Standing charge from April 1st. Which is correct?

Level 12

gbhxu

29-03-23

10174 views

Just received a letter dated 21st March regarding price changes.

Its states that Unit rate is 35.052p kWh and standing charge is 56.702p a day
However dash board says that prices stays the same and is 36.33p kWh and standing charge 51.78 p a day

Which one is correct?

Last edited by gbhxu; 29-03-23 at 13:11.

10 Replies

Best Answer

Level 91

JoeSoap

29-03-23

Best Answer

@gbhxu

It's generally regarded that the letter will be correct and your online account will take time to update. According to this table here I would say that if you are in East Midlands with a standard credit account (presumably that means Pay on Receipt of Bill) then your letter is correct for sure.

Last edited by JoeSoap; 29-03-23 at 14:04.

I'm an Eon Next dual fuel customer with no particular expertise but have some time on my hands that I am using to try and help out a bit.

Level 3

UKDave51

30-03-23

When will the SCs return back to normal levels, we were told they were raised to compensate companies for taking customers from firms that went under, but that was 9 months ago.
We are being ripped off and the energy firms are hoping we won`t notice, but i sodding well do.

Level 92

retrotecchie

30-03-23

@UKDave51

Whether there is still any levy for SOLR costs I don't know. We don't know for sure how long they amortised those expenses over. What we do know is that some of the SC Is used to cover WHD for eligible customers, the scope of which has beeb significantly increased this year.

Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.

Level 91

meldrewreborn

30-03-23

@retrotecchie

There are still SOLR costs in the price caps but now down to £19.

There is a lot of information which is written in industry speak (so not altogether understood by us lay people) here:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/defau...ril%202023.pdf

Current Eon Next and EDF customer, ex Zog and Symbio. Don't think dual fuel saves money and don't like smart meters. Chronologically Gifted. If I offend let me know by private message, but I’ll continue to express my opinions nonetheless.

Level 91

meldrewreborn

30-03-23

@UKDave51

The standing charges are always changing and I think your expectation of the standing charges reverting to "normal levels" is unrealistic. There is detail out there - even though its complex and difficult to understand.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/defau...ril%202023.pdf

Level 91

meldrewreborn

30-03-23

@UKDave51

In normal times suppliers could set their own standing charges and unit rates. Since the price crisis started, all suppliers are charging very close to the price cap rates published by OFGEM. In effect these are the maximum rates that suppliers can charge. Believe it or not energy supply in the UK is not that profitable a business and the price caps include a very slim margin for profit. Indeed with many customers facing financial distress, some companies are said to be in danger of folding because customers are not paying their bills.

While the prices in the wholesale market have been high, suppliers have been charging rates very close to the maximum allowed under the price caps and so in reality it has been OFGEM that has been setting prices rather than the suppliers.

From around July onwards we can expect to see price competition returning to the market, which will probably affect both standing charges and unit rates. In marketing their tariffs suppliers can choose whether to have higher or lower standing charges compared to their competitors, balanced by lower or higher unit prices. This enables them to target tariffs at small, medium or large consumers. Low users prefer low standing charges and large users prefer low unit prices. Its up to each of us to search for what suits us best.

Level 12

gbhxu

30-03-23

Lets put the standing charge into context.

The distribution company that serves me, Western Power Distributions (East Midlands) Plc [as it was called then] made pre-tax profits of £243.1 million in year ending March 2022, This was when the standing charge was just under 27p a day.

Sorry, I don't see why I should be paying when other companies fail.

As for Eon, with EonNext being a subsidiary, made profits of £3.47 billion in the first half of 2022!

Yes, we are being ripped off left, right and center by energy companies

Level 91

meldrewreborn

30-03-23

@gbhxu

what was the profit of eon next? What countries did eon (parent company) operate in to earn that profit? How much was earned by generators and how much by supply activity?

apples and pears comes to mind.

Level 91

meldrewreborn

30-03-23

@gbhxu

most of the SOLR costs were made to other parts of the electricity industry because the failed companies owed them that money. If it hadn’t been done that way it is possible that contagion in the energy market could have collapsed the whole lot. Leaving the entire population at risk.

it is always the consumer that picks up the costs of company failures in one form or another.