I'm so sick of this. I barely have my heating on because of the prices. They're forcing us to pay for something we're not using by that standing charge.
whether you use it or not, the gas lines and power lines need to be serviced. It's fair. What we need to point our anger to is the incompetence/corruption of the government who were not able to secure cheaper energy partnerships OR higher value of the pound OR economic growth... That's the failure, not the standing charge.
@@toddheartsound5451 My anger goes to the stupid woman in the 80s who privatised our energy on the grounds it would be more efficient and competetively priced!
@@toddheartsound5451 it's fair 😮are you real it is not fair at all we are being ripped off we pay more than any other country nothing fair about it at all
The tories should never have sold off the companies owned by the people of this country, telecoms, gas, electric, water and so on. They created a monster that's affected the people of this country terribly.
We are paying the highest energy charges in Europe this will continue standing charge , unit rates it doesn`t matter they will always find a way to charge us more regardless of their colour excuses its a rip off.
What I want to know is WHY are the tariffs going up?? What possible justification - apart obviously from PROFIT! - do these companies have for raiseing the tariffs - and then again, and then again?? It is OUTRAGEOUS!! And then in the middle of summer they lower them - when people don't need the heat as much - and then raise them again in the cold weather - when people do. Greed and capitalism at its absolute WORST!! Thank you Martin for all you do to help.
OFGEM was meant to be the regulator that stopped this, they were meant to look after the consumer, but they really just work for the private companies now. Bought and paid for just like the government. Don't worry though the entire cabinet , all parties even the greens can claim their electric and gas back on expenses. so its not all bad 🤔
UK Electricity Prices Highest in the World New data from the Government shows the UK has the highest industrial and domestic electricity prices of the 28 countries tracked by the IEA. UK industrial electricity prices at 25.85p/kWh are the highest of the 28 countries covered by the IEA report. UK prices are some four times those in the US, 2.6 times those of Korea and 46% higher than the IEA median. Given that UK gas prices are below the IEA median and those of France and Germany it cannot be gas prices that are driving UK electricity prices so much higher than elsewhere. Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand and Portugal all have industrial electricity prices less than 10p/kWh. We cannot hope to compete in traditional energy intensive industries or industries of the future like making batteries or AI with such extortionate electricity prices.
I'm friends with an energy company's CEO, I won't say who. He gave an interesting perspective as he outlined that he has a mansion to pay for, kids private school to pay for, and their backpacking trip through Asia. So before people complain, think about others. Jet fuel isn't going to pay for itself.
My central heating is no longer used. I heat one room every now and then with a ten minute blast to keep the chill off and wear four layers of clothing, thick thermal socks and a fleece lined beanie hat with a thick throw over me when sitting on the sofa. My October bill shows my standing charge is £3.36 more than my usage charge.
Thank you for not talking about typical use and just sticking to the facts, p/kwh and % Changes! The media use the typical use measurements to understate the impact to householders in the same way CPI understates the impact of inflation to goods and services. My CPI/RPI basket of goods doesn't include tinned cat food.... :)
This country gets a really bad cold weather snap and this government goes " Oh great lets put the cost energy up again" we can make more money and we will have less elderly to pay out too.
I plan to install a DIY solar panel system. I do not anticipate any changes in energy suppliers, even next year. Should we find ourselves in any form of conflict, I am taking precautions.😱😱👍👍
What's happened to all that "cheap" wind energy we're supposed to be benefiting from? Why is electricity still being charged for as if it was generated from gas powered stations? Why do we British tolerate the highest energy costs in Europe? Government policy has a direct effect on energy costs, isn't it time they stared creating policy that benefits voters, not big energy companies?
Wholesale electricity prices are set by the most expensive generation source for each half hour period (a stupid system). Wind farms and the like are paid as if they used gas. It basically an auction process, with the cheapest source being chosen first, then the next most expensive and so on until they get enough power to meet the demand. I can cope with that, but not the outcome that they all get paid the same rate. To me a sensible approach would be to run the auction in the same way, but cap a cheap bidders payment to now more than a fixed % (say 200%?) above their original bid.
Привіт, тут твій друг Зеленський. Ми дуже цінуємо добрий вчинок британської громадськості, яка шукає під дошками підлоги енергетичні угоди. до речі, мені потрібен ще один мільйон для наступної зйомки Prada. коли ти це надсилаєш? слава україні
Am on a cheap pre-pay tariff fix which has another 4 and a bit months to go. My standing charges are over a £1 per day, 71p electric and 30p gas. The electric unit rate is 22.56p, gas is 5.85p. Yesterday coldest day of the winter so far I used about £6 in electric and gas. Am on PIP and sickness benefit. Am lucky I can afford to pay. I live in a housing ass. flat that is poorly insulated. It costs a small fortune to keep warm. I can have the heating on full blast 24/7 and still be freezing cold when it is minus 10 outside. I live on high ground in the north east.
