Capped Gas and Electricity

[Taf]

My SWALEC gas bill..

"As you're on our standard variable tariff your prices are now capped. There has also been a change to the way your Direct Debit discount is calculated. The annual fixed discount of £40 a year no longer applies. From 1 January 2019, your new discount will vary depending on how much energy you use, where you live and your meter type. The discount will be automatically applied to your standing charge and unit rates."

In other words my gas bill has gone up by £40 thanks to this "capping" as we don't use enough for the cap to come into force.!!!!

[denphone]

And there are likely to be big rises in UK energy bills this spring despite the price cap.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...pite-price-cap

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by Taf

My SWALEC gas bill..

"As you're on our standard variable tariff your prices are now capped. There has also been a change to the way your Direct Debit discount is calculated. The annual fixed discount of £40 a year no longer applies. From 1 January 2019, your new discount will vary depending on how much energy you use, where you live and your meter type. The discount will be automatically applied to your standing charge and unit rates."

In other words my gas bill has gone up by £40 thanks to this "capping" as we don't use enough for the cap to come into force.!!!!

If you're on a standard tariff you're paying way over the odds anyway. Switch it's easy and risk free.

---------- Post added at 13:45 ---------- Previous post was at 13:44 ----------

Originally Posted by denphone

And there are likely to be big rises in UK energy bills this spring despite the price cap.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...pite-price-cap

Even more reason to get on a fixed tariff.

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Mr K

If you're on a standard tariff you're paying way over the odds anyway. Switch it's easy and risk free.

It is their cheapest tariff, and the £40 Direct Debit discounts on both gas and electricity made it far cheaper than their fixed term tariff.

I've not found any supplier that can beat them here... yet. I hold no loyalty to any company, I switch to the cheapest as soon as one appears.

We currently pay £1,488 pa, and the cap is £1,137, but that does not mean we will be getting a £350 rebate... we'd be naive to think that.

[Tali]

The cap is calculated based on average consumption. The average consumption is set by OFGEM.

If you use more than average, your bill will be higher than the cap.

Am I missing something here, if a bill is higher than a cap, then how is it a cap ?

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Tali

The cap is calculated based on average consumption. The average consumption is set by OFGEM.

If you use more than average, your bill will be higher than the cap.

So if you live in the far north of Scotland and need more heating and lighting, your bills will be higher than those, say, of someone on the English Riviera way down south.

Or you are a lone person in a small flat, you use less than a family with 4 adults in a 3 bedroom house in the same area.

But nowhere in the TDCV figures is there any mention of locale, or number of people in a property, or type of property.



https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/gas/retail-...umption-values

[denphone]

Its not a cap IMO as its just more dishonest shenanigans to make us the public think there was a clear cap on prices when quite clearly that is not the case when it gets down to the nitty gritty of it all.

[heero_yuy]

My buggers capped the per Kw charge but promptly upped the standing charge.

[Tali]

Am I missing something here, if a bill is higher than a cap, then how is it a cap ?

It's only capped at the advertised amount if you use the exact amount that OFGEM declare as the average amount. Many people have asked the same question.

So if you live in the far north of Scotland and need more heating and lighting, your bills will be higher than those, say, of someone on the English Riviera way down south.

Possibly.

Or you are a lone person in a small flat, you use less than a family with 4 adults in a 3 bedroom house in the same area.

But nowhere in the TDCV figures is there any mention of locale, or number of people in a property, or type of property

Property size and number of occupants is not considered.

My buggers capped the per Kw charge but promptly upped the standing charge.

Different suppliers have changed the unit price and standing charge in different ways. The total price based on the OFGEM average won't exceed the cap.

It seems that the media/OFGEM haven't done a very good job at letting everyone know how this works.