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Why has Standing Charge cost more than doubled?
I was just trying to check my tariff and the only easy way of doing it is to look at the bill for the full breakdown.
What I was surprised at is currently my service charge is 10.96p per day, but if I take one of the offered replacement tariffs (which they suggest to me) it has jumped up to over 23p per day. Why has it gone up so much? How can they increase it by over 100% and nobody says anything?
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Re: Why has Standing Charge cost more than doubled?
Your bill is calculated n two parts, the daily standing charge plus the p/kwh for the power used. When comparing deals you have to calculate both parts and you will find that although the standing charge may go up the p/kwh comes down so the overall effect is an increase of maybe 10% to 15%. Some tariffs have much higher standing charges like 40p per day, but low unit costs, this suits people with very high power consumptions because they get their units more cheaply. If you are a low power consumer, eg a holiday home, you will need a low standing charge and high unit costs. The standing charge is these days used as a tariff marketing tool and no longer represents transmission costs alone.
Re: Why has Standing Charge cost more than doubled?
Thank you for the imformative reply, and I also have come to the same opinion, that the standing charge is now used as a marketing tool, and has little relevance to the consumer, probably to the extent that it should no longer be used? From a consumer perspective when switching suppliers the most acurate information you need to provide is : actual usage and current tariff name. Their softeware (should) then be able to work out which deals are best for you, and save you money.
I have not come across the ability to suggest a requirement to search for lowest standing charge, becaues at the end of the day its irrelevent to consumer. The bottom line, is if i switch, how much will it save me, and am I satisfied with the terms of the deal. e.g. fixed tariff peripd, and consider any lock in charges (if any).
