Hi Davc, Yes this is sort of about the standard rate but if you look at all the other "offers" from SP they have hiked the daily standing charge even higher. I think they are getting greedy but that is only my own opinion.
DaveD
High DaveD I have been monitoring tariff terms a long time now. Some tariffs have low standing charge and high p/kWh. Others have the reverse, high standing and low p/kWh. These options suit low users and high users respectively. The overall annual typical user costs shown on the tariffs page take into account both. High standing charges are not necessarily profiteering, it depends what suits your consumption.
I think this pricing structure is one of the big problems in price transparency. If there was no standing charge we could just check the p/kWh and buy our power like we buy petrol based on unit costs. Ofgem have not taken this route and have supported the exstisting system.
Dave, you are right standing charge was originally to cover fixed costs while the unit costs were according to your variable usage. For some time now the fixed element has lost all relevance to actual costs and geography and it is now used to tailor tariffs to individual needs. It has dropped out of the accountants realm and fallen into the marketing department realm. So if you have a holiday home you can opt for a low standing charge and you can accept a high unit cost because you are only there occasionally. Or, if you have a mansion and use 10000 kWh a year you can opt for low unit costs and put up with a high fixed cost.
I dont like fixed costs full stop. They are confusing and make the whole tariff system opaque. On top of this we have regional pricing which adds another layer of confusion. East coast people tend to pay less for gas because that is where the pipelines come in.
I live in the old Manweb area which is Mersey and north Wales, it was taken over by SP back some time ago. My main cost is gas, electricity is quite small in comparison,
Ah William33 you are asking the question of life, the universe and everything.
contactus@scottishpower.com is the usual email way but this is rerouted to a call centre in india so good luck on that one.
If you have an old paper bill you may find that a Scottish geographical telephone number is on there and while it might not be quick (they've cut UK staff) you will normally get a really nice Scots person to talk to.
This may help...
DaveD
Hope you get a good response Jackie. It should be straightforward to sort out. Have you told them the numbers of the two meters and which should be the correct one. (Why do you have two meters? It is very unusual, Do you mean you should only have one and the other is owned by someone else?)