The way to lower/eliminate the standing charge without increasing the unit rate is to NATIONALISE. The government is our currency issuer - it has an infinite amount of money. They can run it at a loss because they can never run out of the money that only they are legally allowed to issue. We shouldn't have to pay for basic utilities, they are a human right and they should be free!
I get where your coming from but its not free is it, a lot material and labour costs to make the service your provided work. Its either going to come out your pocket through standing charges or in higher tax :(
Hmm... it is a shame that he did not comment on the how the prices of power and gas compare with other countries. We are paying more that most developed countries for these commodities so it is unclear as to why prices need to rise.
Almost £250/year just to have a meter that nobody ever reads, unit rates up by 12% this year, pensioners winter allowance gone and a lot of people with storage heaters, me included, will leave them off again because we can't afford to heat our homes. 14C in my front room and 16C upstairs as I sit in front of a small electric fire hooked up to my solar panels on the shed roof. This gives me enough stored energy to run the heater for about 5 hours a day which is good, I'm on UC due to ill health, because I can't afford to run 3 storage heaters at an approximate cost of £5/heater/day.
Huge unemployment in the pipe line - my central heating is now a luxury I rarely use - I use hot water bottles and thermal clothing until I light my wood stove after I come home from walking my pooch - no such thing as a 'cheap fix'
Years ago, energy companies used to offer tariffs where there was no standing charge, but instead a dual unit charge.. First xxx units at high rate subsequent ones at a lower rate. These disappeared around the time the government intervened in the market (2014?). Does anyone know why?
What i find incredible is covid happened 4 years ago and prices have increased ever since. Ofcom knew about the standing charge 3 years ago and were 'looking into it' where everyone starting questioning the excessive prices. This update from ML makes it's appear it's taken them maybe a month or so to actually start the consultation and ONLY THEN can Ofcom and GOV start discussing the issue. If they had bothered to actually do their job earlier we could be out of the discussion phase and actually / maybe start to implement the 2 diff price price caps (great idea btw as i have always preferred to fix at the lowest Standing charge and a higher per unit rate) .. But we all know they are all in it together so nothing will be done now and this will be the norm.
@Dr.Stacker The offers on EDF now are more expensive than the fixed rate I got in October. My son got a cheaper 27 month fixed rate from British Gas today.
I count myself quite lucky at the moment. I got rejected twice when trying to get on Eon 3% lower than price cap tracker, wasting a couple of weeks (my own fault. Typos!) On the third attempt, it was just as Eon had launched the 8% lower fix. I got accepted within seconds and was switched the very next day. Turning off the VPN helped with the speed of acceptance, I'm sure.
Do you live in a shed? or still using logs for heating? Or are you just looking to cut the pennies off your bill now that you've got solar panels & battery :)
So while shop lifting is going through the roof, food banks cant feed people, rent is to high, food prices are to high, energy prices are high, the answer is to put prices up on Energy, which will increase supermarket prices, so food will go up yet again, food banks will die out, so will people. Its to expensive to live nowadays. I guess Im going to freeze to death, not bothered if I die anymore now.
I would like to know how the income derived from the "standing charge" is spent. My understanding is it goes to the cost of changing to solar and wind generating infrastructure. At some point, fossil fuels will dwindle, making renewables an essential asset. Global warming is already damaging property, and costing lives and destroyed property. The earth is going to continue to get warmer, for decades, whatever efforts are made to slow or stop it. We need to adjust to more global warming. We are already paying for the solar and wind generating infrastructure, income should become an asset belonging to "us" so the profit is distributed to "us", not a bunch of shareholders and executives.
The standing charges include the price of keeping your home connected to the energy network, carrying out meter readings, maintenance and other related charges. Part of your standing charge will also go towards the cost of government initiatives aimed at helping vulnerable homes and reducing carbon emissions.
@@Dollie-f2c You forgot the dramatic increase in standing charge, to make payment to creditors for the insolvency of failed suppliers. This is the only time I know of where the customer had to pay for debt of companies bankruptcy.
