Price Cap Q&A

  • UKDave51's Avatar
    Level 3
    Good Afternoon,

    I have been searching for an answer to this question, I just want to check before I renew. At present I am on Fix Again 15 monts v5, it runs out on 18th April 2022. If I renew now when does my new tariff start? Now or the 18th April?

    It should tell you if you click on your chosen new tariff before confirming, but from my experience (I renewed last month) it will activate the following day.
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @TAYLOROY

    The april 2022 price cap for Yorkshire is standing charge £168.69 per annum and 26p per kWh. The rates charged by suppliers may be fractionally cheaper.
    Last edited by meldrewreborn; 07-03-22 at 11:14. Reason: correction
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @Landmark

    I'm sorry but the Ofgem press release is wrong. pure and simple.

    here are the figures they released that give the full story.Name:  electricity price cap.png
Views: 594
Size:  130.9 KB

    Taking London as an example the DD annual rate for 3,100 kWh is £986.60. That works out to 30.3 p per unit ex VAT or 31.8P VAT incl.

    And that's the cheapest form of payment. And London is one of the cheaper regions.

    I'll ask ofgem tomorrow how they compute that figure.

    EDIT There are some errors in this post - see later post for better and more accurate information.
    Last edited by meldrewreborn; 07-03-22 at 15:33.
  • TeessideConfused's Avatar
    Level 1
    I’m thinking about it, but I’m so confused. Nobody else on here seems to be giving it much thought. Kicking myself for not taking up the V11 tariff when it was available.

    Anyone thinking the V12 is a good option for someone on the Flex tariff?
  • Simpsonfree's Avatar
    Level 1
    It should tell you if you click on your chosen new tariff before confirming, but from my experience (I renewed last month) it will activate the following day.
    I bit the bullet and clicked the button and got this:
    "If you're in a renewal window then your new tariff will start the day after your current tariff ends, you'll remain on your current prices until then.If your current tariff has already ended and you're on our NextFlex product, your new fixed tariff will start from tomorrow."

    So it won't start until my tariff ends on 18th April. I just have to decide if I want variable or to fix now.
    Thank you.
  • UKDave51's Avatar
    Level 3
    @Simpsonfree Yes i was on next flex, my yearly contract finished in January so that didn`t apply to me.
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @TeessideConfused

    Nobody can make the decision for you, and going with the herd doesn't always bring the best result. At the moment the decision is very finely balanced on the information we currently have. By the time we have the better information the offer will be long gone. But nobody can give you a definitive answer guaranteed to be correct.
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @Landmark

    We were both right and wrong - its very very complicated.

    The situation on charges under the price cap is even more complicated than I thought. OFGEM publishes tables of the maximum price caps as annualised totals. There are tables for Direct Debit, Normal Credit, and Prepayment with each table containing data for the different regions. Within the tables, there are columns giving the maximum charges based on nil consumption( i.e. the Standing Charge) and for a consumption of 3,100 kWh per annum, with all figures inclusive of VAT. This second column I now realise includes the standing charge data, so represents the maximum bill a consumer could face when using 3,100 kWh per annum.
    So how to work out the standing charges and unit rates per kWh? Well the maximum standing charge is the annualised figure divided by 365, so for London this is £111.73 /365 = 31p. But the important point is that this is the maximum charge and suppliers could charge less than 31p.
    So for the unit price of electricity, you have to subtract the standing charge figure from the annualised maximum charge. So for London again the calculation is (£986.60 -£111.73)/3100=28p per kWh. That’s OK if the supplier charges the maximum for the standing charge – it gives the maximum charge for the unit rate. But the Supplier may not be charging the maximum rate for the standing charge, theoretically it could charge zero to protect its user of small amounts of electricity from standing charges, which of course apply to all consumers, both small and large. In that case the charge per kWh would be £986.60 /3100=32p.
    So, to be totally accurate, it would be correct to say that for the London region, consumers on a single electricity tariff paying by Direct Debit could face standing charges under the price cap of zero to 31p per day in standing charges plus 28p to 32p per kWh. Given the level of precision necessary in making that statement you can understand why the main stream media resort to shortcuts when describing the situation. But those same shortcuts then confuse consumers when faced with tariffs from suppliers, quoting just the standing charge and the unit rate.
    The maximum standing charges range from 31p in London to 47p in the Southern Western region, while the unit pricing ranges from 26p to 28p if the maximum standing charge is applied, and 31p to 34p if no standing charge is applied.
    Remember too that there are additional tables for the various payment methods, and tables too covering two tier tariffs.
    So when people ask what the price capped unit rate is the correct answer would be its very very complicated! I’ve rounded the prices in pence to keep it as simple as possible.
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @Pat88

