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Energy Bills
Comments
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Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.2
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It has for pre pay customers in this regard.ME14addick said:Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.0 -
The fact companies are still making money yet customers apparently are in debt to the tune of 3.1bn says it all. Not sure why the standing charge is increasing..........
The price cap a year+ ago was specifically set to allow providers such as BG to claw back the losses from the prior year after taking over failed companies business. Hence why at east in part BG's profits were so high. Still a joke though.
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It is, but everyone else is paying more as a result. There should never have been higher charges for those on pre-payment meters in the first place, as they are usually the people who struggle to pay their bills the most. The consumer is being ripped off by these private companies who exist to make a profit. Selling off our utilities has been a disaster for the consumer.valleynick66 said:
It has for pre pay customers in this regard.ME14addick said:Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.3 -
Usage is the key driver in anyone's bills. My house in England is 3 bed detached. I don't have the heating on more than 5 hours a day in winter. Annual bills are around £90pcm (capped September 2021 - 3 yrs).
My house in Sweden has a ground source heat pump system (24 hrs) and is of course fully electric as are all properties in Sweden (pretty much). There the average monthly spend is £500. Bigger house but snow and ice on the ground from November to April, so -20'C is not unusual. Inside my wife likes it at a comfortable 23-25c whereas in England my house is 18-19c.
The way I see it, Brits don't heat their properties properly, whereas other Europeans prioritise. I speak to work colleagues in England who set their thermostats at 14, 12, even 11c, which I think is just self neglect.
I have to admit, I'm pretty miserable sitting in anything under 18c.0 -
Sadly we cant actually know that albeit I understand the sentiment.ME14addick said:
It is, but everyone else is paying more as a result. There should never have been higher charges for those on pre-payment meters in the first place, as they are usually the people who struggle to pay their bills the most. The consumer is being ripped off by these private companies who exist to make a profit. Selling off our utilities has been a disaster for the consumer.valleynick66 said:
It has for pre pay customers in this regard.ME14addick said:Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.
The reason utilities were privatised originally dates back to the poor state of public services prior to then & the negative impacts of zero competition.
As ever a happy medium is what we all want and these things will likely go in cycles. Interestingly no changes are on the horizon to nationalise any more but hopefully some further regulatory changes will start to correct some of the poorest impacts we have evolved to.1 -
It's because the wholesale prices are just for the gas and power itself. On top of that end customers also have to pay for maintenance and operation of the network that transports all the gas and power.BalladMan said:Will be interesting if new fixed rates are released. The way wholesale prices have stabilised (and reducing) I won’t be biting for a while yet.Even with the increases I outlined in December to the Octopus tracker, the average daily rate for the last 6 months has been 19.68p for electricity, 4.54p for gas. The wholesale price has been very stable over the winter (probably as it had been quite mild).In comparison, the proposed April-June price cap rates announced today are 24.5p for electricity and 6.04p for gas.I remain confused why the price cap remains 20% higher than the average wholesale rate over 6 months other than ofgem are a complete sham and only exist to line the pockets of energy companies.
Then on top of that there are subsidies for renewable generators which also get paid for by the end customer.
Pre energy crisis wholesale costs only made up 1/3 of the total bill, transmission costs another 1/3 and subsidies were the last 1/3. As wholesale costs are higher now they make up a bigger percentage but there's still a lot extra being paid for.
I don't work for Ofgem btw but do work in the industry5 -
Energy prices: shoot up like a rocket, flutter down like a feather.1
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Nothing to stop you from using loads of energy during the summer. Crank your thermostat up to 35 degrees to take advantage of the lovely price reduction...HastingsRed said:
Typical wait until it warms up a bit and then drop the prices....bet they go back up next winter.clive said:Domestic energy prices will fall by 16% in April, according to a prediction by consultancy Cornwall Insight, bringing some relief to billpayers.
It said the annual household bill when using a typical amount of gas and electricity was expected to drop from £1,928 to £1,620.
