much more sense,
but why is everyone quoting vastly different unit rates and standing charges. I thought regional variations were generally small for unit rates. It makes even less sense that the standing charges would vary so much by region.
For me it is
Had my email. Not as bad as I expected. No fixed rate will beat this I don't think.
From 1 April, our prices will be increasing
We're increasing our electricity unit rate from 20.860p to 29.239p per kWh and electricity standing charge from 24.007p to 37.918p per day.
We're increasing our gas unit rate from 4.055p to 7.344p per kWh and standing charge from 26.112p to 27.219p per day.
These prices all include VAT at 5%.
From 1 April, our prices will be increasing
We're increasing our electricity unit rate from 20.860p to 29.239p per kWh and electricity standing charge from 24.007p to 37.918p per day.
We're increasing our gas unit rate from 4.055p to 7.344p per kWh and standing charge from 26.112p to 27.219p per day.
These prices all include VAT at 5%.
the cap doesn't specify a standing charge, or unit price just maxiimum you would pay if you used no electrcity or were the typical user,
they then choose how to allocate the standing charge, and unit price to meet that
Bear in mind contract deals are not subject to the cap, so they can be wildly different such as the much lower SC and higher unit rates.
It is as Surveyor said with variances for regions.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/Default tariff cap level - 1 April 2022 - 30 September 2022.pdf
The nil consumption cap (for electricity) does indeed vary loads by region. That's an eye opener. London has it good.
Anyone want to double check Ofgem's calculations?
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/Default_tarif_cap_level_v1.10.xlsx
I was gonna say it is funny it's done via an excel workbook, but to be fair it's only adding some numbers together and multiplying rates and percentages, so excel is as good as anything else.
The nil consumption cap (for electricity) does indeed vary loads by region. That's an eye opener. London has it good.
Anyone want to double check Ofgem's calculations?
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/Default_tarif_cap_level_v1.10.xlsx
I was gonna say it is funny it's done via an excel workbook, but to be fair it's only adding some numbers together and multiplying rates and percentages, so excel is as good as anything else.
Dude that's nearly 50% increase, how bad were you expecting?!
Mine is about the same. Roughly 50% increase for what it's worth.
Yeah thats quite a variance which shouldnt be happening.
Also "other payments" been cheaper seems weird, isnt it always the case direct debit was supposed to be cheapest?
I believe Other Payment is DD.
Standard Credit is pay after receiving bill and Prepayment you can guess.
I was lubed up pretty well tbh.
If I were to go with that analogy, I was busy eating bean burritos blissfully unaware of the impending ********.
it's what's in the spreadsheet which muon and I linked - so no explicit standing charge, just two criteria to satisfy - & of course it varies by region
e: ie. you can reduce the standing charge and increase unit rate which would benefit low users.