    The situation on charges under the price cap is even more complicated than I thought. OFGEM publishes tables of the maximum price caps as annualised totals. There are tables for Direct Debit, Normal Credit, and Prepayment with each table containing data for the different regions. Within the tables, there are columns giving the maximum charges based on nil consumption( i.e. the Standing Charge) and for a consumption of 3,100 kWh per annum, with all figures inclusive of VAT. This second column I now realise includes the standing charge data, so represents the maximum bill a consumer could face when using 3,100 kWh per annum.
    So how to work out the standing charges and unit rates per kWh? Well the maximum standing charge is the annualised figure divided by 365, so for London this is £111.73 /365 = 31p. But the important point is that this is the maximum charge and suppliers could charge less than 31p.
    So for the unit price of electricity, you have to subtract the standing charge figure from the annualised maximum charge. So for London again the calculation is (£986.60 -£111.73)/3100=28p per kWh. That’s OK if the supplier charges the maximum for the standing charge – it gives the maximum charge for the unit rate. But the Supplier may not be charging the maximum rate for the standing charge, theoretically it could charge zero to protect its user of small amounts of electricity from standing charges, which of course apply to all consumers, both small and large. In that case the charge per kWh would be £986.60 /3100=32p.
    So, to be totally accurate, it would be correct to say that for the London region, consumers on a single electricity tariff paying by Direct Debit could face standing charges under the price cap of zero to 31p per day in standing charges plus 28p to 32p per kWh. Given the level of precision necessary in making that statement you can understand why the main stream media resort to shortcuts when describing the situation. But those same shortcuts then confuse consumers when faced with tariffs from suppliers, quoting just the standing charge and the unit rate.
    The maximum standing charges range from 31p in London to 47p in the Southern Western region, while the unit pricing ranges from 26p to 28p if the maximum standing charge is applied, and 31p to 34p if no standing charge is applied.
    Remember too that there are additional tables for the various payment methods, and tables too covering two tier tariffs.
    So when people ask what the price capped unit rate is the correct answer would be its very very complicated! I’ve rounded the prices in pence to keep it as simple as possible.
  • Landmark's Avatar
    Level 29
    @Landmark

    We were both right and wrong - its very very complicated.

    The situation on charges under the price cap is even more complicated than I thought. OFGEM publishes tables of the maximum price caps as annualised totals. There are tables for Direct Debit, Normal Credit, and Prepayment with each table containing data for the different regions. Within the tables, there are columns giving the maximum charges based on nil consumption( i.e. the Standing Charge) and for a consumption of 3,100 kWh per annum, with all figures inclusive of VAT. This second column I now realise includes the standing charge data, so represents the maximum bill a consumer could face when using 3,100 kWh per annum.
    So how to work out the standing charges and unit rates per kWh? Well the maximum standing charge is the annualised figure divided by 365, so for London this is £111.73 /365 = 31p. But the important point is that this is the maximum charge and suppliers could charge less than 31p.
    So for the unit price of electricity, you have to subtract the standing charge figure from the annualised maximum charge. So for London again the calculation is (£986.60 -£111.73)/3100=28p per kWh. That’s OK if the supplier charges the maximum for the standing charge – it gives the maximum charge for the unit rate. But the Supplier may not be charging the maximum rate for the standing charge, theoretically it could charge zero to protect its user of small amounts of electricity from standing charges, which of course apply to all consumers, both small and large. In that case the charge per kWh would be £986.60 /3100=32p.
    So, to be totally accurate, it would be correct to say that for the London region, consumers on a single electricity tariff paying by Direct Debit could face standing charges under the price cap of zero to 31p per day in standing charges plus 28p to 32p per kWh. Given the level of precision necessary in making that statement you can understand why the main stream media resort to shortcuts when describing the situation. But those same shortcuts then confuse consumers when faced with tariffs from suppliers, quoting just the standing charge and the unit rate.
    The maximum standing charges range from 31p in London to 47p in the Southern Western region, while the unit pricing ranges from 26p to 28p if the maximum standing charge is applied, and 31p to 34p if no standing charge is applied.
    Remember too that there are additional tables for the various payment methods, and tables too covering two tier tariffs.
    So when people ask what the price capped unit rate is the correct answer would be its very very complicated! I’ve rounded the prices in pence to keep it as simple as possible.
    You raise an important issue, which I think is less than acceptable for the consumer because people are being misled to some degree due to lack of transparency; thank you for pointing it out.
    I think that it needs further investigating in the first instance and better more accurate reporting by the 'main stream media'.

    Eon Next Customer