No, We must do everything we can to prevent natural cycles from functioning and instead condition the people to pay us for these so called global warming efforts
@@Dollie-f2c they dont do any maintenance or read any meters. I have electric only. They are JUST billing agents. They don't supply electricity or gas. They don't fix it if it breaks. 😆.
Unless they're actually rich, wheelchair users and such should be getting a mobility allowance, and people on dialysis and such should be getting some other benefit(s) (as well?) to help with their increased cost of living. So a slightly higher unit rate for energy shouldn't affect them too much. A lower standing charge and slightly higher price per unit of energy used should benefit the most people - and all the nutter "Climate change is caused by human activities" nutters, should be very happy, as the more you consume/pollute, the more you pay. And as others have said, if you don't shop in a particular store, or you don't catch the bus or train, on a particular day, they don't expect you to pay them something anyway just for the privilege of store being there to use. So the "Standing Charge" shouldn't even exist!
I'm too busy trying to get hgv agency work to give a shit I served in the army for many years where you didn't care and I still don't care If your skint, pitch a tent and cook on a trangia cooker Simple Also go sea fishing from the shore to get a nice meal Stevie in fife
I'm so sick of this. I barely have my heating on because of the prices. They're forcing us to pay for something we're not using by that standing charge.
whether you use it or not, the gas lines and power lines need to be serviced. It's fair.
What we need to point our anger to is the incompetence/corruption of the government who were not able to secure cheaper energy partnerships OR higher value of the pound OR economic growth... That's the failure, not the standing charge.
Sounds like You can afford the standing charge not everyone can thanks for your concern
Totally agree with you. Regardless of maintaining the service, why pay for a service we can’t use but others can afford to use.
@@toddheartsound5451 My anger goes to the stupid woman in the 80s who privatised our energy on the grounds it would be more efficient and competetively priced!
@@toddheartsound5451 it's fair 😮are you real it is not fair at all we are being ripped off we pay more than any other country nothing fair about it at all
The tories should never have sold off the companies owned by the people of this country, telecoms, gas, electric, water and so on. They created a monster that's affected the people of this country terribly.
It's almost like public infrastructure should be publicly owned, not out to benefit shareholders
That's very lazy and tired thinking. Prices are up not just because of greed but because of the green new scam and the climate cult agenda.
What would we do without him the only honest one out there ❤
Standing charges should be abolished we pay far to much as it is for our energy to the money grabbing companies.
We are paying the highest energy charges in Europe this will continue standing charge , unit rates it doesn`t matter they will always find a way to charge us more regardless of their colour excuses its a rip off.
The regulators are not peotecting consumers instead they protect private profits. Its so obvious when you look at water companies.
Thx as always for your work Martin, very much appreciated
Standing charges are ridiculous.
'Obscene' is the word. Paying for heating when it's not on is like paying for air on the other side of the planet we're not breathing.
Dale Vince will disagree with you.
What I want to know is WHY are the tariffs going up?? What possible justification - apart obviously from PROFIT! - do these companies have for raiseing the tariffs - and then again, and then again?? It is OUTRAGEOUS!! And then in the middle of summer they lower them - when people don't need the heat as much - and then raise them again in the cold weather - when people do. Greed and capitalism at its absolute WORST!! Thank you Martin for all you do to help.
OFGEM was meant to be the regulator that stopped this, they were meant to look after the consumer, but they really just work for the private companies now. Bought and paid for just like the government. Don't worry though the entire cabinet , all parties even the greens can claim their electric and gas back on expenses. so its not all bad 🤔
UK Electricity Prices Highest in the World
New data from the Government shows the UK has the highest industrial and domestic electricity prices of the 28 countries tracked by the IEA.
UK industrial electricity prices at 25.85p/kWh are the highest of the 28 countries covered by the IEA report. UK prices are some four times those in the US, 2.6 times those of Korea and 46% higher than the IEA median. Given that UK gas prices are below the IEA median and those of France and Germany it cannot be gas prices that are driving UK electricity prices so much higher than elsewhere. Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand and Portugal all have industrial electricity prices less than 10p/kWh. We cannot hope to compete in traditional energy intensive industries or industries of the future like making batteries or AI with such extortionate electricity prices.
I'm friends with an energy company's CEO, I won't say who. He gave an interesting perspective as he outlined that he has a mansion to pay for, kids private school to pay for, and their backpacking trip through Asia. So before people complain, think about others. Jet fuel isn't going to pay for itself.
So your friend is benefiting on the backs of the poorest people in society?
