With energy prices going through the roof now that the Price Cap has been raised by an extra £700 (and will no doubt go up again in October 2022), energy companies have been writing to their customers telling them that their direct debits will be increasing by far more than the 54% price cap increase.
Some companies are offering fixed tariff deals whereby the increase cost for units used won’t go up quite so much, BUT the standing charge will double.
So if your current standing charge is something like 23p day, it could double should you choose a tariff with a relatively lower increase in unit cost.
This carrot and stick option is favoured by the energy suppliers because its more or less a fixed daily fee that you can’t wiggle out of even if you use no electric or gas.
For most people choosing that kind of tariff it will mean you’ll be hit twice: 1/ for the slightly higher cost increase for unit used; 2/ a doubling of your standing charge.
It will be interesting to see if the cost of the standing charge will fall by the same amount when energy prices eventually return to normal (could be 2 or 3 years away yet). I somewhat doubt it.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/feb/26/energy-bills-suppliers-price-rise-gas-electricity
(Helpful link provided by me – Part Time Admin)
Nominated by: Technocunt