Big Regional Divide on some Energy Bill Charges
In the News
I didn't expect to see a North/ South divide in standing charges on electricity prices, I thought they were national and depended on your supplier.
But according to this London & the East of England will see the smallest increases.
We are in the East Midlands.
We used to pay 11.11p per day then the company we were with went bust.
With no choice, we were 'sent to' British gas who immediately increased it to 23.77p per day and from 1st April we will be paying 44.75p per day. That almost £164 per year before we switch anything on!
That's a huge increase for us - let alone the massive increase in the kwh rate to 27.62.
We have written to everybody, British Gas, Ofgem, The local MP. Two didn't write back and the third only wrote 3 lines in response to a 5 page letter..... Disgusting
There is no accountability at the top of the sh*t heap.
We were lucky, we had just changed suppliers a month before they went bust, so I think we are still on a fixed rate, as we haven't been I formed of any rise, but they may be slow in letting people know.
We are definitely being more careful of using energy.
beccatavender We are being very careful too, it was quite a shock when we were transferred over and shocked further with the rise on 1st April. Of course, they haven't finished with us yet either have they, they are planning another glib 40% or so rise in the autumn... I just don't know what we or anyone else will do?!?!
We have friends who have managed to get a fixed rate, which is great until it ends (enjoy it for now), but when you all come off the fixed rates the difference will be enormous.
We are in Scotland and our standing charge has gone up to 50p a day. We are already careful with what we use but I'm looking at how we can use even less.
I had no idea region's made a difference. How is London cheaper than everywhere else? It's going to be a very tough year 
I am glad I am not the only one who didn't know about this. On the news they have tried to justify it is based on the number of electricity pylon they need Midnightflower
beccatavender I wish I understood energy better, I'm sure they just make this crap up as they go 
I would have expected it to be cheaper the closer you are to the production source. It would be better not to have a standing charge and just pay a higher unit price, if the want us to use less.
I'm afraid this has always been the case . We can all compare most things - petrol , shopping , insurance etc ,etc and we all should .
All we can do with energy is go by comparison sites (defunct in the present situation ! ) . Who ,in normal times , could compare their electric unit rate , multiplied by usage + standing charge , repeat for Gas then multiply for Dual fuel and/or Direct Debit -!!!
That is why I always urged folks to take an exact reading of their usage (from bills ) then use comparison sites to get the best deal .
These days the comparison sites are useless - if you are on a fix stick with it , otherwise no deals to be had . Hopefully once energy prices get back to normal the comparison sites will become relevant again . In the meantime monitor your usage so when you can compare once more you can put in an accurate usage , which will enable you to find the cheapest deal.
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