My central heating is no longer used. I heat one room every now and then with a ten minute blast to keep the chill off and wear four layers of clothing, thick thermal socks and a fleece lined beanie hat with a thick throw over me when sitting on the sofa. My October bill shows my standing charge is £3.36 more than my usage charge.
Thank you for not talking about typical use and just sticking to the facts, p/kwh and % Changes! The media use the typical use measurements to understate the impact to householders in the same way CPI understates the impact of inflation to goods and services. My CPI/RPI basket of goods doesn't include tinned cat food.... :)
This country gets a really bad cold weather snap and this government goes " Oh great lets put the cost energy up again" we can make more money and we will have less elderly to pay out too.
Vote Martin Lewis For Next Prime Minister!!! 👍
someone that understand simple math would be fantastic, approved!
Prime minister and energy minister. Get rid of Ed Sillymam
I plan to install a DIY solar panel system. I do not anticipate any changes in energy suppliers, even next year. Should we find ourselves in any form of conflict, I am taking precautions.😱😱👍👍
I wish Martin would challenge the government, and ask them why we are paying the most in the WORLD for energy... and its getting worse?
" Rip Off Britain "
What's happened to all that "cheap" wind energy we're supposed to be benefiting from?
Why is electricity still being charged for as if it was generated from gas powered stations?
Why do we British tolerate the highest energy costs in Europe?
Government policy has a direct effect on energy costs, isn't it time they stared creating policy that benefits voters, not big energy companies?
Wholesale electricity prices are set by the most expensive generation source for each half hour period (a stupid system). Wind farms and the like are paid as if they used gas.
It basically an auction process, with the cheapest source being chosen first, then the next most expensive and so on until they get enough power to meet the demand. I can cope with that, but not the outcome that they all get paid the same rate. To me a sensible approach would be to run the auction in the same way, but cap a cheap bidders payment to now more than a fixed % (say 200%?) above their original bid.
🚨 Beware the censored comments section. 🚨 No reasonable tepid opinions allowed.
Привіт, тут твій друг Зеленський. Ми дуже цінуємо добрий вчинок британської громадськості, яка шукає під дошками підлоги енергетичні угоди. до речі, мені потрібен ще один мільйон для наступної зйомки Prada. коли ти це надсилаєш? слава україні
I don’t use heating because of sensory issues yet I’m penalised into paying the standing charge and can’t get rid of the account. It’s grossly unfair.
Am on a cheap pre-pay tariff fix which has another 4 and a bit months to go. My standing charges are over a £1 per day, 71p electric and 30p gas. The electric unit rate is 22.56p, gas is 5.85p. Yesterday coldest day of the winter so far I used about £6 in electric and gas. Am on PIP and sickness benefit. Am lucky I can afford to pay. I live in a housing ass. flat that is poorly insulated. It costs a small fortune to keep warm. I can have the heating on full blast 24/7 and still be freezing cold when it is minus 10 outside. I live on high ground in the north east.
The way to lower/eliminate the standing charge without increasing the unit rate is to NATIONALISE. The government is our currency issuer - it has an infinite amount of money. They can run it at a loss because they can never run out of the money that only they are legally allowed to issue.
We shouldn't have to pay for basic utilities, they are a human right and they should be free!
I get where your coming from but its not free is it, a lot material and labour costs to make the service your provided work. Its either going to come out your pocket through standing charges or in higher tax :(
Hmm... it is a shame that he did not comment on the how the prices of power and gas compare with other countries. We are paying more that most developed countries for these commodities so it is unclear as to why prices need to rise.
Almost £250/year just to have a meter that nobody ever reads, unit rates up by 12% this year, pensioners winter allowance gone and a lot of people with storage heaters, me included, will leave them off again because we can't afford to heat our homes. 14C in my front room and 16C upstairs as I sit in front of a small electric fire hooked up to my solar panels on the shed roof. This gives me enough stored energy to run the heater for about 5 hours a day which is good, I'm on UC due to ill health, because I can't afford to run 3 storage heaters at an approximate cost of £5/heater/day.
I think more people will be turning to solar powered heating and only heating one room.
@@chrysalis4126 May aswell bring back the chimneys and throw logs in at this point haha
Huge unemployment in the pipe line - my central heating is now a luxury I rarely use - I use hot water bottles and thermal clothing until I light my wood stove after I come home from walking my pooch - no such thing as a 'cheap fix'
It means that they are not on the side of the consumer
Years ago, energy companies used to offer tariffs where there was no standing charge, but instead a dual unit charge.. First xxx units at high rate subsequent ones at a lower rate. These disappeared around the time the government intervened in the market (2014?). Does anyone know why?