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Had details through from Octopus about pricing from April.
Gas unit charge is going from 7.421p to 6.111p standing charge from 27.468p to 29.978p
Elec unit charge is going from 29.728p to 25.721p standing charge from 36.53p to 38.742p
Octopus don't pass on the full increase on the standing charge which is nice, apparently I'll save £575!1 -
I still struggle to comprehend how you ever voted blue...I mean...you were doing so in the days of Thatcher when it was all being sold off!ME14addick said:
It is, but everyone else is paying more as a result. There should never have been higher charges for those on pre-payment meters in the first place, as they are usually the people who struggle to pay their bills the most. The consumer is being ripped off by these private companies who exist to make a profit. Selling off our utilities has been a disaster for the consumer.valleynick66 said:
It has for pre pay customers in this regard.ME14addick said:Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.
Not an attack, btw0 -
I probably spent too many years reading the Daily Mail.Siv_in_Norfolk said:
I still struggle to comprehend how you ever voted blue...I mean...you were doing so in the days of Thatcher when it was all being sold off!ME14addick said:
It is, but everyone else is paying more as a result. There should never have been higher charges for those on pre-payment meters in the first place, as they are usually the people who struggle to pay their bills the most. The consumer is being ripped off by these private companies who exist to make a profit. Selling off our utilities has been a disaster for the consumer.valleynick66 said:
It has for pre pay customers in this regard.ME14addick said:Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.
Not an attack, btw2 -
My Octopus November 22 Tracker charges are -
Electricity 36.53p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 18p.
Gas 27.468p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 4.1p.
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Need a smart meter and they never seem to have any appointments in my area.........Covered End said:My Octopus November 22 Tracker charges are -
Electricity 36.53p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 18p.
Gas 27.468p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 4.1p.0 -
Octopus Tracker. Anyone got advice or experience of this and do we think it’s worth it ?0
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We're on the tracker, have found our bills drop apprx 30%. Electric today is 18.64p per kwh, Gas is 4.12p. Both change daily.ShootersHillGuru said:Octopus Tracker. Anyone got advice or experience of this and do we think it’s worth it ?
It's basically now a 12 month fix but you can switch out anytime without charge. However, once leaving you can't return to it for 9 months. Need smart meters (defo) and agree to them taking readings every 30mins (I think).
Since Nov 2022 I think it's been more expensive over their flexible tariff for a total of about 5 days so well worth it in my opinion (especially if you don't have solar & batteries).2 -
Also on tracker, have a smart meter. If you keep an eye on prices then is worth the switch. Be aware it can go up and if it does can take up to 2 weeks to switch away, but there are no financial penalties for switching. There is a time limit if you want to rejoin. Check the small print essentially. I've saved quite a bit already since December. Just shows what a rip off standard variable rate is when you see these prices.
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I switched to Octopus Tracker Tariff today. Logged onto my account and made the switch and less than two hours later received notification that the change was complete. Fingers crossed it’s a bit cheaper for me. I’m a high user.1
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ShootersHillGuru said:I switched to Octopus Tracker Tariff today. Logged onto my account and made the switch and less than two hours later received notification that the change was complete. Fingers crossed it’s a bit cheaper for me. I’m a high user.As summer is coming (fingers crossed) should see gas and electric drop even further. For the times it does increase in winter can use those savings to help any cost increase. As a high user probably a no brainer for you. Just a shame the standing charge is higher than it was. The daily rates are similar to the levels just before Russian invasion and Covid I think.Unless something else causes volatility in the energy markets you should see savings. Main thing with this tarrif there is a little more risk.You can see the next day rates on the Octopus account page. I think after midday.There are websites that give information on current and historical rates. This one isn't bad https://agilebuddy.uk/Octopus make their API and data available publicly so anyone can check rates.
