General Chat

I have been listening on R2 about how everyones domestic electricity & gas bills will rise by 50% in April. But how will that work? Im with Utilita and have a daily split unit price. One for 1st 2 units and then another price for the rest of units used per day. i do not have a standing charge.
Are they going to change my tarriff? If everyone is paying the same increase, how will this happen? Also they said the government is giving everyone £200 credited to their fuel bill to offset the rise but actually it is a loan that will have to be paid back in 5 instalments of £40 starting 2023-2027!!

As everyones utility company charge different tariffs, I dont understand how everyones charges can be calculated.

Is anyone confused by all this? How will it affect your bill and by how much?

Im electric only and on average its £70 a month including hot water & heating. For others with a larger house & more people where its say £140 a month, the hike will be horrendous. How do they expect the lower paid to afford this?

Also this £200 is available to everyone regarding of your income so even say Prince Charles would get this and then pay it back...how rediculous is that?

Florence in the hebrides

It's frightening isn't it. I would think that Utilita Will have to put their tariffs up along with ecryone else. I would check their web site to see if they have an update online yet. I think the amonts mentioned are really just an estimate on average usage.

I worry that prices will continue to go up and the £40 extra pounds a year that have to be paid back will make life worse. We worry about our kids and their bills.

In England, I don't know about Scotland housesin band A -D will get a refund of about £150 on their council tax. The councils won't like that.

Yet most utility companies have made an ever-increasing above average profit over the past 10 years.
Aren't they lucky that the Government doesn't want to tax them on their excessive profits.?
Much better to have the UK - apparently one of the richest countries (well, it was) to have an overly rich minority and a hungry and cold majority.

I have a good idea, why doesn't the CEO types take a massive pay cut, live within their means, sell their other homes, flash motors and live like the rest of, skint, struggling to pay bills AND put food on the table.
It's Robin Hood in reverse.

By taxing companies rather than increasing income tax, price rises occur as the companies have to cover their costs. Increasing income tax to fund the energy costs would be fairer, as the richer would pay a larger share of the increase.

The companies need to take it on the chin and not be Robin Hood in reverse, what happens when we can't pay our bills, we are cut off, or sent to prison so they still don't get our money, and what happens when companies don't pay, they put their prices up and people can't pay. There is a bit of a clue there if they care to look it up.

Bejesus, Rollo, you’ve forgotten the one important fact that we should never forget. :-0

Our government needs to conserve its (our) pennies for its salary and own expenditure increases and to have enough in its coffers to pass on to companies where its relatives and pals have shares and/or employment.

It reminds me of that expression, ‘We’re in the wrong game.’

A good point Rollo, however the French government aren't greedy, ours is and as I have said before it is Robin Hood in reverse. they will always find a way to steal from us, we are needy they are greedy.

£70 per month sounds amazingly cheap to me, Florence!

I'm in a 3-bed bungalow - all electric including heating, and I'm paying £212 per month.

It's the price cap which is rising by roughly 54% - and is the maximum price which can be charged per unit of electricity.
That doesn't mean that every supplier has to charge that amount per unit - but most will, because of what it's costing them to supply the electricity.

If your supplier increases the unit price, then you will pay more, but your individual bill depends on how much electricity you use at whatever unit price your supplier charges.

It won't affect people on fixed-price contracts, as I am - but will when those contracts end, of course, unless wholesale prices have fallen by then.
If wholesale prices fall, then the price cap will be lowered too, and then suppliers will also have to lower their unit prices. The price cap system is intended to be only temporary, while wholesale prices are high. It's reviewed every 6 months - and more often in exceptional circumstances, as now.


The price cap also varies by region and by your method of payment.

The Council Tax rebate for Band A-D properties in England won't necessarily be copied in the other nations.
I'm not sure about NI, but in Wales and Scotland, Council Tax bills are lower than in England. The Welsh and Scottish governments will receive a lump sum of money to mitigate the electricity price rises in whatever way they choose, but the method hasn't been decided yet.

There's also the problem of how to help households which don't pay Council Tax because of low income .

Argyll Gran, I am very lucky to have been given a brand new council bungalow built only last April. I moved in end of May. The house is all electric but its underfloor heating. Pipes under the floor fill with water which is then heated. So no radiators, storage heaters etc. Water is controlled by the landlord /housing association and available 24/7. I have been putting it on in lounge and kitchen daily around 3pm and off about 8pm. I use about 12 units a day.

On a fine day my room temperature in the lounge is 18-20 degrees without heating. Its because its very well insulated and new.

But still, with the price hike coming like many others my monthly direct debit will increase but my income is fixed so I will have to either cut back on heating or buy less food and cheaper brands as that is all i can do.
i dont drink, smoke, go out or have anything else to cut down on.

£212.00 a month!! Oh my what type of electric heating is it? Storage heaters? What eats up the electric? How do you pay for it? Its seems outrageously high

Florence in the hebrides

Florence - if your power is controlled by a landlord you may not be covered by a price cap: eastdevonwatch.org/2022/01/16/energy-bills-flat-dwellers-face-massive-rise-despite-price-cap/

However, being such a new build you should have very good insulation installed.

Ssorry - once again the links are not working.

Elderly storage heaters are the problem, I think, Florence.
And a 40-yr-old house - plenty of insulation in the loft, but the walls will be less well insulated than in a new house.

However, the tariff I'm on is fixed until 2024, so no price rises for me until then.

My power company was set up with Utilita and I was with a different company when i moved however i decided to move to Utilita as there was no daily standing charge so was cheaper. Its not a fixed rate though.

The council/landlord only control the hot water. It comes on and different times over which I have no control but thats ok. Say midnight to 3am and then another time during the day.

Years ago, I had very old storage heaters and they did eat up the electric.Fixed to 2024...wow hopefully things will be cheaper then!

But last year i had oil central heating so was paying £100 a month and £60 in electric so i am better off overall even if mine rises to £100 a month, still £60 better off.

Florence in the hebrides