What i find incredible is covid happened 4 years ago and prices have increased ever since. Ofcom knew about the standing charge 3 years ago and were 'looking into it' where everyone starting questioning the excessive prices. This update from ML makes it's appear it's taken them maybe a month or so to actually start the consultation and ONLY THEN can Ofcom and GOV start discussing the issue. If they had bothered to actually do their job earlier we could be out of the discussion phase and actually / maybe start to implement the 2 diff price price caps (great idea btw as i have always preferred to fix at the lowest Standing charge and a higher per unit rate) .. But we all know they are all in it together so nothing will be done now and this will be the norm.
This is absolutely totally disgusting
People are just not paying it anymore. Energy poverty is 2.3 billion right now, it just can't continue.
So glad I fixed last month until 2025 with EDF.
Some say EDF offer lower fixed prices as you're effectively employed as a part time accountant to correct thier statement errors
@Dr.Stacker The offers on EDF now are more expensive than the fixed rate I got in October. My son got a cheaper 27 month fixed rate from British Gas today.
I count myself quite lucky at the moment. I got rejected twice when trying to get on Eon 3% lower than price cap tracker, wasting a couple of weeks (my own fault. Typos!) On the third attempt, it was just as Eon had launched the 8% lower fix. I got accepted within seconds and was switched the very next day. Turning off the VPN helped with the speed of acceptance, I'm sure.
My standing charge atm makes up 80% of my bill each month
Do you live in a shed? or still using logs for heating? Or are you just looking to cut the pennies off your bill now that you've got solar panels & battery :)
It doesn't matter how much but is. 11 degrees in my house still feels like 11 degrees.
🙌🏾🙌🏾🇬🇧
So while shop lifting is going through the roof, food banks cant feed people, rent is to high, food prices are to high, energy prices are high, the answer is to put prices up on Energy, which will increase supermarket prices, so food will go up yet again, food banks will die out, so will people. Its to expensive to live nowadays. I guess Im going to freeze to death, not bothered if I die anymore now.
This government will be the death of us.
Literally for many, I am thinking of the elderly and vulnerable who suffer the most under this completely heartless government.
As supposed to the last one??
@@SevenEllenWhich was literally the death of many people throughout the mismanagement of the Covid pandemic.
I would like to know how the income derived from the "standing charge" is spent.
My understanding is it goes to the cost of changing to solar and wind generating infrastructure.
At some point, fossil fuels will dwindle, making renewables an essential asset.
Global warming is already damaging property, and costing lives and destroyed property.
The earth is going to continue to get warmer, for decades, whatever efforts are made to slow or stop it.
We need to adjust to more global warming. We are already paying for the solar and wind generating infrastructure, income should become an asset belonging to "us" so the profit is
distributed to "us", not a bunch of shareholders and executives.
The standing charges include the price of keeping your home connected to the energy network, carrying out meter readings, maintenance and other related charges. Part of your standing charge will also go towards the cost of government initiatives aimed at helping vulnerable homes and reducing carbon emissions.
@@Dollie-f2c You forgot the dramatic increase in standing charge, to make payment to creditors for the insolvency of failed suppliers. This is the only time I know of where the customer had to pay for debt of companies bankruptcy.
No, We must do everything we can to prevent natural cycles from functioning and instead condition the people to pay us for these so called global warming efforts
@@Dollie-f2c they dont do any maintenance or read any meters. I have electric only. They are JUST billing agents. They don't supply electricity or gas. They don't fix it if it breaks. 😆.
Someone tell me that country supports an average citizen...🤔
America under Trump.
Unless they're actually rich, wheelchair users and such should be getting a mobility allowance, and people on dialysis and such should be getting some other benefit(s) (as well?) to help with their increased cost of living. So a slightly higher unit rate for energy shouldn't affect them too much.
A lower standing charge and slightly higher price per unit of energy used should benefit the most people - and all the nutter "Climate change is caused by human activities" nutters, should be very happy, as the more you consume/pollute, the more you pay.
And as others have said, if you don't shop in a particular store, or you don't catch the bus or train, on a particular day, they don't expect you to pay them something anyway just for the privilege of store being there to use. So the "Standing Charge" shouldn't even exist!
I'm too busy trying to get hgv agency work to give a shit
I served in the army for many years where you didn't care and I still don't care
If your skint, pitch a tent and cook on a trangia cooker
Simple
Also go sea fishing from the shore to get a nice meal
Stevie in fife
Of course they are.