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Best website for tracking octopus tracker prices. https://gastracker.uk/Set your tracker version based on the plan you are on and comparison is very easy. Gas and electric updated for next day around lunch time and I use it for historical reporting also.1
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Just got a bill from Thames Water for £1150.00.
Apparently the meter hadn’t been transmitting information for the past three years, and they have now fixed it.
Been estimated billing all this time.
Wasn’t aware I was even on a water meter until now.
Any advice on getting this bill slimmed?
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Complain and exhaust Water Company procedures first, then Ofwat after if not resolved. Tell Water company you will be escalating....... good luck.R0TW said:Just got a bill from Thames Water for £1150.00.
Apparently the meter hadn’t been transmitting information for the past three years, and they have now fixed it.
Been estimated billing all this time.
Wasn’t aware I was even on a water meter until now.
Any advice on getting this bill slimmed?4 -
Just got off the phone to them.
They initially said the meter had been reset to zero when I moved in.
Fortunately got the complain escalated to someone with a degree of common sense.
Told them the reality is, they have installed a meter that hasn’t transmitted any information for three years plus.
For all I know, and think is correct, this wasn’t sending information prior to my change of property ownership.
Everything is pure guesswork.
They have actual figures for the past 5 weeks, so pro rata that over the past three years, and what they have estimated.
They agreed to this.
We will see what the outcome is, but the bloke I just spoke to said the whole idea of the meter being zeroed on my move in date was bollocks.
Nice man :-)2 -
For context how much have you been paying? Did you think Thames Water was cheap or in line with most ?R0TW said:Just got off the phone to them.
They initially said the meter had been reset to zero when I moved in.
Fortunately got the complain escalated to someone with a degree of common sense.
Told them the reality is, they have installed a meter that hasn’t transmitted any information for three years plus.
For all I know, and think is correct, this wasn’t sending information prior to my change of property ownership.
Everything is pure guesswork.
They have actual figures for the past 5 weeks, so pro rata that over the past three years, and what they have estimated.
They agreed to this.
We will see what the outcome is, but the bloke I just spoke to said the whole idea of the meter being zeroed on my move in date was bollocks.
Nice man :-)Or alternatively not knowing you were metered did you maybe water the garden too freely?
Also water meters I thought were read manually - have I got that wrong?0 -
Had our old electric meter, swapped out for a smart version. Bloke said he had never seen one of these before. Read the meter and departed. Trouble was he read it as the higher of the numbers between the dials rather than lower which what you do. Anyhow, got a £600 quid bill. I argued that the numbers were incorrect and if rounded down would end up with a similar usage to the previous quarter. Unfortunately I didn't take a pic of the old meter on the day. Finaly they sort of understood my reasoning but couldn't correct it by that, so they did at least look at the same period last year so I only ended up £70 quid down. Fcuking shambles, had one job and cocked it up. Note to self. Take a pic.
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I've been getting letters for years about having a water meter fitted and have put every single one of them in the bin.
As a family of 4 with a garden and two teenage kids, why on earth would I want to have a water meter fitted?0 -
It annoys me when they rock up at your house and walk up the drive and take readings then off they pop.Not even a please or thank you or even ask for permission.I was also told that each dustbin lorry has a scanner for water meters that scan each house once a week.0
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But I thought water meters were old style ‘clock’ meters that need to be read manually. Not sure they can be scanned.robroy said:It annoys me when they rock up at your house and walk up the drive and take readings then off they pop.Not even a please or thank you or even ask for permission.I was also told that each dustbin lorry has a scanner for water meters that scan each house once a week.0 -
No mate, they have a type of signal generator and battery fitted.
That means that vehicles can simply drive down your road and upload the data.
Having the reader on a dustcart makes perfect sense.
The thing is, my meter hasn’t transmitted anything since I moved here and now it does, has basically gave a reading from when it was fitted. This was prior to me moving in.
The previous owners, and myself, both told TW of the change in property ownership.
They have simply done nothing for years, with regards to their faulty equipment.1
