The standing charge hike-has the energy regulator failed the general public?

young codger

I am feeling that the energy regulator has failed all of us. Energy prices at unprecedented levels, fair enough the wholesale cost has gone up.

I see no justification whatsoever for the large increase   of the standing charge. The regulator has set this max at around 48p per day, and that is what some of the suppliers are going to be charging for the electricity SC. If anything the SC should have been reduced to help us out, or at the very least frozen. The only thing going to be frozen are the poor of society.

So from April, this standing charge is going to cost us £15 every month whether we use our electricity or not. If the SC for gas goes the same way that will total £360 for the year regardless of energy used. The energy regulator is not fit for purpose.

Fairygirl

Well - it makes a change from interest rates being 15%, like they were in the 80s, when I'd just bought my flat, and millions of folk like me were struggling to pay a mortgage. I had to choose between food and heat quite often back then. 

I'm afraid it's life. Things change 

Uff

My SC from Shell, electricity only, is going up to 49.64 from 24.86 on the 1st April and the projected increase for the electricity is £309 per year. The price cap will be revised on 30th Sept and I'm expecting that it will rise again. This is on top of the increase earlier.  

TheGreenMan

Electricity SC up to 48.9 from 26.4. 

Nanny Beach

 No, because prices were kept artificially low, which is why so many of the small  providers went bust. Talking of fuel,we were paying £1 .50 per Lt for diesel about 15 years ago,in the BP where we used to live.Can beat that Fairy,1983 when my youngest son was born,ours was 16% we didn't buy anything flash a 2 bed maisonette. I had 4 jobs because we couldn't add anymore years on the end. Anyone watch the big freeze of 1962/63? We didn't have central heating in our last house until about 2006, just a gas fire and back boiler behind it. The previous house,I had a fluffy all in one sleep suit,a kids one. Used to warm the sheet up with the hairdryer,ice on the inside of the bedroom windows. Kids wore socks, jumpers in bed. This was the late 90s not the dark ages.

BenCotto

Doubling the standing charge only adds less than £2 a week to the bill. If money is really tight then finding that £2 is a struggle but for most it is, literally, small change. By the same token, reducing or eliminating the standing charge would not make much difference. The same holds for scrapping VAT on fuel.It would make a small dent in the fuel budget but would be recouped somewhere else and the net benefit would be close to zero.

Is it correct that the Energy Regulator does not function in Northern Ireland? Personally, I am pleased we have the regulator to stop energy companies taking excess profits. 

young codger

BenCotto said:

Doubling the standing charge only adds less than £2 a week to the bill. If money is really tight then finding that £2 is a struggle but for most it is, literally, small change. By the same token, reducing or eliminating the standing charge would not make much difference. The same holds for scrapping VAT on fuel.It would make a small dent in the fuel budget but would be recouped somewhere else and the net benefit would be close to zero.

Is it correct that the Energy Regulator does not function in Northern Ireland? Personally, I am pleased we have the regulator to stop energy companies taking excess profits. 

Or £175 per year.  0.48p per day x 365 days .

BenCotto

Folk have already factored into their budgets the existing standing charge. The increase is adding an annual burden £82 or £1.58 a week. Had the regulator halved the standing charge we would be 90p a week better off.

puschkinia

Completely agree with you @young codger. I was with Green and got moved to Shell ( ) when they went under. Just got their email a couple of days ago about the new costs.

Doubling the standing charge is obscene. 23p a day matters to so many - that's one less item on your grocery shopping. And to add that charge to everyone equally regardless of usage makes me ill. They should all be ashamed (but they won't be).

wild edges

Of course this is good motivation to get off gas completely. Dual fuel is just two sets of standing charges every month. £360 per year that you can funnel into paying for a heat pump system.

ColinA

I feel that we are being conned at every turn like using electric cars but not informing us about the cost of recharging, heat pumps running for 24 hrs a day and not as effective as present heating systems, my service engineer said that radiators need to be twice the size of standard units and  older houses could not be fitted due to this, I think we are being forced into a situation of poor heat and transport just to pacify the do gooder brigade