[WilliamColwell1]

@WilliamColwell1
Ah I have just received our 2025 charges advised as below...
31 March 2025 "Your new prices from 1 April 2025 Electricity Standing charge (per day)" I see it drops from 72.083p to 59.829p
The Unit rate (per kWh) rises from 22.691p to 25.410p
So I wonder, is every other region set to also enjoy that significant reduction after this month is passed and the Northern penalty remains active?

[meldrewreborn]

@WilliamColwell1

OFGEM price caps are now shown for unit charges and standing charges for all of the payment methods and Uk regions on their website.

in the past, OFGEM used to quote a cash figure for a certain level of consumption, and theoretically suppliers could reduce the standing charge and offset that by increasing the unit rates, so long as when the specified consumption was utilised the cash cap wasn’t exceeded. They now specify caps for the standing charge and unit prices separately so I presume (don’t actually know!) the previous flexibility is no longer available.

prepayment is according to Martin Lewis now the lowest priced tariff, about 2% below Direct Debit rates, but rates are region specific. Suppliers can (but generally don’t) charge less than the price cap, but not more.

while OFGEM has published its maximum prices, suppliers then need to publish their rates, so it’s up to suppliers to get their rates published, some are better than others at being proactive in this regard.

For April 2025 standing charges have increased for gas and 2 regions for electricity, while decreasing in the other 12 regions.

[WilliamColwell1]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@wizzo227

Yes I published the tables, they are FINAL not Draft, and were extracted from the OFGEM page here.

Get energy price cap standing charges and unit rates by region | Ofgem

Now I sincerely hope i haven't made a mistake - but there was a hell of a lot of data to handle, you can check for your self the figures for your supply region and payment method.

Some of the changes are surprisingly large. I agree that these standing charges penalise those who use little electricity more than large users.

An easier to read explanation of the changes from the current price cap to the next is here:

Energy price cap | Ofgem

And sorry to correct @retrotecchie, but OFGEM do impose MAXIMUM caps on standing charges for both fuel types, all methods of payments and for all 13 supply regions in the UK

Hmmm thanks for that. So what on earth can have caused the dramatic difference in Standing charges for 'prepayment meters' in the Northern Region (72.083p per day) if OFGEM actually have authority to endorse such a high charge in comparison to all others?

[meldrewreborn]

@WilliamColwell1

You would need to delve into the supporting spreadsheets that OFGEM do publish, and compare between regions. But it will come down to particularly high costs for some element. And even if you identify that you will still not know exactly what projects have driven those costs. Your simple question doesn’t have a simple answer.!!