What the hell is OFGEM playing at?

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cliveb

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Just seen the new price cap from April. Changes (averaged over the whole of GB):
Electricity: unit rate down 14.4%, standing charge up 12.65%
Gas: unit rate down 18.6%, standing charge up 6.2%

WTF? Low usage customers, who have been subsidising high usage customers for some time now, are being further penalised.
This is an abject failure to reward people who reduce their energy usage.

Seems that OFGEM are only interested in the headline unit rate.
 
It's not just OFGEM. OFWAT have said that they can't use all of their enforcement powers because if they did the water companies would go bankrupt, so consumers will have to pay more and the water companies will continue dumping sewage in the rivers, all while making huge dividend payments to shareholders.

It's almost as though these regulators aren't on the side of the consumer at all.
 
ColchesterFC said:
It's not just OFGEM. OFWAT have said that they can't use all of their enforcement powers because if they did the water companies would go bankrupt, so consumers will have to pay more and the water companies will continue dumping sewage in the rivers, all while making huge dividend payments to shareholders.

It's almost as though these regulators aren't on the side of the consumer at all.
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They aren't at all are they. Can't say what I think!
 
cliveb said:
Just seen the new price cap from April. Changes (averaged over the whole of GB):
Electricity: unit rate down 14.4%, standing charge up 12.65%
Gas: unit rate down 18.6%, standing charge up 6.2%

WTF? Low usage customers, who have been subsidising high usage customers for some time now, are being further penalised.
This is an abject failure to reward people who reduce their energy usage.

Seems that OFGEM are only interested in the headline unit rate.
Click to expand...

Listening to radio.... the only talk was about the reduction in headline unit rates.. no mention of standing charges.. Now it makes sense.

It is funny, how Ofgem drops rates when summer is around and usage is low, but will rack it up as soon as the sun disappears.

Ofcoure the stock answer is Ukraine and now Israel.. (what is the question)
 
Mudball said:
Listening to radio.... the only talk was about the reduction in headline unit rates.. no mention of standing charges.. Now it makes sense.

It is funny, how Ofgem drops rates when summer is around and usage is low, but will rack it up as soon as the sun disappears.

Ofcoure the stock answer is Ukraine and now Israel.. (what is the question)
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Bit like petrol, I see it's going up daily around here now.
 
cliveb said:
You live in Spain, yes?
Do you need any heating this time of year?
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Occasionally on an evening. This, so far, has been the warmest winter on record. We’re shorts and t-shirt pretty much every day. Long trousers and a sweater on an evening. Light, 1.5 tog, quilt on the bed.
 
cliveb said:
Just seen the new price cap from April. Changes (averaged over the whole of GB):
Electricity: unit rate down 14.4%, standing charge up 12.65%
Gas: unit rate down 18.6%, standing charge up 6.2%

WTF? Low usage customers, who have been subsidising high usage customers for some time now, are being further penalised.
This is an abject failure to reward people who reduce their energy usage.

Seems that OFGEM are only interested in the headline unit rate.
Click to expand...

Wasn't there something being added to the bill to cover non payments? I don't agree with it but I remember reading about it
 
Hobbit said:
Occasionally on an evening. This, so far, has been the warmest winter on record. We’re shorts and t-shirt pretty much every day. Long trousers and a sweater on an evening. Light, 1.5 tog, quilt on the bed.
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I'm guessing you have air con for the heat. Is that expensive to run over a year? Do you have solar panels to offset that and if so do they cover the costs?

I don't need figures, I'm just interested in the comparison.
 
Aircon for heating but it’s only a couple of years old and, allegedly, 40% cheaper to run than the older versions. Think it’s been on, maybe, 15 times for around an hour each time - it’s a new build and quite efficient.

Solar panel for hot water, with an electric immersion element as back up during winter. The immersion is usually only plugged in for a couple of months at most. South east Spain has Europe’s only desert, and we’re not far from it.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
I'm guessing you have air con for the heat. Is that expensive to run over a year? Do you have solar panels to offset that and if so do they cover the costs?

I don't need figures, I'm just interested in the comparison.
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See winter 22 I tried this just to see

I had 2 downstairs units on 3am until 10pm

Then the upstairs on 7am until 6pm

22 degree all round

Used 15kw of electric which at price cap right now (29p) is £4.35

Gas yesterday was £5 using 7p a unit , and I had that on for about 5 hours of the day

Not as great in England as doesn't help the walls but in mild temps I could easily run the air cons instead of heating
 
pauljames87 said:
See winter 22 I tried this just to see

I had 2 downstairs units on 3am until 10pm

Then the upstairs on 7am until 6pm

22 degree all round

Used 15kw of electric which at price cap right now (29p) is £4.35

Gas yesterday was £5 using 7p a unit , and I had that on for about 5 hours of the day

Not as great in England as doesn't help the walls but in mild temps I could easily run the air cons instead of heating
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@Hobbit has a bit more assistance with solar power, if he has panels, over in Spain than you will have had though 😄
 
Lord Tyrion said:
@Hobbit has a bit more assistance with solar power, if he has panels, over in Spain than you will have had though 😄
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Oh ofc lol 🤣 but that was litterally cost for cost compared to gas , it did work out cheaper to run and was very warm in the house

However due to our solid walls it cools down quickly , and we were getting damp in one corner of the house so we use the heating more to keep the condensation away linked with dehumidifier
 
pauljames87 said:
Oh ofc lol 🤣 but that was litterally cost for cost compared to gas , it did work out cheaper to run and was very warm in the house

However due to our solid walls it cools down quickly , and we were getting damp in one corner of the house so we use the heating more to keep the condensation away linked with dehumidifier
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We get some damp in the sink when the tap is turned on… :ROFLMAO:
 
jim8flog said:
That was said on tonight's news. Apparently all of us paying our bills are paying for those that do not.
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Is that unique to energy or is it also a factor in other areas? I assume that it doesn't happen for Sky TV or an internet provider for example as the provider could simply cut off the signal if the bill wasn't paid as it's a non-essential service, but what about water? Is there an additional charge on the water bill for those that can't/won't pay?
 
If only we were an island built on coal, Gas, Oil, wind and solar. We could be self sufficient for a fraction of the price we are paying now. Shame we never thought of nationalisation of power industries ☹️
 
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