The energy crisis

[daveeb]

Originally Posted by Tinky

I moved to Bulb before Octopus contacted me to say they would be our new supplier. I replied back that I didn't want to be their customer as I had moved to Bulb and could they please send final bill and refund my credit. I heard no more until today.

Octopus are normally quite good (in my experience), but clearly not on this occasion. That really is terrible service.

[Tinky]

Up until September last year we paid £71.00 per month for dual with Avro Energy and were £62.39 in credit. When we were advised they were going bust I searched on line for a new supplier. We were told Octopus was taking over and they wanted £136 per month. We swapped to Bulb instead for £107 pm only to be told shortly after it was to be increased to £115pm, fair enough. But today not only do we find that Octopus require us to pay the interim time of one month between swaps of £23.61 but Bulb has now told us payments will increase to £168 pm as from April! Meaning we will now be expected to pay £1164 per year more. As OAP's on a fixed income who feel the cold badly, where are we going find this extra money, on top of TV licence charges and cost of living increases?

[Jaymoss]

Yeah you made a mistake by not waiting. Octopus Avro tariff was a small amount below the cap whereas bulb are right on the cap although from April they will all be on the same cap.

I feel your pain I have hardly used any Gas this winter opting for wrapping up in a sleeping bag instead. Thankfully I do not feel the cold so much so I guess I am lucky in that

Have you considered applying to your water supplier as they may have a scheme? I am on the Big Difference Scheme with Severn Trent, this cuts my water bill from £25 a month to £3 but you have to be unmetered.

I also used a meter around the house and any plug that was draining electric I either switched to a smart plug or unplugged it. I have saved with this and other methods over 80KWH which is another £16. Hard times

Originally Posted by Tinky

Up until September last year we paid £71.00 per month for dual with Avro Energy and were £62.39 in credit. When we were advised they were going bust I searched on line for a new supplier. We were told Octopus was taking over and they wanted £136 per month. We swapped to Bulb instead for £107 pm only to be told shortly after it was to be increased to £115pm, fair enough. But today not only do we find that Octopus require us to pay the interim time of one month between swaps of £23.61 but Bulb has now told us payments will increase to £168 pm as from April! Meaning we will now be expected to pay £1164 per year more. As OAP's on a fixed income who feel the cold badly, where are we going find this extra money, on top of TV licence charges and cost of living increases?

We got our good news from Bulb today as well (electricity only in our case). What’s particularly irksome is that they have near doubled the standing charge (from 27p to 50p per day) which seems calculated to ensure their customers find it harder to reduce their bills by switching appliances off.

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Chris

We got our good news from Bulb today as well (electricity only in our case). What’s particularly irksome is that they have near doubled the standing charge (from 27p to 50p per day) which seems calculated to ensure their customers find it harder to reduce their bills by switching appliances off.

if others are less I would switch if possible for that alone

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

if others are less I would switch if possible for that alone

Yes, while everyone is going to be expensive this year, if there’s scope for improved energy efficiency in the home, then a supplier with a lower standing charge is a tempting prospect. However as we’re going to be moving house this summer I can’t be bothered

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Chris

We got our good news from Bulb today as well (electricity only in our case). What’s particularly irksome is that they have near doubled the standing charge (from 27p to 50p per day) which seems calculated to ensure their customers find it harder to reduce their bills by switching appliances off.

Ofgem are responsible for that. Changing the standing charge price cap for electricity from 25p to 45p.
Link

Originally Posted by Chris

Yes, while everyone is going to be expensive this year, if there’s scope for improved energy efficiency in the home, then a supplier with a lower standing charge is a tempting prospect. However as we’re going to be moving house this summer I can’t be bothered

I looked at Octopus [ briefly ].
While their standing charge was smaller, their kwh charges were way higher (like 25%+ more).
You would need a hell of a lot of improved efficiency for it to work out cheaper.

My bills from April this year are going to be about 2.5x last year (when I was on a good fixed rate).

[GrimUpNorth]

Originally Posted by Paul

I looked at Octopus [ briefly ].
While their standing charge was smaller, their kwh charges were way higher (like 25%+ more).
You would need a hell of a lot of improved efficiency for it to work out cheaper.

My bills from April this year are going to be about 2.5x last year (when I was on a good fixed rate).

Similar, came out of a fixed rate at the end of January paying £140/month now the cheapest fixed rate I can find when I looked last week was £336/month. Going to have to suck it up and see what happens over the coming months. Maybe they should use some of the frozen Russian money to pay our gas bills for us.

Originally Posted by nomadking

Ofgem are responsible for that. Changing the standing charge price cap for electricity from 25p to 45p.
Link

Standing charges vary around the country because (in theory at least) they reflect the differing costs levied by the regional DNOs. Mine is SSE, whose northern Scottish network is unsurprisingly one of the most expensive ones. The price cap on the standing charge must be variable seeing as ours is going well north of 45p.

(Edit) the rates on the Ofgem website are averages, not absolute, and do indeed vary by DNO and meter type.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Chris

Standing charges vary around the country because (in theory at least) they reflect the differing costs levied by the regional DNOs. Mine is SSE, whose northern Scottish network is unsurprisingly one of the most expensive ones. The price cap on the standing charge must be variable seeing as ours is going well north of 45p.

(Edit) the rates on the Ofgem website are averages, not absolute, and do indeed vary by DNO and meter type.

Nevertheless the increase in standing charges is down to Ofgem, and of course that the distribution charges to the suppliers has gone up.

Originally Posted by nomadking

Nevertheless the increase in standing charges is down to Ofgem, and of course that the distribution charges to the suppliers has gone up.

In that sense, all the increases are due to Ofgem, seeing as all the suppliers are wanting to increase their prices as much as possible…

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Chris

Yes, while everyone is going to be expensive this year, if there’s scope for improved energy efficiency in the home, then a supplier with a lower standing charge is a tempting prospect. However as we’re going to be moving house this summer I can’t be bothered

Unless you're prepared to go onto a fixed rate that's higher than the price cap, I think you'll find that no other company will be willing to take you on as they would be losing money on your account (that's what I found anyway).

Maybe moving house changes this, as what would people do if they moved to an area that their old supplier doesn't serve? Surely they couldn't leave them with no energy supplier!

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

Unless you're prepared to go onto a fixed rate that's higher than the price cap, I think you'll find that no other company will be willing to take you on as they would be losing money on your account (that's what I found anyway).

Maybe moving house changes this, as what would people do if they moved to an area that their old supplier doesn't serve? Surely they couldn't leave them with no energy supplier!

I believe supply is legally tied to the meter rather than directly to the householder - when you move home you inherit the supplier who is already in place.

[SnoopZ]

My Bulb was £63 last Sept then they upped it to £121 and now they have upped it to £170 FFS, just logged into my account and reduced it to £153.

Hopefully it'll eventually be lower as I have been using electric for heating and heating my hot water for 2-3 months but that is now fixed.

£170 a month is just under my mortgage payment and more than my council tax.